Heads up on head lice

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and preventing head lice would be a worthy example of this little “pearl” of wisdom.

I have always been about “prevention” first and foremost so we do not have to endure cures, all the while knowing we are most fortunate to have them.

Again, and successfully, “enter” ESSENTIAL OILS. They are strong enough to suffocate these viral ant pests. And, contrary to myths, these things do NOT originate from animals, trees, grass or unclean homes. They cannot live in carpets or water. When I was a youngster, I do not recall anything being said about lice. It may have been because they were associated with a “dirty” stigma such as only poor people get lice, but this is far from the truth.

Head lice is something that a large number of us know how to deal with at some point and these critters are much more likely to infest children than adults. One study showed that at least 12 million school age children get them each year.

Anyone who has dealt with lice knows the nightmare it can be and, sadly, many treatments do not work readily, either because they are too strong for sensitive skin or they don’t completely eradicate the eggs which means the lice are back before you know it. 

Lice spread from head to head due to close contact, which is understandable as children play in close contact and they can be spread due to sharing hats or hairbrushes. Lice do not go away on their own. They lay eggs and continue to live in your hair causing an itchy feeling on the scalp when they bite the skin. Lice are more active at night and can impede sleep. In small children, sores can erupt from intense itching and scratching.

Back to the essential oils fix: Most commercial treatments have harsh chemicals that are hard on children. This ingredient is called neurotoxicity pediculicides which paralyze and kill lice but many people are sensitive to these chemicals, but also if children accidentally ingest this chemical, it has been traced to childhood leukemia.

The following essential oils are known to deter and prevent head lice:

1) Tea tree oil

2) Lavender oil

3) Neem oil

4) Geranium oil

5) Thyme oil

6) Rosemary oil

7) Peppermint oil

8) Cinnamon oil

So how do we use these to make a lice killing or lice deterring potion?

Choose three or four of these magic ingredients and make a blend of oils. Dilute these strong medicines in a carrier oil; the best one for our purpose would be neem oil. Utilize a 4-ounce pump container or squeeze container with a flip-top lid. Then add four drops of the three or four oils of your choosing from the above list.

Apply this to freshly washed, clean hair, but leave hair wet, but towel dried. Pour a small amount of the bottled mixture into your hand then work it thoroughly and completely through the hair and scalp. Make certain with long hair that you apply the treatment all the way to the ends of the hair length. Focus on the areas of the scalp that are behind the ears and at the base of the neck as this is a favorite spot for egg laying. Leave the solution on for 60 minutes, then use a head lice (nit) comb to comb through the hair, doing small sections at a time that you have clipped off. After each comb through, rinse the comb in a bowl of water with a few drops of essential oils added to that. It will remove lice from the comb and ensure any live ones won’t crawl back into the hair.

Once you are done brushing, wash the remaining solution out of your hair with shampoo and conditioner (I routinely add two tablespoons of tea tree oil to any shampoo I purchase.) Repeat the treatment every two to three days until you see no more evidence of lice or their eggs.

You can easily make spray-on, leave-in conditioners with the lice deterrent essential oils by using a witch hazel, aloe vera or salt water “carrier” base. Use 4 ounces of salt water or witch hazel to .33 ounce of your particular selection of essential oil, then use as a conditioner, daily or right after shampooing.

If I was a mother of preschool or elementary kiddos, I would send a drawstring trash bag with them to put their hat and coat in, and then hang the bag on the hooks. I’m sure, by now, schools have healthy protocols in place for lice prevention.