All Natural Lice Remedy

A Mom's Lice Story

by Erica Johns

Back packs and notebooks and….head lice?! Oh my! Don’t let head lice get the best of you this school year.

Back to school time is a fun time of year for the entire family. From choosing the new school clothes to picking out the supplies, seeing old friends and meeting new teachers, families enjoy getting back into the swing of the school year routine. But one small thing can put a damper on your excitement: head lice.

Head lice are small insects that invade the heads of humans and live off of their blood. Children can get head lice from school, church, sports activities and dance classes, summer camp, friend’s homes, and more. It can happen easily and be very hard to get rid of. Parents dread the thought of it happening to their family.

A few years ago I was in the same position. With several children in school I knew the possibility of head lice was there, but I didn’t know what to do about it. I employed the method that millions of parents utilize: Positive Thinking! I hoped that by thinking “happy thoughts” the head lice would somehow pass right on by my children. I’m sure you’re not surprised to hear that positive thinking did NOT keep my kids from getting lice. When I finally discovered it, we were in the midst of a major infestation, and my screams of horror could probably be heard throughout my neighborhood.

For many years I had used a lot of natural and holistic remedies for my family’s health needs. I was well aware that the chemical lice shampoos commonly found in stores are dangerous pesticides with serious health risks for children, so I was not willing to use anything like that on my kids. I had to find some reasonable alternatives to solve our problem.

First, for my toddler boys, I knew they were not going to sit through detailed combing of their hair, nor was I willing to have them wear plastic caps on their heads all night long. They got quick buzz cuts in the kitchen, and half my problem was solved.

Next, for my older children, I turned to the internet. I tried all manner of folksy head lice remedies, from mayonnaise to olive oil to vinegar. We found that all of these ideas failed miserably to get rid of the lice, plus they were messy, smelly, and inconvenient.

Robi Comb

Thankfully I learned from another mother about the wonders of the Robi Comb. This battery operated lice comb actually electrocutes head lice! As we started combing through each child’s head we were amazed at the tiny, newly hatched lice that were being executed. Most of these tiny creatures were so small and nearly transparent that we would never have seen them until they grew much closer to maturity. It was so great that the Robi Comb was getting rid of lice we would not have even seen!

Metal Egg Comb

The other great advice I got was to use a metal egg comb instead of the wimpy plastic ones that come with many lice kits. A good-quality metal comb will not have teeth bending left and right or breaking off. Also, the better metal combs have rounded ends so that your child’s head is not being harmed by the teeth.

We found that combing with the Robi Comb and the metal egg comb was the simple solution to getting rid of lice. Just sit the kids down in front of a movie and comb, comb, comb until your problem is solved! Simple, reliable, and safe!

All Natural Lice Repellent

Once we got past our head lice adventure I started educating myself about head lice in an effort to figure out how to make sure we never had to go through an infestation like that again. I spent many hours researching the subject because I wanted to know if there was a way to prevent head lice in the first place. I discovered that there are many herbs that are natural repellents to lice, and I started learning how to formulate them in a way that could safely and conveniently be used by families. After more than a year of tweaking, testing, and having friends try it out, I came up with a winning product that is now available to offer parents the hope of never dealing with head lice again.

Eventually my husband and I decided to start a business featuring educational materials, the Robi Comb, and my wonderful No-Lice Hair and Body Spray to help other families stay “lice-free every day the all-natural way.” In March 2005, Supermom’s No-Lice Advice, was born. It’s been rewarding to be able to provide families with a low-cost, safe alternative to chemicals, and to spread the good news that there is something even better than positive thinking to keep head lice away!

Author bio:

Erica Johns is a natural health advocate working toward becoming a Certified Natural Health Professional. Her business, Supermom’s Health and Wellness, features Supermom’s No-Lice Advice. She will eventually offer private holistic health consultation, more natural health products, and books about healthy living. Erica lives with her husband and six children in central Kentucky.

Head Lice Basics:

1. Anybody can get head lice.
2. Having head lice doesn’t mean you’re dirty.
3. Lice don’t fly or hop. They just crawl their way all over the universe looking for a hospitable noggin on which to raise a family and live the simple life.

The real-life guide to cleaning when you have lice about the house: Work smarter, not harder!

1. Don’t stress out! Lice cannot live away from a human host for more than 24 hours or so. They are great at holding onto hair, since their life depends on it. Healthy lice do not just fall off of someone’s head and ramble around your home. Doing some basic vacuuming is a very good idea, but you don’t need to panic and be really extreme about it.

2. Rather than wearing yourself out washing bedding every day you can use this simple idea: Close off a room for 24 hours or so. Have the children bunk together for a few days, alternating into rooms that have been closed up for at least a day. Obviously you’ll still want to vacuum and wash the bedding, but you can save yourself from having to do an extreme amount of work each day.

3. Don’t bother bagging up your children’s favorite toys and blankets. Lice can’t survive in those environments for long. Give your kids back their stuffed animals, and to all a good night.

4. Please do not use the chemical lice sprays that are sold for use on beds, carpets, and furniture. These products leave a toxic residue and are then an ongoing health risk for you and your children. The likelihood of live lice being on your home surfaces is quite small, and can be solved simply by vacuuming.

5. Remember: Houses don’t get lice. People do.

Chemical Lice Products Can Be a Health Risk

It has been surprising to me how many people are unaware that chemical lice products can be dangerous. These products are pesticides and pose real risks to the people that are treated with them, as well as the person applying the treatment. As is true of most health risks, there are some groups of people that are more likely to experience adverse side effects from the chemicals in lice shampoos. These people are:

• Mothers or caregivers that are pregnant or breastfeeding
• Any child under the age of 2
• All people with cancers of any type
• A person who has already been treated with chemical lice shampoo during the current or past infestation
• Any child whose home environment or bedding has been sprayed with chemical lice sprays
• Any child suffering from or receiving treatment for epilepsy, AIDS, asthma, allergies, or any other illness
• Children currently taking any type of medication
• Any person regularly exposed to chemicals such as flea bombs, monthly extermination, yard chemicals, and so on

You can learn more about the dangers of chemical lice products at http://headlice.org .