Getting Rid of Head Lice
How to Get Rid of Head Lice Without Using Poisons:
Here are some all-natural organic head lice treatments. These are the ones to use, rather than commercially made potions which contain harmful chemicals. These harmful chemicals are absorbed through the skin, go into the blood, and end up in being stored in the liver and other organs and parts of the body. Later, these chemicals can cause cancer to develop, and be the trigger for other diseases to develop. So it is important that you don’t use such products on your children.
It is always worth the effort to persevere with a natural treatment for head lice. These usually take a bit more time and trouble to implement than it takes to slap on some poison, but at least you know that the treatment is not worse than the affliction if you use natural remedies for lice. Your children will be safe from potentially harmdul and carcenogenic poisons if you adopt any of the methods given below.
Many Herbal Oils and Essential Oils are effective in reducing head lice infection. They will kill the lice, but generally speaking, won’t kill all the eggs. Eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, oils of marjoram, cinnamon, cajeput, pine, rosemary and lavender are all helpful.
Eradicate the Lice: It is important before you start using the herbal oils, to eradicate most of the lice in one shot. This is best done with any of these following remedies:
Olive Oil Treatment: This is applied at night and left on overnight. Use about half a cup of olive oil, massage well into the scalp, and wrap up with an old towel or cover with a shower cap. In the morning, wash out the olive oil with a good soap. Apply either a little iodine (see method below under iodine) OR apple cider vinegar. (see below) You need to repeat the oil procedure every night for a week. Only apply the iodine twice a week at any time, and just a couple of drops. In the second week, use the olive oil treatment twice a week. Again – iodine only twice a week, and only 2 or 3 drops. In the third and fourth weeks, use the olive treatment only once a week. It is a good idea to continue using the oil treatment once a week, with the occasional iodine dab, to prevent lice reinfesting.
Aioli Treatment for Head Lice: Follow the instructions as for olive oil treatment above for the method of use. Aioli combines egg yolk with olive oil, and is a wonderful conditioner. Use warm water and soap to wash out the aioli.
Mayonnaise Treatment for Head Lice for Head Lice: Follow instructions as for olive oil above. Ensure that the mayonnaise you use has no preservatives or colourings, or artificial flavourings, etc in it. Home made mayonnaise would be best.
Apple Cider Vinegar Treatment for Head Lice This is best applied after washing out any of the above treatments. Lice just hate apple cider vinegar, as it is acidic. They favour the alkaline environment which soaps and shampoos create: This means you should use apple cider vinegar on the hair to restore the natural acidic quality, after using soap or shampoo.
Using Apple Cider Vinegar regularly as a Hair Rinse after washing hair acts as a prophylactic, that is, a preventative, against head lice.
Tomato Sauce is effective in treating head lice, mainly because the vinegar in tomato sauce works to deter the lice. You need to use an herbal oil, or the use of iodine as instructed below, with the tomato sauce treatment. Leave on for several hours or overnight before washing off. Repeat each night for a week, as for the olive oil treatment, then use the tomato sauce treatment twice weekly for a week, then once weekly.
Tomato Sauce is a great conditioner for the hair. It tones the scalp and keeps it slightly acidic, which deters lice from making their home in the hair. Tomato sauce, if used once or twice a week, will have the effect of darkening the hair – useful for grey hair.
Liquid Iodine Treatment for Head Lice. With liquid iodine, you use only two or three dabs of iodine on the scalp, twice a week. Do not use iodine on the scalp if you have just applied apple cider vinegar. Wait until the next day before applying iodine if you have opted for the vinegar treatment to get rid of head lice. Iodine will help kill any new eggs which hatch, and destroy the eggs which it comes into contact with. NOTE; DO NOT USE ANY MORE THAN TWO OR THREE DABS OF IODINE TWICE A WEEK, AS IODINE IS ABSORBED INTO THE SKIN. We need iodine, but do not want to overdo it.
Iron All Sheets and Clothing To Kill the Eggs, or Nits.
To avoid reinfestation of head lice, it is important to use heat to kill any eggs which are lying dormant on clothing and bedding. Iron the pillow slips, the sheets, all shirts, and the tops of coats and cardigans or jumpers. Use a steam iron for the woolen fabrics. Lice have a sixth sense. When you begin to kill off their potential offspring, and even live louses, they quickly give up and move off somewhere else. If you then use an herbal oil, OR a regular dab or two of iodine each week, then this will protect against becoming reinfected from other children at school.
Dry the Hair With a Hair Dryer or a Fan Heater. Heat destroys the nits, or eggs, as we know. Using a blower fan heater, or a hair dryer helps th kill lice and eggs and keep the lice away. You can even buy an appliance which is made specifically for eradicating lice by using heat. This is talked about in the book by Dr Holt and Iona MacDonald, entitled ‘Natural Remedies That Really Work’.