WHAT ARE HEADLICE? Headlice are tiny parasites that live in human hair, feeding on blood from their host. They are a brown/red colour and have six legs with claws on them which they use to grip onto the hair. WHERE DO THEY COME FROM? Experts believe they have always been with us. Dried eggs have, so they claim, been found on the remains of ancient mummies. WHAT IS A NIT? The louse's egg, a smooth oval shape, slightly smaller than a seseme seed, attached to the hair, close to the scalp. HOW LO.