Essential Oils For Lice: 4 Recipes You'll Want

A few decades ago, if your child came home from school with the dreaded head lice note, the only way you had to treat it was to shave your child's head and scrub it with kerosene.   Fortunately, we have much better ways of treating it now! While head lice can be difficult to eradicate, using essential oils for lice is becoming very popular because it is a natural, rather than chemical approach to the problem. So you feel much safer in the treatment. Also, don't forget that cleaning your head with essential oils is a great idea to keep critters out. And it smells much better than the chemicals too! Natural remedies for lice can be very powerful, too.

Remember These Essential Oils for Lice

A few things to note, when a child gets head lice, it can be quickly passed to the entire family so everyone will need to go through the treatment to prevent any risk of cross-infection. All bedding, clothes, towels, combs, and brushes need to be cleaned with a good disinfectant to remove any eggs. Wash all clothes, bedding, towels, etc. in the hottest water the fabric can withstand and use a disinfectant with your detergent.

Head Treatments

This recipe is for one complete treatment for one person. It is applied three times so you will need to store the remainder in a sealed, dark bottle. It can be kept for up to 12 months.

Head Lice Formula 1

• 2 Tablespoons  of F.C.O. (Fractionated Coconut Oil)
• 5 drops Lavender
• 5 Drops Eucalyptus citriodora
• 5 drops Geranium
• 3 drops Tea Tree
• Lice comb

Apply mix over the head and hair, massaging in well. Massage all of the way through to the ends of the hair. Cover head with a towel or shower cap and leave on for at least 4 hours. Overnight would be even better. To remove the oil, massage shampoo completely into hair, all of the way to the ends of the hair, before applying water. Wash and rinse as normal. Comb through hair with lice comb. Repeat treatment in 24 hours and again in 8 days. This is to treat any lice that hatched after the initial treatment. As a preventative, you should teach your family to vigorously brush or comb their hair very thoroughly morning and night. Also use the following oils when washing their hair: Rosemary, Geranium, Lavender, Eucalyptus radiata, and Lemon. You can mix equal parts of Rosemary, Lavender, and Lemon and add 2 drops of formula to final rinse after shampooing. These should be used sporadically, not every day. 

More treatments 

Head Lice Formula 2

• 27 drops Rosemary
• 27 drops Geranium
• 27 drops Lavender
• 1 ounce White Beeswax
• 2 ounces Castor Oil

Melt the Beeswax in a double boiler and add Castor oil until a creamy consistency is achieved. Cool, then add essential oils while stirring well. Rub well into the scalp and leave overnight. If your child already has head lice and has scratched his/her head so much as to cause inflammation, use this formula to help heal the inflammation.

• 20 drops German Chamomile
• 10 drops Lavender
• 5 drops Lemon

These can be used as a rinse, added to the Beeswax and Castor oil cream and left in overnight, or in a hair oil treatment made by adding 30 drops of formula to 2 tablespoons F.C.O. and again, leave in overnight.

Head Lice Formula 3

• 8 drops Geranium
• 8 drops Rosemary
• 1 tablespoon Jojoba

 

Head Lice Formula 4

• 5 drops Peppermint
• 6 drops Ginger Root
• 5 drops Lavender
• 1 tablespoon Walnut oil

With either one of these, massage the entire formula vigorously into the hair and scalp before bedtime. Wrap towel around the head, and leave it on overnight. Repeat nightly until the lice are gone. 

Head Lice Scalp Oil and Rinse

• 10 drops Myrtle or Melaleuca
• 10 drops Tea Tree
• 5 drops Clove Bud
• 10 drops Lavender
• 4 drops Thyme
• 5 drops Eucalyptus Radiata

Mix together and store in a dark colored, glass bottle. Put 10 drops of formula into 1 tablespoon Sesame oil and apply to scalp. Do not allow mixture near the eyes, nose, or ears. Cover the hair with a shower cap and leave on for a half hour. Using a fine tooth comb, gently comb, wiping the comb between each sweep through the hair. Comb the hair in one inch sections. If the hair is long, you'll need to use clips to separate the hair. When you have combed the whole head, wash the hair with a gentle baby shampoo. Then use the following rinse:

• 4 ounces Water
• 10 drops of above lice mixture

If your child's scalp has become irritated because of the biting and possible infection, make up the following:

Calm Scalp

• 1 teaspoon Jojoba
• 1 drops German Chamomile
• 2 drops Lavender

Apply directly onto the scalp with your fingertips. Gently separate the hair into sections, so you can reach the whole scalp.

And Finally

What ways have you used to treat head lice? Do you have a different recipe of essential oils for lice that you would like to share? Please comment in the section below. We'd love to share your experience with everyone else.