A professional head lice technician who kills hundreds of nits a day without wearing any protective gear is often called crazy thanks to her unique line of work – but insists she has “found her calling”.
Rachel Maroun has been dedicated to ridding the nation of lice one client at a time for nearly a decade and, despite occasionally catching nits herself, says the job is actually “so relaxing”.
Sharing clips of her hard at work with her 4.2 million TikTok followers, the 25-year-old regularly goes viral, with recent clips leaving people “screaming” and with “goosebumps”.
But Rachel, based in Sydney, is unfazed.
“I‘ve really found my calling,” she told Need To Know.
“I don’t expect many people to like my job.
“I’m very used to the ‘grossed out’ reaction I receive for doing what I do.
“At one point I was the only technician in Australia since no one wanted to do treatments.
“But I couldn’t see myself in any other career so maybe it was made for me.
“My job, although I never imagined myself doing it, has been the biggest blessing.”
Rachel charges $150 AUD (£73) per treatment, with a guarantee that she will get rid of any infestation – though some clients require repeat appointments in severe cases.
Her longest case took a whopping 17 hours – but Rachel doesn’t wear protective gear like gloves, and has even stopped wearing hairnets.
People online have branded her “crazy” for the decision, but Rachel insists it makes her clients feel more comfortable and less embarrassed.
She said: “During the more serious cases I treat, I can sometimes have lice crawling on my hand and arms.
“It isn’t gross to me anymore but definitely not my favourite part.”
A recent video of Rachel’s racked up more than 300,000 views, detailing her “9-5” as she applies the treatment to a long-haired female client.
She combs it through, meticulously removing the dozens of nits one by one, before she “pops” them to death under a piece of glass.
One person commented: “The way I screamed of terror.”
“My head itches now,” another user wrote.
Another viewer said: “The way my jaw DROPPED.”
“I’ve got goosebumps everywhere,” one concerned user said.
Another wrote: “So satisfying but also sends shivers down my spine.”
“I screamed audible,” someone else added.
While she has grown to love her work, Rachel originally started out working part-time at a pharmacy that had a lice clinic inside.
She said: “I decided to give it a go and ended up realising I loved it.
“I know that when I was younger I always wanted to work with animals or children – I guess I ended up doing both, in a totally different way than I imagined.
“Knowing that I can make the whole process of removing lice something fun and comfortable for children and adults is very rewarding to me.
“I know it is a sensitive topic and experience for a lot of younger kids so being able to make it all a little easier and get them feeling better is the best part of the job.”
