As a mum of a 6 years old, headlice alert is kind of a regular issue …
After a discussion with Sabine from lice clinic of the UK, it appears that headlice is becoming more and more resistant to treatments and even adults are catching them more often.
We are lucky that nowadays treatments available on the market are less and less aggressive as they are based on silicone derivatives (dimeticone for example) or coconut oil which will mechanically suffocate the insects and eggs by blocking the airways; they are all very similar in term of efficiency as they work the same way.
You still have the option to use insecticide (permethrin for example) but I personally think it is better to avoid as first option as they are less and less effective due to resistance and far more irritant.
Now here are my tricks for PREVENTION and I have concentrated on natural easy way to avoid the invasion!
- Use conditioner after each shampoo (if the hair is slippery there is less chance the lice will stay there)
- Tie back long hair
- Mix one to two drops of French lavender essential oil or tea tree oil to a small amount of olive oil and massage every morning behind the ears and on the neck.
(Never use essential oil pure on a child skin! it needs to be diluted)
- You can also add few drops of the same essential oils (lavender or tea tree) to the shampoo and/or conditioner
- Have a check as often as you can with an appropriate comb (Nitty GRITTY ones are the best)
- Nitty gritty also has a great natural repellent spray with all essential oils mixed up for you
- Good tips as well: if you have noticed headlice and need to watch the toys, bed sheets , etc .. but you don’t want to damage their favourite “doudou”: simply put it in the freezer for 8 hours ! or 10 days in a closed bag (but seems quite too long for a teddy bear … but could be useful for fragile fabric)
