When Lice Happens….
Ugh. I don’t know about you, but the second I read anything about lice I start scratching my head. Having them once when I was a kid was more than enough. I hate those little bugs!
But now I have children, so I have to deal with lice outbreaks at their school around once a year. Kids pass around hats and are in close quarters all the time.
The kids act as if lice are the “cooties” they hear about on the playground. If only they were!
What Are Lice, Exactly?
Lice aren’t cooties—they’re little bugs with no wings. These little bugs cling to your hair and set up shop to lay eggs and drink blood. And all the kids go home scratching their heads.
I should say that not showering or being dirty in general has nothing to do with whether or not you attract lice. They like whatever hair they can get!
The key to getting rid of lice is to act fast and be thorough with your treatment.
Why We Should Worry About Lice!
Those of us who try to be extra careful about using natural products know that there’s a lot of chemicals that go into beauty products. Especially hair products. Have you ever read the back of a shampoo bottle??
Unfortunately, the lice have figured it out too. There is now a sub-type of “super lice” that are resistant to a certain chemical in conventional lice treatment. They’ve now been found in 25 states. Scary!
Rest assured, there is a natural solution to get rid of lice once and for all! And it is incredibly effective too!
The Best Thing You Can Use To Fight Lice!
The best thing you can use to fight lice is an all natural product right out of the earth! Pretty cool right?
What is this? Food grade diatomaceous earth!
Diatomaceous earth is a chalk-like substance that is composed of fossilized diatoms that have formed together into silica deposits. The silica deposits are mined out of the sediment of rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. It is grounded into a fine powder called diatomaceous earth.
Diatomaceous earth effectively kills lice by puncturing their exoskeleton which causes them to dry out and die.
A Natural Head Lice Treatment
After a lot of work, I’ve come up with an all natural head lice treatment for fending off lice.
You’ll be able to use this instead of a chemical shampoo and this will keep the little critters away. Bonus, it smells nicer too!
It is important to note, that all bedding and clothing should be washed in hot water. If you have a sanitize option on your washer and dryer, use that setting.
All Natural Head Lice Treatment
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1/4 cup food grade diatomaceous earth
- 10 drops maleleuca essential oil (tea tree oil)
- 1 cup witch hazel
- 10 drops eucalyptus essential oil
- 10 drops rosemary essential oil
Instructions
- Mix together the diatomaceous earth and tea tree essential oil.
- Place a small amount in your hands and massage in hair and scalp. Make sure to cover all areas. Diatomaceous earth can create a lot of dust, so you may want to put a mask over your child’s mouth and nose while applying.
- Leave on hair overnight.
- Wash hair next morning and dry with a hot air hair dryer.
- Use a lice comb to remove any eggs or nits out of the hair.
- Make a preventative spray of 1 cup witch hazel and 10 drops eucalyptus, 10 drops rosemary essential oil. Liberally spray daily on dry or wet hair, style as usual.
- Repeat the same process for two more days, or as needed.
For the same reason a saturated sponge isn’t very effective for absorbing a spill, pre-loading DE with some oil may not be a good idea. If the DE is taken internally for internal parasites, then the effectiveness comes from the physical damage the sharp edges and points (at the microscopic level) cause on the fragile bodies of the parasites. Used externally, that same mechanism may be at play at some level, but the primary mode of action is thought to be from rapid desiccation, either from the DE ‘s affinity for, and absorption of, lipids,oils, and fats, (non-polar compounds), which destroys the structural integrity of any chitinous exoskeleton, thus defeating its ability to retain moisture, at which point DE’s equal affinity for water (a polar compound) comes into play, and immediately captures whatever leaks out of the now compromised exoskeleton. The end result of all of this is the thorough and irreversible desiccation of the organisms’ bodies, which of course is fatal. In either scenario, the pre-loading of the DE with water or any kind of oil would be counterproductive. In fact, in the case of head lice, clumped up, tea tree or other essential oil-soaked DE may not do anything at all. I always have some of my DE that I have baked in the oven at about 250 degrees F to evaporate any water or volatile compounds, then cooled down and further dried in the freezer (tied with your oven for driest place in your house) and then stored in an airtight container. (I do the same thing with finely ground cat litter (Fuller’s Earth), and to super-activate some activated charcoal. You can imagine how effective these finely ground powders are considering the effect of exposing something to that much surface area that has a moisture content close to zero. A louse or nit doesn’t stand a chance. In just minutes they become world’s tiniest mummies. LOL
I love coming across everyone’s opinions and science, I don’t know what I would do with out a lot of you Mom bloggers out there taking time out to share your own experiences. Thank you ladies so much!!!
Trying it now. Don’t really know what is biting me over my left ear . I have about 6 bites going toward the back of my neck . I. Have traps , DE. All around my bed. Nothing is showing up.I have worked in De to my scalp after a shower with damp hair , then use more once it drys . Before bed . Then shampoo it out in the morning…we shall see
Little by little I spray the couch , drawers , bed …and perimeter of the rooms with De. I thought it might be bed bugs, but it’s only on my scalp and top of neck.
Any ideas
Just curious.. Does it kill scabies or ringworm?
it does not matter if you apply the DE wet to the hair. This is what I did and it dries so fast it turns right back into powder. I don’t know what all the fuss is about. Problemo solvedo.
I just wanted to add, though it was touched on a little, that it is crucial to get the eggs off the hair strands to prevent a recurrence of ….well the entire process. The eggs are attached with a natural “glue-like” substance and vinegar of any kind applied to the hair for 10 min will break down the glue and release the eggs much much easier and save you lots of time when combing them out. Combined with diatomaceous earth both are inexpensive and honestly the CHEAPEST, QUICKEST and most EFFECTIVE treatment method I’ve tried. I have two daughters with very long hair that I did not want to cut. It was a nightmare trying to get rid of lice using store bought lice shampoo. Trust me I tried several none of them were effective. This is the best way for sure.
★★★★
I forgot to say how I applied DE lol
I had the girls cover their face tightly with a folded up towel I applied as much dry powder as I possibly could get to stay in the hair and on the scalp. Then I put their hair up in a shower cap or a swim cap or anything of that nature that you could comfortably cover their heads with and left it on there overnight and most of the next day then rinsed it very thoroughly applied vinegar let set for 10 minutes and rinsed thoroughly shampooed and condition as normal and then combed their wet and conditioned hair every night for a week and it was gone in one treatment!!!
★★★
Google magic my friend ……
Ringworm, Pin Worms, and Round Worms are just a few things that can be easily picked up. Food grade diatomaceous earth can be ingested to prevent or rid the body of parasites. Yes, it does work… on both humans and pets.