Heading Off Head Lice
time or another. These tiny little six legged creatures are
non-discriminatory. They do not care wether your hair is clean or not.
However, they do prefer a clean environment. It doesn’t matter if you
have blond, brunette, black, brown or blue hair. Your hair could be
curly, straight, long, short, kinky, or permed. All head lice want is a
nice warm place to lay their eggs.
Stigmatisms: Unfortunately getting head lice carries the
stigmatism that you are sloppy or unkempt. This is not at all true.
We recently had a beautiful young lady stay in our home. She was very
meticulous about her appearance and was always neat and clean.
One day while we were shopping she decided to get her hair trimmed. She
was horrified when the beautician would not cut her hair due to her
head lice infestation. I was shocked to see hundreds of lice and
thousands of nits. I had never seen an infestation this extreme. I
truly thought we were going to have to shave her head. This young lady
was heartbroken. The thought of losing her hair was devastating.
I had treated minor infestations in the past with a variety of
essential oils. However, this was the worst case I had ever seen and
she was living in my home!
Shampoos: Many of the shampoos available for treating head
lice have toxic chemicals in them. These shampoos can be very dangerous
to handle! Especially if you intend to use them on younger children.
We have found treating your hair with essential oils to be the best and
safest treatment.
What You Need: The essential oils you will need to treat head
lice are, Chamomile (roman and german), eucalyptus, geranium, lavender,
lemon, rosemary and tea tree. You will also need some white beeswax and
castor oil.
First melt 1 oz. beeswax in a dish or bowl over boiling water. Then
slowly add 2 oz. castor oil until you a creamy texture. Let cool. Then
add 25 drops of each of the following essential oils. Geranium,
lavender and rosemary. Rub this mixture well into scalp, put on a
shower cap and leave on overnight. In the morning wash your hair as
normal using 2 drops tea tree oil with your shampoo. Prepare a blend of
eucalyptus, geranium, lavender, lemon and rosemary for your final
rinse. Use equal amounts of each oil and blend together. Add 2 drops of
this blend to your final rinse. Repeat this procedure for two nights.
You will also need to purchase a nit comb for head lice. Combing an
infected persons hair with one of these combs is a must. This can be a
painful experience for those with long or thick hair. Sorry!
In the case with this young lady, she did this routine for four
consecutive nights. She wanted to ensure that all adult lice and
hatching lice were dead. She endured the nit comb and kept her hair.
Not a single little six legged creature survived the treatment!
Cases With Inflamation: If you have a case where you have
caused an inflammatory condition due to excessive scratching, use one
of the following blends.
Combine equal amounts of these essential oils. Chamomile ( roman and
german ) geranium and lavender. Then add 30 drops of this blend to your
beeswax castor oil cream. Rub on scalp, cover and leave overnight. This
is an antiseptic blend and will calm the itching as well as cool the
inflammation!
Another blend for easing the itchy scalp and inflammation would be 20
drops german chamomile, 10 drops lavender, 5 drops lemon. Mix this
blend in ½ oz. fractionated coconut carrier oil. Massage into scalp,
cover and leave overnight.
Prevention: When washing your hair use 2 drops tea tree oil
along with an unscented shampoo. Lice do not like tea tree oil at all.
Use equal amounts of eucalyptus, geranium, lavender, lemon and
rosemary. Add 2 drops of this blend to your final rinse after washing
your hair.
Remember Lice are non-discriminating and will jump from head to head.
You could be on a subway, in line at the grocery store or at your
favorite sporting event. They are just looking for a warm place to lay
their eggs.
Where to Look: The most common places to find these little
critters is under your bangs, at the nape of the neck or above the
ears. They are smaller than a match head and brownish grey in color.
The adult lice lay their cream colored eggs close to the skin. The eggs
are more easily seen. Lice are sensitive to light and will scurry away
quickly as you part your hair.
A Clean Slate: Getting a case of head lice has carried with it
a lot of negative connotations. Take heart! It is more likely a case of
being in the wrong place at the right time. How could you know your
best friend at school had them. Did you suspect your co-worker at the
water cooler? I am not trying to make you paranoid of every one you
meet. Quite the contrary. I want you to be confident around people. You
now know you have a safe and natural way of combating these little
critters.
