Natural and healthy ways to manage head lice using essential oils

While our children are in school with their heads near their peers in “deep concentration” lice can enjoy easy passage from one person’s hair and scalp to the next. Head lice love the close quarters of classrooms and enjoy having children bring them home to infect the whole family through pillow sharing, sharing of hair accessories and even from their beloved stuffed animals!
Essential oils are a fast, effective and natural way to both prevent and treat head lice.
Some simple methods we can use at home are to wash everything, making sure it gets time in the dryer as heat can kill lice. Bagging stuffed animals and other bedroom toys where lice can live, and then leaving the bag to sit somewhere hot or cold for 2 weeks can help break the life cycle and kill off the lice. Treating our person starts with purchasing a good quality metal head lice or nit comb. This is needed to brush through hair daily to remove the lice and nits from the hair. This needs to be done for a good week until there are no visible signs of eggs in the hair. If one person in the family has head lice it is recommended that all members of the family be treated.

Essential oils that prove to be effective for head lice in children are:


Tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia)
Eucalyptus radiata (Eucalyptus radiata)
Lemon (Citrus limonum)
Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens)

Please pay special attention to the variety specified in the above list, as it’s important to use the correct variety of essential oil on children.
Sometimes Rosemary essential oil is mentioned in conjunction with head lice, however I do not recommended this essential oil for young children and since it is also not to be used on anyone who is prone to seizures, I do not recommend using this oil for head lice.

To make your own oil blend to massage into your child’s hair follow this general guide line:

Into 1 ounce (30ml or 2 TBSP) coconut oil add 3-6 drops essential oil for children 5 years and older.

You can choose any combination of essential oils from the list above.  Then apply a few drops of this mix onto their scalp and hair (avoiding the eyes) then wrap hair in a plastic bag to keep the head warm and sit for 30 minutes with the oil mix in the hair. After 30 minutes brush the hair thoroughly with the nit comb, rinsing the comb in soapy water between each stroke through the hair. Then blow-dry the hair using the heat setting, as head lice are heat and light sensitive. Do this treatment multiple days until there are no visible eggs caught in the comb. Adding a few drops of this mix to your shampoo also helps and is a good prevention to head lice.
Keep in mind that you can get a custom aromatherapy blend from a certified aromatherapist to help target head lice and create a pleasant blend for preventative use throughout the school year. Also if your child has developed an irritated and red scalp from the head lice then an aromatherapist can custom blend an oil to help soothe the scalp.

Evoke aromatherapy has the pure essential oils needed for lice prevention and can custom blend products for the prevention and treatment of head lice. To inquire email: info@evokearomatherapy.com

Thank you! :)

Evoke Aromatherapy
May we live with love in our heart and actions

A picture slide show featuring head lice
http://www.medicinenet.com/head_lice_pictures_slideshow/article.htm 

Herb Marinated Braised Lamb Shanks

This is one of our favorite dishes and we make this for Easter every year so I decided to repost the recipe. 

I like food that is fairly simple and healthy at the same time. My husband and I found this recipe Herb Marinated Braised Lamb Shanks at Simply Recipes  a couple of years ago. It has become our favorite lamb dish in our house, and I like the fact that it includes fresh herbs and healthy spices.

We mix the herbs and spices with olive oil and marinate the shanks over night.

The first thing we  do the next day is to brown the meat in dutch oven or other oven proof pot for about 10 minutes. We add crushed garlic, and we always add more garlic than what the recipe says.

We add our homemade stock and bring  it to a boil before we transfer the pot to the oven.

Once in the oven, we let it cook with the lid on for an hour before we turn the shanks and let it cook for another 45 minutes. Once the shanks are done we remove them, and put them on a platter and cover to keep them warm. We finish the cooking on the stove and add carrots, potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes.

In a separate small pot we mix some fat, flour ( can use gluten free alternatives such as arrow root), tomato paste and some braising liquid and stir it for a couple of minutes. We add it to the big pot which now has  the vegetables removed, and let it boil for another 2 minutes. Once done we add the vegetables and the shanks back into the dutch oven.

Even our picky eater in the family finds something to eat in this pot! Complete recipe can be found at Simply Recipes

Johanna is an aromatherapist and she is passionate about educating people about health, essential oils, real food, natural remedies, and nutrition so they make healthier choices in their lives. 
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