My non chemical-ish cure for lice

I have three daughters. They all have gorgeous long locks, even the baby.

Although in this picture taken 6 months ago she had just sheared off her bangs, she currently runs around with bouncy mid back  curls.

As a mom of girls who has battled head lice once before. I take the threat seriously. It took us six weeks to get rid of it 3 years ago, I don't ever want to do that again.

When it was finally eradicated, it was cured, not with traditional chemical methods but a series of weird hippy methods I searched out on the web. It also does not cost very much.

I will share a couple of my tried and true methods because:
I just got a call from a mom, her daughter is a playmate to all three, they were playing dress-up this weekend, and she has just discovered lice.

This call use send me into a panic. Not anymore. One hour of work and our house has been de-loused.

These are my tools.

(The iPod and angry birds provides good distraction, the comb to divide and search, the ponies to section, the flat iron to cook, the cetaphil because I heard it works, and the blow dryer to dry the cetaphil)

First I examine my girls heads with a fine comb under good lighting. (no signs of the critters were found.... yes!!! dodged a bullet there) Just in case I missed something, I want to be thorough in ensuring a week from now my child wont wake me in the middle of the night complaining of a itchy head. I am going to do two easy and quick treatments.

I brush the hair from top to bottom.

I then divide into sections and put into mini buns. This allows me to be sure of the section I'm working with.

I then use my flat iron on the hair at the highest heat setting of 410 degrees. I do every piece of hair from root to tip, but the first 2 inches is the most important. This is where eggs could be or the creatures who lay them, and I'm going to roast them. This is where the iPod or iPhone comes in handy. They are too distracted to complain.

All straightened :)

The next step you may think is quite weird. I found it myself while searching for the cure 3 years ago. A doctor in California was charged with fraud for re bottling cetaphil and charging desperate parents hundreds of dollars for the cure. All they had to do was smear loads of the lotion on the infected head, blow dry, and rinse out after a full night sleep. Repeat in ten days. Well I had ten dollars to spare and if it didn't work I could always use it for it's intended purpose, hypoallergenic face washing.

Blow drying. Yes I know your envious of my blowdry stand, get one if you have long hair. Every morning I blow dry while playing on my phone drinking coffee:)

While I'm doing this job, My husby is cruising the house changing the bedding. He collects all the brushes de-hairs them and puts them in the dishwasher.

Since we haven't found any lice or eggs the job ends here. This may seem like overkill for just a phone call, but I would much rather nip it in the butt. I have no desire to battle lice more than I have to!!!!!

In the morning the girls have a shower. For the next two weeks they will have braided or ponied hair. I want to ensure if I missed anything they aren't sharing with their friends. In two weeks I will search again, and I will probably use the flat iron again.

If there were bugs found, I would get all stuffed animals out of the house for 3 weeks. I would vacuum thoroughly and cover the fabric couches with sheets. Laundry would be done every other day for all bedding.

I would vary treatments on the girls. Every other night I would alternate between flat iron, cetaphil. nitpicking, and teatree oil/vinegar for two weeks.

If you have found this in your search for the cure. I wish you good luck:) Your child having lice is very normal. Don't stress to much:)

****Consult your doctor before starting any treatment****

**** I'm a mom, not a specialist, this worked for me, but it might not for you****