Can Head Lice Live in a Man's Beard?

While most parents worry least about Dad having lice out of everyone in the household, occasionally, as an afterthought, people say, “oh, wait...can you get lice in a beard!” We have been treating head lice for over 20 years and have only come across head lice beard infestations three times, out of over half a million cases we’ve treated.

Can You Get Lice in Your Beard?

Lice use hair as a ladder to get to the skin. Head lice will use any hair accessible to them to get to the human blood; they are parasites who feed on blood three times daily. Human blood is their only food source. Can lice live in beards? Whereas lice can use the beard to crawl up to the face to get blood, they appear to much prefer the head over the face. The likely reason for that is the top of the head is warmer than the face, therefore the temperature is optimal for lice survival.

But sometimes, it’s more important to ask...

Can You Get Head Lice In a Beard?

So do head lice live in beards? It is possible, although unlikely that a person will find head lice or nits in his beard. But when men call us specifically to ask, “can lice live on beards? Because I’m pretty sure I have beard lice,” we will usually respond, “do you have children?” Because most cases of lice are brought into the household by children.  If you have young children, then you are at increased risk for getting head lice from the kids. But if an adult appears to have lice in his beard and there is no obvious connection to a case of head lice in the family, it is much more likely to be a case of pubic lice, which live in body hair, including beards.

While we are the best at removing head lice, we are not able to treat or advise people with body lice, pubic lice, or other types of bugs. You should seek medical help for any case of lice that appears to affect other body parts than the head.

How To Get Rid Of Beard Lice?

How can a man get lice in his beard? If you have young children, carrying and hugging them is usually the source. If lice are going around, you may wish to keep your beard trimmed close if you are worried about getting lice. The reality is, though, that your chances of having head lice in your beard are very low.

Remedies that work on head hair should work for head lice in beard hair. Medications and lice shampoos are overkill for lice in beard hair. Safe, simple olive oil will work.

Can you get nits in your beard? Because beard texture is different from head hair, it’s very difficult for head lice to lay their nits in a beard, and only happens once in a blue moon. While LiceDoctors is treating your family, we’ll happily check your beard, just to be ultra-cautious, but it’s not usually considered necessary.

If we do find head lice in your beard, most men choose to shave the beard, which is a perfectly acceptable way to eliminate it. If you’d prefer not to shave a long beard, you can count on LiceDoctors to remove it for you. We guarantee that your technician-administered treatment will get rid of the lice. For more information on Head Lice in Men and Boys, call LiceDoctors day or night at 800-224-2537.