Zippity Doo's Review & Giveaway

Funny story. Well, not that funny, but I'm going to pretend it is.
Early last fall, watching my sweet smiley toddler wake up from his restful, cuddling, sweet dreams (in my bed, because we co-sleep), I noticed that he scratched his head.  For a moment, I didn't think anything of it.  I've had a sensitive itchy scalp my whole life, so it only made sense that he would too. No big deal.  But he kept scratching, and scratching like he meant it. I thought back about how we'd been out playing in a field with tall grass pretty much every day for the last two weeks, and that spouse had even noticed that he'd tracked in a flea or two from said prairie.  I thought, "oh no- my baby has fleas!"
Well, I was almost right. They looked like light colored fleas, but didn't jump and were a touch flatter. After googling what lice looks like, I found out that lice look just like flatter fleas. Great.  Having never run into the creepy crawlers before, I was at a loss as to how to proceed. So then I started searching Dr. Google's archives for how to treat lice on a baby.  He wasn't yet 18 months, so he was, to my thinking, still a baby.  It turns out, most of the pesticides (and who wants to put a pesticide on their offspring?) aren't for babies, and did you know that you have to bag up all the soft toys, treat your kid every week until there's been no sign of anything in their hair for WEEKS, frequently check the heads of everyone else who lives in the house, including your MIL, wash everything (bedding, sweaters, slipcovers on couches) on hot and dry on hot, boil your hair brushes, and um... treat your furniture (seats of your car and anything else you can't wash) with a nasty spray?  It's horrible to try to get rid of.   And then, when your *other* kid gets it, you get to start over.

Did I mention that we cosleep? Meaning this infestation is going on on the head of the kid who SLEEPS IN MY BED!

And don't even get me started on the loooong list of "where" the toddler might have picked it up to start with. Daycare? Rolling around on a couch after a girl had her hair fine tooth combed? Trying on every hat he sees? All the sudden, the whole world was a potential infestation threat.

Just thought I should make sure you get my panic when faced with this situation.

I admit it, I'm a paranoid type. I probably didn't need to stop making dolls and toys until I knew it was gone, but I did anyway, because I'm paranoid.  I probably treated my children's heads 5 weeks longer than I needed to, and in the case of the toddler, whose non-pesticide treatment took hours each time, so that was a lot of work. I can probably stop nit checking the whole house on a weekly basis.  I can probably relax a bit about things like movie theater seats, guests sitting on high backed chairs or riding in my car, and my toddler's fascination with putting on hats, irrespective of whose hats they are.  Well, maybe that last one is worth continuing to be nervous about.  That said, when things were gone, I picked up a spray at the drug store that is supposed to repel lice.  The problem was, it smelled so strongly of citronella, it repelled me too.

Long story short, when I came across the opportunity to review Zippity Doo's Head Lice Prevention products, I was like "head lice prevention, [hot potentially mythological place] yes, please!" Then I realized I'd have to admit that my kids got lice. For some reason, that's got a huge stigma associated with it in the back of my head.  That's silly.  If anything, lice is a social disease because the more people you are around, the more likely you are to get it. Lice prefer clean hair, it's easier for them to hold on to and lay their eggs on. It's not a hygiene issue.

So here's what I can tell you about Zippity Doo's Head Lice Prevention products.

The smiley:
I started trying it on myself. I have a lot of allergies and sensitivities, and it didn't bother my skin.
The toddler's skin was also not bothered. Win!
Shiny hair.

Shiny

Note, I only used the shampoo on him, but it's dang shiny.

He hates having conditioner rinsed out.

In the end, you don't smell like you're going camping. Even if you just use the shampoo.
Styling gel reminds me of the 80s, which was, for me, well gelled.
I prefer the smell of the styling gel to that of a lot of other styling gels.
The detangler- I can't STAND the regular Johnson & Johnson detangler's scent, so this, which doesn't smell too campy, is a win for me, since the tween needs to use a detangler.


The frowny:
The shampoo smells a little like you're going camping, and doesn't lather as well as I'd like. The smell is counterbalanced by the conditioner, but my first reaction was sort of "wow, outdoorsy much?"

PLEASE NOTE- because this product is a preventative product, I can't tell you if it actually works. I can tell you that since we started trying it out, we have not become aware of a new infestation, and yes, I have checked.  I can only say that I have no reason to dispute the claim.

Also, as of the writing of this blog review, Zippity Doo's is not listed on Skin Deep's Cosmeticdatabase.com .

Zippity Doo's wants you to know that they're lab tested, pediatrician approved (grain of salt here), SLS free, paraben free, and designed to repel insects and give your kids (and you) shiny hair and a healthy scalp, while being safe for every day use, with formulations which avoid harmful chemicals and use natural extracts.  Zippity Doo's  is made in the USA, does not test on animals, and their bottles are BPA free.

As always, I strongly suggest reading all the ingredients before purchasing, as everyone has different ingredients they avoid.

Zippity Doo's has generously offered to give one lucky Paisley & Pretties reader their own set of lice prevention products.

Want to win?
Mandatory Entry:
Swing by the Zippity Doo's website and tell me something you learned.  Please leave your email address in your comment so that I can contact you if you win, if it is not clearly visible in your blogger profile.

Want more chances to win?
1. Follow Paisley & Pretties on facebook and comment on this blog post letting me know that you do.

2. Spread the word via facebook, twitter, or your blog, linking back here to this post. Leave a comment with the  permalink to your word-spreading post/status. I'm not going to police how often you do this, but don't irritate your follower. K?

Winner will be selected February 21st via Random.org and notified by email. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to said notification, or an alternate winner will be selected via some bizarre or whimsical method which will defy all logic but make at least one person snort giggle.

Sponsored by Tomoson.com

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.