According to the operator of a California-based lice removal spa, your teenagers are going to get lice because they’re taking so many damn selfies.

Apparently, the epidemic has already begun. Heads have been pressed together, duck faces have been made, and your kid now has a head full of critters. Gross.

“I’ve seen a huge increase of lice in teens this year. Typically it’s younger children I treat, because they’re at higher risk for head-to-head contact. But now, teens are sticking their heads together every day to take cell phone pics,” Marcy McQuillan told SFist. McQuillan represents a local lice removal service.

Once again, a person that makes money from lice removal says that selfies are causing an uptick in case of lice in teens.

While it’s true that selfies are more popular than ever, it’s highly unlikely that this so-called teenage lice epidemic is anything other than some sort of marketing stunt.

“This is a marketing ploy, pure and simple,” Harvard School of Public Health’s Dr. Richard J. Pollack told NBC News. “Wherever these louse salons open a new branch, there always seems to be an epidemic. It’s good for business.”

He says that for lice to spread from head to head, you’re going to need more prolonged contact than the time it takes to snap a selfie with friends. Or even multiple selfies with friends.

In fact, head lice infestations is most common in kids aged 4-13. It’s not really a teenager issue, for the most part.

However, if your teen does happen to catch some head lice, I hear that a good bit of twerking will clear it right up.

Image via Miley Cyrus, Instagram