I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid back in the 1980s, a diagnosis of head lice meant suffocating your teddy bears and blankets in giant, air-tight trash bags, being doused with an awful-smelling shampoo that came in an amber glass bottle from the pharmacy, and having the lice eggs (nits) removed one by one with a tiny metal comb that snagged painfully. It was an experience that was, in short, lousy.
Decades later, lice are still an annoying fact of life for school-aged children across the globe–but fortunately, lice removal techniques have come a long way. In fact, there are many completely natural, non-toxic solutions available, so you can destroy those pesky bugs without harming a hair on your little one’s head.
Stay away, buggers!
The easiest way to deal with a lice infestation is to never have those bugs come near your child’s scalp in the first place. To accomplish this, try using hair products that contain ingredients lice hate, like citronella and rosemary. Swap out your usual detangling spray for Fairy Tales Rosemary Repel Conditioning Spray and use shampoo and conditioner with these ingredients, too. Added bonus: other annoying insects also hate these natural ingredients, so perhaps your child will end up with fewer mosquito bites, too.
Removing Live Lice
Hopefully, citronella spray will keep the bugs away–but if it doesn’t, don’t panic. The lice removal products available are extremely effective and work fast. One great option, also from the Fairy Tales line, is the Lice Good-Bye Lice and Nit Removal System. This product doesn’t contain harsh chemicals and can be used repeatedly if necessary.
Another option is the Fairy Lice Mothers Head Lice Removal Kit which is entirely homeopathic. The kit includes MagicMousse, a non-toxic, pesticide-free product that is 99% effective in eliminating the adult lice and also makes combing out the eggs easy; MagicHalo Shampoo, which kills newly-hatched lice; and a MagicWand, a comb for removing nits.
Of course if you don’t want to wait to find out if these non-toxic products live up to their claims, you could always go old-school. Remember RID? It’s still available, and the newest version is a combination shampoo-conditioner that comes with a comb. Apply it carefully because it’s extremely powerful stuff!