Now that the kids are back at school will you be like me and checking your childs hair for lice on a regular basis .
Fortunately the days of just shaving ones head and dipping it in kerosene are long gone.
Try this concentrated aromatherapy blend to eliminate headlice.
Combine in a glass bottle the following
15 drops thyme essential oil.
15 drops rosemary essential oil
20 drops geranium essential oil
50ml jojoba oil (or any light vegetable oil )
Shake vigorously
Apply the treatment oil as you would a hair and scalp treatment combing it through and leave on for as long as possible.
Shampoo the hair.
Rinse out. As a final rinse add 2 drops of each essential oil to 500ml of water and pour through the hair.
Do you use this as a treatment for current headlice infestation? Or can this be used as a preventative? Can you use this on mattresses and other furniture? We deal with headlice way too often, out here in the country, a really great non-chemical-laden product would be fantastic!
Arrgh! Where was the internet and great ideas like this when we had the Great 3rd Grade Head Lice Epidemic here about 15 years ago! Those critters are evil and resilient. I hope I never need to try this remedy but thanks for posting it!
Ya know I went through that with mine and all the cleaning, wash and other things. The medicine did no good. The one thing that did work was hair dye. I guess the ammonia in it killed them. I bought the color that was the same shade as their hair and it worked wonderful.
Hope this helps someone else.
Glenda
Exposing lice and nits to temperatures above 125 degrees F for 10 minutes is lethal. Most personal articles of clothing and bedding can be disinfested by machine washing in hot water or machine drying for at least 20 minutes using the hot cycle. Be sure to allow time between loads for water to reheat to the disinfesting temperature.
Place non-washable personal articles of clothing or bedding in the dryer on high heat for at least 20 minutes, dry clean or seal non-washable fabrics in a plastic bag for a minimum of 10 days.
Place combs and brushes in a pan of water and heat on a stove to about 150 degrees F for 10 minutes. If heating may damage combs or brushes, soak them for one hour in a phenol solution (e.g., Lysol®). To prevent the spread of head lice, do not share combs, brushes, hats, coats, towels or other articles that come in contact with the head, neck and shoulders.
Thoroughly vacuum or clean car seats, bus seats, and individual infant and car seats according to manufacturer’s directions.
Fumigating rooms and using insecticidal sprays on furniture and carpets are not recommended to kill head lice; thorough vacuuming of houses and rooms inhabited by infested persons is sufficient.
I’ve worked as a teacher for 7 years now, and in that time I’ve seen WAY too many infestations of nits! One of the big problems with lice is that all often the critters are resistant to the chemical treatments. Along with using natural treatments like the one here, one of the most important ways to stamp them out is to COMB COMB COMB those eggs out! The eggs are almost impossible to kill and combing them out with those horridly fine toothed combs is critical to ending the infestation. If nits are about, I load my hair with conditioner – which temporarily paralyses the adults, as well as making it way easier to get the comb through – and give all the hair a thorough comb. I’d probably do this every day or so, until I feel all clear, and twice a week while they’re rife in the kids. You treat yourself, and the next day another bugger jumps aboard, so keeping at it is important.
Another great tip is that vinegar dissolves the adhesive that sticks the egg to the hair shaft, so do a vinegar rinse BEFORE combing and that’ll help too. I pour straight vinegar onto dry hair and work it in, but be careful with kids, as if it gets in your eyes it does sting some. Then I rinse thoroughly and then do the conditioner/comb through.
One bonus – you go through the vinegar rinse/conditioner/comb process regularly for a couple of days and your hair looks and feels awesome!