Healthy Living with Anarres Natural Health

The topic came up recently on The Compact Yahoo Group and this was my response. Happy to take your questions by email. I can help you put together a kit and will look through your family's hair here if you like.

Lice are epidemic here because of resistance to pesticides.

We get them annually throughout pre school and elementary school.

This method uses oil to suffocate live lice and loosen the glued on nits (eggs).
It uses lice combing to removed the nits.
It uses lavender essential oil to repel and kill live lice.
It uses repetition of steps because this is ALWAYS required!
We use a nit comb made from bamboo ($.99) but you may prefer a metal comb. Thus kind works http://www.pestid.msu.edu/Portals/0/dnnPhotoGallery/967/643TN.jpg . This kind in plastic or metal tears your hair out and is otherwise infuriating to use http://www.ladyjayne.co.nz/img/categoryimages/NitComb_Plastic.gif Here's the simple non toxic method most folks here use:

1. Soak hair overnight in any vegetable oil, making sure the oil is all over the scalp and first 2cm of hair.
Tie a plastic bag over the hair, then put on a towel turban style to sleep with and the pillow cases won't get greasy.

2. In the morning, comb the hair into the bath tub using a lice comb. Nits are glued to the first 1cm of the hair shaft, but the vegetable oil will have loosened them. Comb away, then rinse with apple cider vinegar. Wash a few times with dishsoap or shampoo with citrus oils in it. The hair will dry soft but will not be greasy.

3. In bright sunlight, meticulously comb out the hair with a nit comb section by section. Nits look like clear or brown raindrops glued to the hair shaft within