One of the hair and scalp problems, which can be a social embarrassment as well as irritating, is the head lice. Adults and young children alike can be affected by this problem. Head lice are transferred to another person thru direct contact – you can get it from one who already has it. You can also get lice from infected combs or brushes, pillows, bed, couch, carpet and all kinds of clothing like clothes, hats, scarves and coats. In lieu of this common scalp problem, there are basic homemade lice shampoos which you can use to prevent lice from spreading any further.

Here are some tips if you want to make a homemade lice shampoo:

• Take 1 tbsp salt, 5 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp tea tree oil, 1 tsp peppermint oil, and 2tsp dish soap. Mix all ingredients into a bowl. Wet your hair and use this mixture as shampoo; leave it on hair for about 15 minutes. Then, wash and rinse hair with regular shampoo.

• Get equal amounts of vinegar and vegetable oil about 10 tbsp of each. Add 30 drops of tea tree oil. Combine all ingredients in a plastic bottle and shake well until the mixture is milky. Apply generous amount on hair and scalp, cover head with a plastic wrap or shower cap and leave on for about 3 hours. Take out lice by using a lice comb. Do this treatment again after 3 days.

• Mix equal amounts of essential oils anise, coconut oil, and ylang-ylang oil about 5-10 tbsp of each. Add in some 5-10 drops of isopropyl alcohol. Use this mixture as shampoo on hair, leave on for about 2 hours, and then shampoo and rinse well with water. Repeat treatment after 3 days.

• Mayonnaise is one popular home remedy for lice. Apply mayonnaise all over your head making sure that even the root tips of your hair are well covered with it. Wrap a towel around the head or use a shower cap and live it on overnight. Wash your hair the next day, rinse well. This treatment may be repeated every three days to ensure good results or until lice are eliminated.

• Warm some Castor oil. Massage a good amount of the oil into scalp and hair. Then, cover head with a shower cap and leave it overnight. Wash and rinse hair the next day.

• You can also use petroleum jelly; apply all over your scalp and hair, leave it on overnight and wash and rinse well the next day.

• You can also use Olive oil, apply over the hair and scalp. Cover head with a shower cap and leave it on for about 3 hours. Wash and shampoo hair, then rinse it with white vinegar to further get rid of lice which still stick to hair. Then, this time rinse hair with water; get a fine tooth comb to take out remaining lice from hair. This treatment can be done for a week to ensure best results. If you have no Olive oil, you can alternate with mineral oil or baby oil in this process.

For long term treatment, practice good personal hygiene. Keep personal things like combs, brushes, ribbons and other clean and don’t lend them too often. Clean and disinfect these things regularly. Try to do above treatments at least once a month to keep hair and scalp healthy.

Jonathan Pitts

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