Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Lice and essential oils

We brought an unwelcome souvenir back from South America in the girl’s hair and it was impossible to get rid of.  We tried the traditional method (Rid) and went back to Humboldt roots and were successful.  Here’s the recipe that I generated after perusing http://www.wingedseed.com/Agora/Lice_page.htm.  

 

Add 20 drops of cinnamon leaf oil, 20 drops of tea tree oil and 5 drops of oregano oil to 1 cup of vegetable oil. 

 

Massage into hair, coating thoroughly, especially at the scalp.  Cover with shower cap (a good reason to collect the ones from hotels!) Let sit on head for at least an hour.  Shower as normal.  Little bugs suffocate in the stuff and it makes it easier to comb out nits.  If it’s too oily after bathing scrub with baking soda and then shampoo and condition as usual.

 

Comb hair and look through closely, in bright light, to pull out nits. 

 

Every evening and morning., apply a spray of either alcohol or vinegar with the same 20 drops of cinnamon leaf oil, 20 drops of tea tree oil and 5 drops of oregano oil to 1 cup.  Or you might choose to add the same amount of essential oils to a kids’ detangling lotion.

 

For a week, check for nits every night and morning.  At the end of the week do the oil treatment again.

 

I treated the kids AND myself, even though (for some miracle) I didn’t have a problem.  The spray is gentle (although the alcohol version does smell until the alcohol evaporates) and I didn’t mind using it.

 

It goes without saying that all the textiles that touched the affected hair should be laundered.  Toss all blankets or sofa slipcovers in the drier for 60 minutes.

 

Heather

1 comment:

  1. where in south America did you go? I am getting ready to go to peru.

    ReplyDelete