Lice eggs, commonly called nits, are tiny oval-shaped specks attached to individual hair strands close to the scalp. They’re roughly the size of a pinhead, and their color shifts depending on whether the egg is alive, dead, or already hatched. Knowing exactly what to look for makes the difference between catching an infestation early and mistaking nits for dandruff.
Size, Shape, and Color
A single lice egg is oval or teardrop-shaped and small enough that you could easily miss it without good lighting. Fresh, viable eggs tend to be yellowish-brown or tan because the developing louse inside gives them color. They sit flush against one side of the hair shaft rather than wrapping around it, which is one reason they can be hard to spot when you’re parting hair quickly.
As the embryo inside develops and eventually hatches (usually within 6 to 9 days), the egg’s appearance changes. A hatched egg casing turns white, gray, or translucent. These empty shells stay glued to the hair and grow more noticeable over time as the hair grows out and carries them farther from the scalp. If you’re seeing pale specks scattered more than half an inch from the scalp, those are almost certainly old casings rather than a sign of active egg-laying.
Where Lice Lay Their Eggs
Female lice deposit eggs no more than a quarter inch from the scalp, where body heat keeps the temperature warm enough for development. The preferred spots are behind the ears and along the nape of the neck, areas where the scalp stays warmest and most humid. These are the first places to check during an inspection.
Each egg is cemented to one side of a single hair strand with a glue made of proteins similar to the keratin in hair itself. This adhesive hardens into a rigid sheath that locks the egg in place. The glue is the reason nits don’t slide off or flick away when you touch them, and it’s why removal requires either a fine-toothed nit comb or pinching the egg between your fingernails and dragging it down the full length of the strand.
Nits vs. Dandruff and Other Look-Alikes
The most common confusion is between nits and dandruff flakes, and there’s a simple test. Try to flick or pull the white speck off the hair. Dandruff slides off easily. A nit won’t budge. It stays firmly attached to the shaft no matter how much you tug, because of that keratin-like cement holding it in place.
Hair product residue and tiny clumps of dry skin (sometimes called hair casts) can also mimic nits. These tend to wrap loosely around the hair or sit irregularly on the strand. A true nit has a consistent oval shape, sits on one side of the hair, and always appears within that quarter-inch zone near the scalp when freshly laid. If the speck is irregularly shaped, easily removed, or scattered randomly through the hair far from the scalp, it’s probably not a lice egg.
Live Eggs vs. Empty Casings
Telling the difference between a viable egg and an empty shell matters because it tells you whether the infestation is active. Live, unhatched nits are darker in color (tan, brown, or yellowish) and are found very close to the scalp. They may look slightly plump or rounded when viewed under magnification.
Once the nymph inside emerges, it pushes open a small cap at the top of the egg called the operculum. What’s left behind is a hollow, flattened casing that appears white or translucent. Because the hair keeps growing after the egg was laid, these empty shells gradually move away from the scalp. Finding only white or clear casings more than a quarter inch from the scalp, with no darker eggs close to the skin, suggests the infestation may no longer be active, though it’s still worth doing a thorough check for live lice.
How to Spot Them
Lighting is the single most important factor in finding nits. Natural sunlight provides a full spectrum of light that makes nits stand out against the hair. If you’re checking indoors, use a bright lamp positioned close to the head. A high-wattage bulb, an LED headlamp, or even a smartphone flashlight held at an angle to the hair can highlight the reflective surface of the eggs. A magnifying glass helps you confirm what you’re seeing, especially on lighter-colored hair where nits blend in more easily.
There are two main approaches to detection: visual inspection (parting the hair section by section under bright light) and wet combing (applying conditioner to damp hair and dragging a fine-toothed nit comb from scalp to tip). Research comparing the two methods found their overall accuracy is remarkably similar, around 92 to 96 percent. Visual inspection is slightly better at catching larger numbers of eggs, while wet combing is more reliable when only a few eggs are present and easy to overlook. Using both methods together gives you the best chance of finding every nit.
When combing, work through small sections of hair from the scalp outward, wiping the comb on a white paper towel after each pass. Against the white background, nits and live lice become much easier to see and identify.
Why They’re So Hard to Remove
The adhesive that cements a nit to hair is specifically designed to resist removal. Studies using electron microscopy have shown this glue is chemically similar to hair keratin but more rigid, making it tougher than the hair itself in some ways. Regular shampooing won’t loosen it. Even medicated lice treatments that kill the embryo inside don’t dissolve the glue.
That’s why physical removal with a nit comb remains essential regardless of what treatment you use. Metal combs with tightly spaced teeth are more effective than plastic ones. Combing through conditioner-saturated hair reduces friction and makes the comb glide more easily, pulling eggs off the shaft as it passes. Most experts recommend combing every few days for at least two weeks to catch any eggs you missed on previous passes and any new ones laid before adult lice were fully eliminated.