The Nitty Gritties

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In any chemist today we find thousands of potions and treatments for all manner of ailments. Some of these are worth every penny, and some absolutely are not! Others harm not only our wallet, but can also needlessly harm our health by being too harsh, or strong, or using potentially harmful ingredients that simply aren’t necessary. I find myself most concerned about this reading the back of a bottle of head lice treatment.

Head lice are a serious issue for Australian families in the warmer months, and through years of experience supporting friends treat their families, and treating my own I have developed an easy and successful plan involving both prevention and treatment.

There are a few preventive strategies you can use such as tying up childrens long hair and checking their scalps regularly, but I have one golden rule. If a child scratches their head more than three times in one hour, they need a treatment that night. If you catch an infestation in its early form like this you can deal with five lice instead of 500.

You will need:

  • Hair conditioner (your regular will do!)
  • Lice comb (plastic or metal is fine)
  • Small bottle of pure lavender oil
  1. On dry hair, apply 1/4 cup of conditioner and comb through thoroughly with a regular comb. Apply a little more conditioner and repeat.
  2. Comb thoroughly with your lice comb, wiping the excess from the comb with each stroke. You will likely see lice suspended in the conditioner which acts like a gluey trap and stops them from moving away. Repeat this twice.
  3. Rinse and wash hair as normal.
  4. Once the hair has dried, put two drops of pure lavender oil in the palms of your hands and rub up the back of the scalp from the nape of the neck.
  5. Do not wash the lavender oil out.
  6. Repeat this process 2-5 days later to catch any remaining lice in the next cycle.
  7. If there is a massive infestation this process can be repeated daily until it is under control.

Head lice are often an ongoing problem in the warming months and requires vigilant treatment. I strongly believe that some of the pesticides used in over the counter treatments are far to harsh for such regular use. I have had great success using this method in managing and treating head lice and feel much better about using these substances with my family.

I stitched this little guy myself, and a big thanks to @moorhousecreative for the photography!