After a “mortifying” experience with her own daughter, Megan Stoller decided to open Springfield Lice Clinic to help other parents in a similar situation.
“Last summer, I was checking my then-3-year-old’s hair for ticks, but what I found wasn’t a tick,” said Stoller. “I kind of freaked out. We were traveling and I didn’t want to go home with head lice in her hair.”
Stoller said after making numerous calls, she found a business that offered lice treatment.
“She treated my daughter’s hair with oil and checked me and my other daughter,” Stoller said. “She sent us home with a comb and more oil and it worked really well. I’ve had friends who struggled with the over-the-counter products that are normally used; there seems to be a building resistance to that.”
Stoller, who works full time as a pharmacist with SIU Medicine, said she realized there was a need for a similar service in Springfield. Lice Clinics of America, part of a national chain, closed in early 2020 during the pandemic shutdowns.
“I kept thinking about whether I could open a business to give other people my same positive experience,” Stoller said. “I found a salon suite to rent, a wholesaler to sell me the oil, somebody to comb hair with me and had a website built and logo made.”
Stoller operates the business on an appointment-only basis, primarily evenings and weekends.
“I’m trying to reach out to school nurses, camp counselors and any parents that are having that moment of ‘What am I going to do?’ We’re here to help them,” she said.
