what are the best herbal remedys to stop my child getting headlice?

Question

my daughter is 4 and seems to have headlice regular i am a hairdresser and am horrified bythem i sit for hours making sure my daughters head is clean and clear of them only to find she has them back when she comes home from school

oh yeah and i do remove all traces of lice and eggs everytime she has them

Answer 1

We had this continuing problem with my daughters, too. Speak to the teacher to make sure all the parents know that this is a problem in the class and ask the teacher to have all the children place their jackets/sweaters into plastic bags when they arrive at school (so the nits don't get the chance to jump from the other kids' clothing).

Don't forget to wash all her bedding and any hats she has worn and get her a new pillow. Place any of her "blankies" or any stuffed animals she sleeps with into plastic bags for 48 hours if they can't be washed without ruining them.

When she goes to school, make sure you place her jacket or sweater in a plastic bag before you hang it up (even if the other parents aren't doing this).. When she comes home, do the same thing.

Don't use lice medication on her hair too often and don't leave it on too long during a treatment. I found it helped to use an excessive amount of conditioner on her hair before using the lice shampoo.

If she is uses a car seat, don't forget to place the seat in a large plastic bag for 48 hours before using it again. Anything she puts her head against (chairs, sofas) should be covered with plastic after you have treated her hair.

Good luck! (My daughters got head lice from the backrests of air plane seats on our way to Florida for vacation -- what a nightmare!)

Answer 2

I'd say first of all have a word with the school, if there is a head lice problem then they should be aware and should either do checks themselves or send a note out to parents to make them aware so it can be stopped - in theory this works, reality is quite different of course.

Tea tree oil and Neem oil are the most obvious solutions, but I'll also add that pretty much any heavy oil will do the job because it will essentially suffocate the little nasties – get yourself some olive oil, saturate her hair in it, then put plastic wrap around her head for maybe half an hour or so, it can be a real pain in the behind to get out but it will also improve her hairs condition, and a good tea tree shampoo has the amazing ability to cut through grease better than most other shampoos so it should rinse out after a couple of washes.

I'd also suggest after shampooing add some vinegar to some water – one part vinegar to ten parts water, use this as a final wash on her hair, lovely shine and the lice aren't too keen on the stuff, don't worry about the smell it goes as her hair dries.

Yet another idea, is to use mayonnaise, that may be easier for you to handle than the olive oil as it should be easier to wash out, again you just put it all through the hair, wrap her head up in plastic wrap and leave for a while before washing out – again, also good for hair condition.

Don't blow dry the hair, although it may be tempting and heat does in fact kill them off the heat will also leave any treatment essentially useless as it will reduce the effectiveness.

When using the comb also be sure to focus on the top of the neck and behind the ears as this is where they prefer to hang around.

Live have a three day life cycle so you want to use treatment once every three days for a week or two to make sure the eggs don’t simply hatch and result in more lice all over again.

Wash everything, the best you can on a high heat adding a few drops of tea tree oil to the washing powder – note lice can only live up to 48 hours without a human host, which can sometimes be used to your advantage. There is no strong evidence to support that cleaning of bedding helps with the problem, however in my opinion it is worth a try given as other bugs can live in bedding it stands to reason that head lice can too.

Not all herbal I know, but still worth mentioning to try to help you, right?
Good luck :o)

Answer 3

Tea tree is meant to be good but like every other treatment the headlice become used to it apparantly - its a pain and I used to turn into a mental case checking constantly in case mine got them - when I calmed down and stopped one of them did and I found it so hard to get rid of them even though I would literally pull each strand to double check there was nothing left in her hair - but she would still come home with them.

The last time it started to happen I put a mild conditioner on and I left it on for about an hour - just tied her hair back and then I rinsed and just combed for ages to make sure nothing was left - after this I got a spray conditioner as well for the days in between when she wasnt having her hair washed just so I could comb through and keep double checking.

I dont think anything works that you have to pay for anymore and this seems to have worked more for me after paying out for solutions and herbal treatments as well. They have finally gone and I think this was the only way in the end.

Answer 4

You have got to do the following, and all at the same time (within an hour or so of each other)1. Wash every ones hair with anti lice shampoo 2. wash all bedding, hats, scarfs etc., 3.boil all combs, brushes etc. 4.spray all couches, chairs and beds with anti lice spray, 5.put all stuffed animals in a completely sealed bag for no less than two weeks to kill all possible nits that might hatch.6. wash all bedding, pillows etc. in the washing machine, or at least put them in dryer on high heat for twenty minutes. This will get rid of the nasty creatures, only had to deal with them with my kids twice, and this worked both times in one attempt.

Answer 5

wet combing is free and done with conditioner is very effective.
one method we used was a mixture of olive or sunflower oil (olive worked best)mixed with geranium oil, rosemary oil and lavender oil.The mixture was combed through the hair, left for a few hours(usually over night)the combing removed the mature adults and the oiliness loosened the eggs,in the morning we washed the hair and combed again to remove any remaining lice.this was repeated every few days as with normal wet combing.although tedious,it did rid my children of head lice and reduced re infestation as these oils, rosemary in particular seem to have some repellent effect.
personally i find combing with conditioner,washing,and re combing then repeating every three days the most effective method for getting rid of the little horrors.
there isn't much you can do to prevent infestation other than keep your daughters hair tied back or cut short.speak to the head teacher of your daughters school/nursery about your concerns as this will be affecting others there as well.unless every parent is checking for and tackling the problem it's just going to keep coming back.there is always one!

Answer 6

Tisserand make a natural repellent "Tea-Tree and Lemon Eucalyptus Headlice Repellent" £6.99 for 100ml. Via mail order from Victoria Health 0800 389 8195

Answer 7

Try lavender & tea tree oil, a couple of drops of each added to shampoo, once a month should be enough once you have cleared them, much nicer than chemical treatments too. My daughter has never had head lice & this is the only preventitive treatment that I have ever used

Answer 8

You must know if you are a hairdresser, that just removing the lice from your daughter's head is not going to do fix the infestation. Lice lay eggs that have to be removed as well. You have to use a lice shampoo for the length of the lice's life cycle in order to kill them all.

You also have to throw away or sterilize everything that has touched your daughter's head including combs, brushes, barrettes, hair bows or ties, pillowcases and sheets.

Lice shampoo is available without a prescription at your local department or drug store.

Answer 9

I don't think there is anything u can buy to get rid of them horrid things because the lice just becomes immune to all that stuff you have to put on your child's hair,be it herbal or chemical. Best you can do is check your child's hair everyday and if you find lice kill them straight away. Its the parents who cant be bothered to check their kids head that causes the head lice to be such a nuisance in the first place.

Answer 10

with 2 daughters,headlice is a constant battle in my household,dont go buying expensive lotions the nits are immune to them now,try a shampoo with tea tree and neem oil,whilst its on the hair comb through the hair,you'll be surprised how many you get out,also buy a tea tree and neem oil repellant spray ,use every morning before she goes to nursery/school.it supposed to prevent the lice transferring from one head to another.but beleive me there is no miracle cure(i wish there was)but perserverance of wet combing every 3 days and putting her hair in a bun,will minimise the problem,wish i could help more,but still trying to find a perfect solution myself.if only all parents treated their kids,we wouldnt be going through this ourselves.