Archive for the ‘Head Lice’ Category
Tea tree oil for head louse
On April 09, 2008 in Head Lice
Head louse is a dreaded problem for all families, but did you know there is a natural solution for treating nits? Yes, tea tree oil for head louse treatment!
The International Aromatherapy and Herb Association has the following advice for using tea tree oil for head louse:-
Head lice is often transmitted by combs, brushes, hats, bed linens, etc. I once spoke to a Dallas school nurse who voiced concern regarding the use of chemically-based shampoos the standard treatment for children’s head lice. She expressed a great deal of interest in being able to offer tea tree oil as a natural substitute.
The following treatment for removal of head lice is recommended: Add five to ten drops of pure tea tree oil to a shampoo and wash the child’s hair, massaging the mixture thoroughly into the scalp. Do this every day until the eggs are removed. In between shampoos, a few drops of the oil can be massaged into the scalp. Do not rinse out. To help sterilize and prevent further lice infestation, brushes, combs, bedding and towels may be soaked in a tea tree oil solution of 1/4 oz. of oil added to a tub of water. You may also spray a dilution of tea tree oil in the clothes hamper to help control infestation.
How to use tea tree oil for head louse
Stepfamily Zone offers a few different methods on using tea tree oil for head louse:-
Here are 5 different ways to prevent head lice with Tea Tree Oil:
1. Mix essential oils in with your shampoo so the strong smell repels the lice and makes you invisible. The most common is Tea Tree Oil. You can either mix 10 drops in with your existing shampoo or buy ready made Tea Tree shampoo at your supermarket.
2. Mix 10 drops Tea Tree or other essential oil into a spray bottle with water. Put your child’s hair in a tight plait and mist over before school or playtime.
3. Tea Tree oil mixed with gel. If your boy has a modern style, mix Tea Tree in with your gel and the lice will stay well away. Not only does the oil repel the lice, the gel makes it impossible to move around the head or attach their eggs.
4. Alternatively for girls, hair spray has the same effect, simulating dirty hair so the lice cannot move around or attach their eggs.
5. Mix a few drops of Tea Tree oil in with a leave in conditioner and make sure your child sprays this on every morning or before playtime.
Other ideas using tea tree oil for head louse
One reader’s comment at Virtual Medical Centre offers the following advice:-
In Australia we are free to use several herbal or other products, but I found it is a good preventative to get a moisturiser and cover the head thickly and leave on for 1-2 hours. The live lice cannot breathe and die. Continue to do this every few days for any eggs hatching and comb through each time to lessen the eggs. You can use a very cheap moisturiser as cost has not bearing on how well it works. Also covering the hear or combing through with Tea Tree Oil and Lavender oil is good as well, especially for school children.
Here’s another tip from the Yahoo Message boards:-
All you do is place 5 drops of lavender oil, 5 drops of tea tree oil and 10 drops of eucalyptus oil in a spray bottle full of water, spray the hair everyday before school. Make sure they are essential oils (they can be expensive) the cheap water soluble ones don’t work. I have used this now for 2 years and have not had 1 outbreak, where we had it endlessly before.
It looks like tea tree oil for head louse is a very effective treatment – stock up on some today!
Feel free to click on the navigation items around this site for more information on how tea tree essential oil can help you.
Tea tree essential oil
On February 29, 2008 in Yeast Infections, Ringworm, Nail Fungus, Acne, Soap, Fleas, Hemorrhoids, General, Dandruff, Head Lice, Warts, Lung Problems, Shampoo
Tea tree oil is one of only two essential oils that can be applied directly to the skin (lavender is the other oil). Here’s a brief rundown on the properties and uses of tea tree essential oil from AromaWeb:-
Botanical Name: Melaleuca alternifolia
Common Method of Extraction: Steam Distilled
Color: Clear with a Yellow Tinge
Consistency: Thin
Perfumery Note: Middle
Strength of Initial Aroma: Medium
Aromatic Description: Medicinal, fresh, woody, earthy, herbaceous.Possible Uses: Acne, athlete’s foot, candida, chicken pox, cold sores, colds, corns, cuts, flu, insect bites, itching, migraine, oily skin, ringworm, sinusitis, sores, spots, urethritis, warts, whooping cough.
How to use tea tree essential oil
www.essentialoils.co.za by Esoteric Oils CC gives the following suggestions for using tea tree essential oil:-
Tea tree oil is one of the most powerful immune stimulant oils and helps fight infections of all kinds and helps clear the skin.
Burners and vaporizers
o In vapor therapy, tea tree oil helps with colds, sinusitis, bronchitis and any other respiratory ailment and is also of use to help the mind cope after shock.Blended massage oil or in the bath
o As a blended massage oil or diluted in the bath, tea tree oil helps with all respiratory ailments, as well as arthritis, colds, dermatitis, skin infections, scalp disorders, sinusitis, viral infections, nettle rash, babies colds and coughs, bronchitis, as well as for sweaty feet.
