Simple Family Friday

Simple Ways To Deal With Lice

        Last Friday we got the dreaded notice home from the school- "your child may have come in contact with lice"- followed by extensive directions on how to deal with said lice problem. I immediately felt like I needed to sterilize everything- my mind was reeling- how was I going to get everything clean! Then I took a breath and headed to the computer- several of my friends had been through this before and I knew they would have some tips and tricks on what to do.

       After combing through the Little's hair with a fine tooth comb- as per the directions in the school newsletter we ascertained that our kids do not have lice- yet- and I would like to keep it that way! Now I am going to preface all this information in the post with a warning- we are in the midst of testing all these theories and methods- I am not a professional! What I did know going into this is that I would like to avoid heavy duty chemical shampoos and insecticides- for now I don't even want to go there. 

      Looking around I found numerous natural methods for Lice Busting- our first line of defense is dirty hair- now we have never really washed our kid's hair with any great regularity- yes my Mom is going to be appalled that I am admitting this in public! Children's hair is so fine and they don't really sweat- I can count the number of times we have washed their hair with shampoo on one hand- we just rinse with water. So tip #1- Lice do not like dirty hair.

       The next line of defense is brought to you by Tea Tree Oil- about a table spoon of Tea Tree Oil in a spray bottle filled with water and applied daily on the way out the door. Personally I take a few drops of Tea Tree Oil on my hands and then rub it directly into my hair- there is no way I want lice in my hair and the essential oil also smooths out any frizzies I might have that day! Tip #2- Lice do not like Tea Tree Oil

     In addition to the Tea Tree Oil and dirty hair we comb our kid's hair with a fine tooth comb every second day- checking for any eggs. Starting at the back of the head brush all the hair forward- sectioning the hair into smaller portions comb through with a fine tooth metal comb. Tip #3- Slather the child's head with conditioner or olive oil it stuns the lice which makes for easier detection

       There are also plenty of shampoos on the market- my friend suggested one by Jason Organics which works well- I have a shampoo that has lavender in it- Lice also do not like lavender. One fact of interest that I really found interesting is that lice do not live longer than 48 hours with out their host- so anything that can't be washed like the couch or carpet can just be vacuumed- lice usually don't survive that. Wash any stuffed animals and bedding to be sure and items that are small but can't be washed ban be placed in the freezer for 48 hours- this will kill any lice and or eggs. So if you are panicking like I was I hope this little preventative list helps. 

      On that note- it is Friday Friends! We are heading out of town to the Okanagan- I am so looking forward to visiting with everyone- I am also looking forward to Caesar Saturday at my parent's tomorrow- yumm! So Happy Thanksgiving I hope it is full of love, thanks and happiness!