Hair Critters

Okay I am gonna admit this article is as much for me as for u, the reader.  This Momma needs to unload about those creepy critters in your hair called head lice.  I only had it once as a kid but have had it way more as an adult. Mainly from picking up it from my own kiddos, mainly whichever one of my kids still sleeps next to me at night.

One thing I have learned is nobody is immune to it and if your kids are in school, they are most likely going to get it eventually. But here is what I have learned that has helped our family.  One, do not share head things with your kids such as brushes, hats etc.  Also have a do not share head things with friends rule too.  It was helped me tremendously from having the whole entire house getting it by not sharing brushes.  Two, use a daily spray before school for your kids and put there hair back.  I prefer braids or pig tails.  I also love the Fairy Tales Rosemary Repel Conditioning Spray.  I add about 10 drops of clove oil to my bottle and shake it.  Most people do not know that lice don’t like clove oil.  So it is a good repellent too.  Also do weekly head checks and check for nits and lice.  If you catch it quick, its not quite so hard to get rid of.  Also if your kids want a sleepover, even if it is the cousins, ask for a head check before sleepover and check your own kid too.  We also wash all sheets day after sleepover and do listerine treatment as preventative.

If your family is hit with head lice, there are some non toxic options that actually work well.  We fill a spray bottle with yellow listerine, add 10 drops of clove oil to it  and saturate hair with it, then cover with shower cap for 2 hours.  Rinse with tea tree shampoo and coconut conditioner.  Repeat treatment one week later.  You can recheck hair after that.  I recommend treating the whole family.  Also get a fine toothed metal comb meant for head lice.  We have started using the Licefree non toxic spray too.  You can alternate days in what you do.  One day you can use that Lice free spray and saturate hair and comb thru all the hair, one small section of hair at a time.  Each time you comb through a section, dip in cup or bowl of water and pat on hand towel.  When you are done most likely you will see some lice poop and/or lice in the water.  I like to inspect so I know if its going away.  On the other day, do a dry hair nit/lice check and remove nits and lice.  I like to put nits/lice in a bowl of water.  If it is too hard to take them out, just cut of the piece of hair with scissors.  I recommend doing this for up to 2-3 weeks.

Laundering stuff in hot water is important too.  Anything your kids have recently worn, bed sheets, hats, jackets, ….you should throw in wash.  You can bag throw pillows and stuffed animals for two weeks or throw in high heat dryer.  That also helps kill lice too.  I also like to use my mini vacuum for my couch and my car where the kids have been sitting.

Also I hire a nit picker to help look through my hair too and recheck the kids.  It takes my stress level down and is well worth the money.  Also I think two sets of eyes looking at our hair is better than one.

Another thing I do is the listerine weekly on my kid’s hair as a preventative and it really helps.  If my kids have play dates, afterwards I throw any bedding the kids sat on in the dryer on high heat as preventive.  It may sound over the top, but all of it has helped us and I hope this blog piece can help parents out there dealing with this and know that you are not alone.