is this lice or dandruff?

No. It isn't hard to pull off the nit. They don't brush off easily the way dandruff does.

The nits are clearly little oval-shaped things. Dandruff tends to be assymetrical flakes or little rectangles. When you said "easily pull them out" it leads me to think it isn't dandruff because I think if it were dandruff you would have said "easily brushed off". The nits will slide right off the hair if you just use your fingers. You may want to look at them under a magnifying glass. If they're irregular shaped they aren't nits. If they are pretty much the same shape they're nits.

No matter whether it is lice or not, don't every use the same combs in a family, particularly if there are school-aged kids in the family.

You probably should treat your child for lice, comb the hair as recommended, watch her hair over the next several weeks, and do the usual bagging up of stuffed animals and treating of upholstery just to be safe. Vacuum well as well.

Note: I noted a lot of people saying how difficult the nits are to get out of the hair. They're difficult in terms of finding them all, but at least for people with slippery/fine hair they aren't difficult to slip off by putting the hair between two fingertips and sliding them off. Maybe the other people have thicker, coarser, hair; but they do slip off fine hair pretty easily.

I read a lot about lice when some kids at my daughter's school had it and they sent letters warning us of a potential outbreak. Everything I read said that the nits, which is what would show up the most, attach firmly to the hair shaft and are difficult to remove. They are usually not white but more of a light yellowish color. Do you use styling products in your daughter's hair? I had tried a new hair product and I got all of these white specks in my hair, it freaked me out, but it was the product I was using and as soon as I stopped using it the specks went away. This month's issue of Parent's magazine has an article on head lice. Try washing with a mild dandruff shampoo for a couple of days and see if the condition goes away, she probably has product build-up or regular old dandruff. Good Luck.

NO! She doesn't have lice. If she did, then you wouldn't be able to pull out those white things form her hair that easy. The eggs are the hardest ones to take out. So if she ever did don't worry, you can easily go to a pharmacy store and buy a lice medicine. When I was younger, my mom always bought a brand called RID. And comb her hair with a special lice comb everyday...the bad part is killing them! Well just be happy she doesn't have any, or maybe not yet!

Yes lice are very hard to get out since they kinda suck the scalp and stay on there pretty good... you should try checking at the base of the neck and behind the ears to see if there are little red bumps there (thats where lice like to bite the most) if there are a lot then it is probably lice. Since the substance is white though probably says it dandruff.. Lice take on the color of the person's hair and I doubt your daughters hair is white lol

Lice eggs are usually more difficult to pull out than that. It's probably just dandruff. Take a look under her hair at the back or her head. If you see a bunch of stuff close to the scalp there that is harder to pull out (you shouldn't be able to as well without nails) then you may have an infestation. The eggs would be clear/white. Also if you look at the "white thing" if it's a egg, it would be ovalish with a little tail at one end. Dandruff is more flaky looking.

Lice won't come out just by plucking at them. The female louse uses a special glue-like substance to stick the nits to the base of the hair shaft. The only way to break that glue is if you pull on it a lot or use lice shampoo to kill the nit and break the stuff up. If it is easily coming out, then it is most likely dandruff. If you are not sure, by some RID shampoo and wash her hair with it. Then, comb it out. If she doesn't have lice, it will protect her from getting them for up to 7 days.

The lice eggs actually hang on to the hair and have to be combed out with a special comb. Are there actually little black things on her Scalp? If so it's lice but it sounds more like dandruff. You might want to go buy RID or whatever from the drug store Just in case, I don't think it will hurt your daughter in anyway to be on the safe side

Yes, lice attach their eggs to individual strands of hair and it's difficult to pull out without nails. it's probably dandruff

But just to be on the safe side, Kitchen soap like palmolive or dawn can kill them without the expensive shampoo, and it will be gental enough for her hair.

Take her in the bathroom put the soap in and leave it on for about 3 minutes then wash out and comb through. She will be fine.

Even if it is lice and as disgusting as they are, they aren't dangerous. No worries.

When I was little my mom had to use this special comb with the teeth really close together in order to get the lice out. Is your daughter itching her head a lot? I would check at the nape of the neck...that's where lice tend to hang out.

I don't believe it to be lice either. Try this once a month to wash your daughters head in baby shampoo cause and this goes for adults to, We all get used to the same shampoo which should be changed(brands) every 3-6 months. Washing your daughters(as well as your own) gets the old stuff off your scalp,and cleans you of any extra sweat or debris. Believe me if it is Lice you would know and then precautions like bed linens to be washed in hot water and putting stuffed animals in garbage bags to kill them is one way of getting rid of it all. Other than that I wouldn't worry until your sure.