Meet The Owner

My Story

A Personal Journey Becomes a Larger Mission...

You may be wondering how I found myself starting a head lice treatment business (some days I still can't believe I'm here either). The truth is, this endeavor is a part of a larger journey of faith and personal reformation, which turned into a calling to help families confronting head lice.

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In January of 2022, I took a complete leap of faith and quit my demanding corporate job. After much prayer and reflection, I realized that I was trying to keep up with a workload that dominated my time, and led to an imbalance that frequently left my family feeling like they were on the back burner. Enough was enough. I needed to re-center my focus on what mattered most. Once I made the transition, I felt beyond blessed to have the time and space to see things more clearly, and fully engage with my children and my community. I've heard it said that God works in mysterious ways. I would say that's a fact. It was around that same time when I discovered my children had head lice...

Our first experience

I remember the horror and panic that struck me upon realizing my child had lice. Things felt even worse after discovering that lice had spread throughout my household. My skin was crawling. I was embarrassed. We are a clean family. We have good hygiene habits. How could this happen? I did not have time to contemplate such things... I needed to get rid of the lice! I immediately sent my husband to the store to purchase multiple boxes of name-brand lice solutions. I carefully followed the instructions. My family went through weeks of repeated applications and hours of combing. During that timeframe, I felt helpless and grew tired of putting my children through repeated tearful sessions of combing and treatment. Luckily, we FINALLY eradicated the lice, but that experience was marked in my mind as something I wanted to avoid ever experiencing again.

A Larger Problem

Throughout the spring, my children would come home and tell me about other friends at school getting lice. I also received notes from the school nurse advising of lice in the classroom. The trials of our recent ordeal were still fresh. I was petrified to think there was a high likelihood of getting lice again. I remembered how I felt alone and overwhelmed. I realized that other mothers most likely felt the same as I did. It was at that moment I realized there was a need for someone to help families move past headlice. I didn't want other mothers and families to struggle like I did. There had to be a better way to defeat lice!

New Endeavor

Remember that corporate job I recently left? Interestingly enough, my professional background is in business development and product development. It appeared the puzzle pieces were beginning to line up, and I had the necessary skill set to develop a better solution for this growing problem. I dedicated my free time to learning all I could about lice, lice treatment methods, and preventative measures. I remember getting head checks in school as a child. I knew lice were a thing, but I was stunned to find out how lice have become a silently increasing epidemic across this country and within my local community. I was unaware that schools no longer require children to be nit-free; further perpetuating the issue in rapidly growing communities.  (check the info page for more details on lice in schools)

Better Ways

After extensive research, I discovered that breaking the life cycle of lice is the central issue when it comes to effective eradication. Most topical treatments kill live lice (with decreasing effectiveness), but are unable to penetrate lice eggs. Removing 100% of lice eggs in a single application is a very challenging task, therefore repeated applications and combing are required to treat newly hatched lice. If the newly hatched lice are not eradicated in time, new eggs are laid (and so the cycle continues). I was blown away to find that we are still attacking lice infestations with the same solutions and treatments that have been in use for decades. Without advancements in treatment options, lice have begun to evolve to the point that they can withstand the pesticides in many of the available retail solutions. Despite the lack of innovation in local retail treatment options, there are better alternatives available! That's where Complete Relief Lice Care comes into the picture...

Education

I attended the world-renowned Shepherd Institute, where I became certified in the highly respected, methodical process of strand-by-strand lice and nit removal. Complete Relief Lice Care is the only Shepherd Certified Lice Service in the Hill Country and San Antonio area. From there, I combined this highly effective mechanical process with the latest treatment options to provide a comprehensive approach to knocking out lice in one treatment. Through the utilization of specialized equipment to facilitate the application of a precise amount of heat for a precise amount of time, lice AND their eggs can be thoroughly desiccated - killing lice AND eggs (with a 99% success rate). Our Complete Relief Total Treatment employs this relatively new approach, effectively eliminating lice and their eggs in ONE session! The Total Treatment utilizes a multi-step process to destroy lice AND eggs with targeted heat, strand-by-strand combing (utilizing the Shepherd Method) to remove, nits, dead bugs, and debris, and application of a non-toxic/non-pesticidal lice solution.  Our process employs the extra measure of multi-layered applications, to ensure the highest possible success rate; providing complete relief and peace of mind in a single dynamic treatment.

Excitement for the Future

I am grateful that I have already been able to utilize my treatment system to bring relief to numerous local families. I am excited to officially launch my business for the benefit of the Boerne community and surrounding areas. And, I look forward to helping families with an unparalleled level of care and professionalism. If you find yourself needing assistance with lice treatment and removal, or if you need a lice screening for summer camp or school activities, please reach out! We will bring all necessary supplies to discreetly treat and contain the lice from the comfort of your home. Please know you are not alone in dealing with head lice, and you have no reason to feel embarrassed. When lice happens, let us help!

Warm Regards,

Annie Bearden