A million children in the UK have headlice at any one time, and we spend millions of pounds on cures from combs and chemicals to oils and professional help. Here is our advice on how you can treat lice and nits effectively with aromatherapy essential oils!
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There are 4 very important points to remember when dealing with head (and body) lice (officially called pediculosis).
My experience (yes we suffered from these little blighters when my daughter was much younger) and my research indicates that there are certain essential oils that work really well. The formulas are easy to blend – and more importantly – SAFE to use. What’s the point of getting rid of these parasites but risking potential future health problems for your children? The chemical-based head lice treatments actually contain pesticides that are neurotoxins and proven carcinogens. They have also been linked to skin rashes and breathing problems including asthma. So why would we want to smother our children’s heads in these toxic substances, particularly when research shows that ‘super head lice’ are becoming resistant to these pesticides, in the same way that bacteria are resisting antibiotics. Remember our skin absorbs trace elements of what we put on it – aromatherapy is partly based on this principle – so why take the risk with these toxic substances, especially if they don’t work!
Before we discuss our natural aromatherapy treatments, here are a few facts about head lice:
Symptoms of head lice include itching – this is caused when the skin reacts to their saliva as they bite the skin. The itching can take weeks to develop however, and if you’ve had head lice before you may be less sensitive to it and experience little or no irritation.
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You may also see tiny red bite marks on the back of the neck, scalp or forehead and small dandruff-like spots that are difficult to remove. You may even see head lice moving through the hair, although they are quite hard to detect as they move so quickly.
The aim of any treatment is to kill the lice themselves, their eggs – and help act as a preventative against future infestation.
There are quite a few essential oils recognized as being effective against head lice, but in my experience the most useful are: Eucalyptus, Thyme or Rosemary, Tea Tree and Geranium.
Wet hair first, so the mix is easy to wash out. Take 50ml (for smaller child’s head with short hair) or 75ml of Grapeseed oil. To 50ml add 10 drops Eucalyptus, 10 Tea Tree, 15 Lavender and 10 Rosemary. To 75 ml add 15 drops Eucalyptus, 10 drops Tea Tree, 25 drops Lavender and 15 Rosemary. Massage the oil into the scalp and try to ensure complete coverage, especially to the nape of the neck and behind the ears, which are favourite egg laying sites. Leave on for 1 hour, and then comb through small sections of hair with a fine toothed nit comb (see the combs in the Bug Buster® Kit as recommended by the NHS). The mask will make the eggs easier to remove from the hair shaft and will also trap the live, or mostly dead or dying lice, enabling them to be removed via the comb. Have a bowl of hot water with 5 drops Tea Tree and 5 drops Eucalyptus in which to place them after each comb through. Do not just wipe them on a tissue as they may crawl off – unless you squash them with your nail or the flat end of a pencil. They are very resilient! Rinse your comb to ensure it’s clear of all lice and eggs before combing the next section of hair.
Shampoo the mask out as normal (see recipe below).
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Repeat the same treatment every 2-3 days until all traces of lice and eggs are gone.
To help prevent further infestation use more conditioner than normal so the smell of the essential oils remains in the hair. Mix our Hair Conditioner with the same essential oils as the shampoo recipe above.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to blend your own oils you can try our pre-blended Nit Aid pure essential oil with Rosemary, Lavender, Geranium and Tea Tree. This can be blended with carrier oils, shampoo and conditioner and can also be made into a hair rinse or spray.
Please do not use the above blends if pregnant, epileptic or with children under 3 years old.
Did you know that Native Americans stuffed their bed bundles with pine needles – to help prevent lice and fleas! Hopefully with the recipes above you won’t need to go quite that far!!!Good luck!Joannah MetcalfeConsultant AromatherapistDisclaimer & Safety Advice
Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Recipe
This post was last modified on 03/11/2023 04:27
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