Natural ways to combat lice

The start of the school year often brings back a well-known little parasite for parents: lice.

However, there isn't really a "lice season": they can be caught all year round. But the back-to-school period or the beginning of winter (hats, caps) often correspond to peaks in contagion.

There are simple, natural, and effective solutions to prepare our children's hair to fight against invasion.

WHAT IS A LOUSE AND HOW IS IT CAUGHT?

• A small parasitic insect (3-4 mm long), it lives in the hair and feeds on blood. It sucks blood every 2 to 6 hours, which causes itching. It does not survive more than 48 hours outside the head.
• Lice are not linked to a hygiene problem: they thrive in dry, clean environments, and can be caught even if you wash your hair every day. They are resistant to water, soaps, and shampoos, but they do not like oils, which suffocate them.
• They are transmitted only by direct contact between children's hair (especially long hair), or by hats, caps, stuffed animals, etc.
• An adult louse lives for an average of 35 days and reproduces very quickly: the female lays 4 to 10 eggs per day (called nits) for 3 to 5 weeks, or up to 300 eggs!
• Nits are firmly attached to the hair by a secretion from the female, which is difficult to remove by brushing.

WHY CHOOSE A NATURAL SOLUTION AND AVOID CHEMICAL TREATMENTS?

Most conventional anti-lice treatments are actually insecticides: they can be harmful, they irritate the scalp, are often expensive, and very unecological.

Lice are becoming resistant to insecticide molecules: from year to year, anti-lice products are therefore becoming less effective.

"Homemade" remedies are therefore often a better alternative to naturally fight lice.

Without side effects or toxicity, they have a much more pleasant smell than anti-lice products sold in pharmacies, and are safe for your child and the environment.

HOW TO NATURALLY PREVENT AND AVOID SPREAD?

Aromatherapy is the most effective solution to prevent and avoid the spread of lice, thanks to organic True Lavender essential oil or organic Super Lavandin oil.

True Lavender essential oil has excellent tolerance and can be used safely by the whole family (from 3 months old). Super Lavandin essential oil, on the other hand, can be used on children from 6 years old.

• The method: Every morning, rub a few drops of organic True Lavender essential oil directly onto your child's hair. Apply a few drops to their hats and caps. To facilitate application, you can make a practical spray with True Lavender essential oil and lavender hydrosol.

Coconut vegetable oil is also effective: its creamy texture allows it to suffocate and easily remove lice. It also restores strength to the scalp by nourishing it. However, coconut oil has little effect on nits. It can be used safely on the whole family, even babies. Combining coconut oil and lavender essential oil will be your best weapon to get rid of parasites!

• The method: Apply a mask made of Coconut oil and Lavender essential oil to the entire scalp, leave for 15 minutes, then remove nits and lice with a fine-toothed comb.

Similarly, Olive oil works quite well to suffocate lice.
For children from 6 years old, the following essential oils also have antiseptic or anti-lice properties: Cade, Tea tree, Rosemary cineole, Atlas Cedar.

• Use them in your shampoos or oily masks (by adding 2 or 3 drops to a dollop of shampoo or mask). Another method is to apply a mixture of Olive oil (4 tablespoons) and one of these essential oils (2 or 3 drops) to the scalp. Rub, leave on for 10 minutes, and remove with a lice comb.

The oil facilitates the passage of the comb and nourishes the scalp, especially for curly hair.

A natural alternative to eliminate nits: Baking soda.
To eliminate nits, baking soda is particularly effective because it has the particularity of dislodging nits from the roots. Pour a little on the hair and massage the scalp well before shampooing.

These solutions primarily eliminate adult lice, but no treatment can 100% eliminate all nits. Repeat the treatment twice every 7 days to eliminate remaining nits before they become adults and capable of laying eggs. In addition, use a lice comb daily to remove them on an ongoing basis. It is not necessary to apply a preventive treatment as long as there are no lice on the head.