In wash or applied neat
o When it is added to the water for washing it has great value to treat abscesses, bed sores, acne, boils, lice, dandruff, wounds, as well as animal or human bites and can also be applied neat on problem areas with a cotton bud.
o For lice - apply neat onto the scalp - leave for 40 minutes and wash the hair. This must be repeated every second day for twelve days.
o Fungal outbreaks such as athlete’s foot and nail infections (paronychia) as well as vaginal thrush and cradle cap can be treated with frequent direct application of a 2.5% dilution of tea tree oil.
o Please remember that it is a powerful essential oil, and the neat application onto the skin must be done with care.
Mouthwash
o Tea tree oil can be used as a mouthwash for gum infections, mouth ulcers, throat infections and tonsillitis, while garlic eaters believe that it reduces the smell of garlic on the breath. Although we know that the oil will definitely benefit the infectious problem, we are unsure of the success with the smell of garlic.
Cream or lotion
o When tea tree oil is blended into a cream or lotion and applied to the skin, it will help to clear up any fungal, bacterial as well as viral infections - and can therefore be used for a variety of problems - ranging from boils, abscesses, acne, bite wounds from animals and humans (although a medical practitioner must also be consulted), dandruff and other scalp disorders and is also effective to help sort out bed sores, diaper rash or any other rash.
History of tea tree essential oil
Scent by Nature gives us a brief history of where tea tree essential oil originated from, and what are the benefits of using tea tree essential oil:-
Where Does Tea Tree Oil Come From?
Pure Tea Tree Oil for therapeutic use is clear/pale yellow in appearance with a clean, fresh medicinal aroma. It has the consistency of water and is extracted by steam distillation from the leaves and twigs of the native Australian shrub Melaleuca Alternifolia.
The use of this oil as an antiseptic has been found to be ten times more powerful than carbolic acid and yet is non-toxic and non-irritating to the skin.What Are The Benefits?
The Australian Aborigines were the first to unearth the benefits of Tea Tree long ago when they began to harvest the leaves for their medicinal use. Tea Tree oil products are now increasingly sought after as extensive scientific studies over recent years have shown it to be effective against bacterial, viral and fungal organisms whilst being a powerful immuno-stimulant, increasing the body’s ability to fight off illness or infection. Melaleuca Oil is also a parasiticide and used by many as a flea, headlouse and insect repellent.
It can alleviate inflammation and may help wound healing by encouraging tissue regeneration.
How Safe Is It?
Tea Tree oil is non-toxic. It is generally non-irritating but as with all essential oils those with sensitive skin should use the oil in low dilutions to begin with.
Feel free to click on the navigation items around this site for more information on how tea tree essential oil can help you.
Tea tree oil to kill head lice
On September 04, 2007 in Head Lice
If you have kids, chances are they’re going to get head lice at some stage. There are many different products available for removing head lice or nits, but did you know you can use tea tree oil to kill head lice?
Tea Tree Oil is a natural way to get rid of head lice and a great way to prevent lice infestation.
Lace to leather has some great advice on making your own tea tree oil shampoo to kill head lice.
If you don’t want to buy any of these shampoos or conditioners, you can make your own rinse. First shampoo the hair. To a base of five teaspoons of pure olive carrier oil (or Pure Coconut Carrier Oil), add five drops of Lavender Essential Oil, five drops of Eucalyptus Essential Oil, five drops of Rosemary Essential Oil, five drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil, and five drops of Peppermint Essential Oil. Add five drops of this mixture per 8-ounce glass of water or to the bottle of shampoo or conditioner. This is the last rinse. Lice just hate it and will stay away!
You can add these essential oils to any shampoo or conditioner containing coconut oil or olive oil when your child is near an active outbreak of lice (to keep the lice away and start killing any one that might be brave enough to climb aboard). In between outbreaks, you can use any shampoo as is, add these essential oils to any conditioner, and skip the final rinse mentioned above (to keep lice away). Simply add five drops of each essential oil to five teaspoons of shampoo or conditioner.
Hints and things have some great info from their readers about using tea tree oil to remove headlice
“To kill the head lice without poison, use a thick conditioner to which has been added Tea Tree Oil (about 2 oz. of Tea Tree Oil to a 32oz. bottle of conditioner. Put the conditioner on the hair real thick, then put on a swimming cap. Leave on for at least 4 hours (or overnight). The conditioner will suffocate the head lice and the Tea Tree Oil will loosen the glue on the eggs, making them easier to get out. As an added bonus your hair will be soft and manageable after this treatment.”
Beauty and lace talk about some great headlice prevention using tea tree oil
The oil can be used to wash the hair, but this requires a lot of oil if the hair is thick or long. In some warm water, it can be used as a rinse for hair as a regular treatment. Alternatively, soak cotton wool in tea tree oil and wipe the infected areas - this should kill lice it contacts and prevent infections of scratched bites. Leaving the oil in the hair for half an hour with a towel wrapped around it all gives a better result that rinsing it straight out.
Tea tree oil can also be added to your normal shampoo and conditioner so that it acts as a preventative each time hair is washed. This will reduce the chance of parents and other children catching live from an infected child before anyone realises lice is in a school child’s hair.
There are some commercially available lice shampoos based on natural treatments like pyrethrum. These can be a foam for dry hair or a shampoo and can be highly effective with less risk of side effects.
So as you can see using tea tree oil to kill headlice works, is effective and is a natural way to keep your heads and scalps free of head lice and nits