A Cosmetically Acceptable Dye Product to Improve Detection of Head Louse Eggs and Nits
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The theme of the investigation is interesting, and there is a plausible case for the dying of eggs and nits of head lice. There are no objective errors in the methods or results, and most of the conclusions are supported by the data presented.
My main comments to the paper are:
- is the research conducted on a cosmetic product, or is it about a medical device to address a cosmetic problem? This seems to be a borderline product, and the introduction should cover this issue more deeply.
- the significance of the results obtained with the Apaysil product should be discussed. The results are presented as mean number of dyed eggshells? Is a 9% increase in the detection rate a positive result?
- there is an enormous variance in the number of eggs and nits present in the hair of the cohort that tested the Paranix product. The impact of this in the results obtained should be discussed. What happened to participant number 9?
- it would be interesting to have data that would be indicative of how the two products performed in the market. Products for head lice treatment are expensive and I am wondering if the families are convinced of the added value of this approach.
Author Response
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Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
The work by Brunton et al. presents an interesting proposal for dealing with a problem that overcomes the limits of the cosmetics and it is related to a public health problem. The manuscript present a sound study and its publication is recomendable. Only a very minor comment:
-Authors should include in the reference a recent work in which an alternative for removing lice, louse eggs and nits is proposed: Lucia et al. Peer J 5 (2017) e3171
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.docx
