If you want to treat lice, please be aware that much of the US has what is called treatment resistant lice. My info comes from an entomologist at the university here who has participated with major research on lice. I totally understand the heebie-jeebies on lice as I totally FREAK over them. Sadly, most of the OTC lice treatments are totally ineffective money wasters. The prescription medications are very harsh and dangerous. They present serious health risks and if used more than about twice a year are almot guaranteed to cause health problems. They are very unsafe in spite of being FDA approved. The USDA strongly encourages livestock owners and farmers to not use these pesticides on crops and esp not on livestock, but approval is given for use on children which I find scary.
So what do you do about lice? There is a SAFE and incredibly effective treatment. Neem oil is that treatment. You may have seen that "as seen on tv' cream for heel cracking that says it has neem oil in it. It is the same oil I am talking about. Neem is very safe for use on humans and pets and is approved for use on organic crops and livestock. It kills most types of insects and also is an effective repellant for most insects including lice. It is what my entomologist friend used on his kids and has his kids use on his grandkids.
It is not a pretty smelling oil, but you only need a small amount. THe best way to treat for lice is to dampen the hair and then slather a mixture of about a tablespoon of neem oil and a half cup of conditioner. ANY conditioner will work, I usually used whatever was cheapest. Put it on the damp hair and let it sit for twenty minutes, then use the lice comb and go through the entire head. Put a video on for the kids. (for a kid who wanted this attention I would find a totally booooorrrrring documentary to lessen the payoff from the attention) After combing through the hair, shampoo and rinse the hair well. Check after a week and after 2 weeks. We did this twice and each time had zero nits hatch.
One of the ways neem works is to keep the nits from hatching. the neem kills adults, keeps nits from hatching, and makes the nits not stick to the hair shaft. It worked better than the stuff sold to make the nits comb off easier.
After this, at least during times where lice are apt to spread, mix a bit of neem and conditioner in your palm (half teaspoon of neem and normal amt of conditioner for long hair is roughly what I used on J and she had very thick very long hair at the time), and use the way you would normall use conditioner. This will repel lice and has been amazingly effective. My niece was 2 when I found neem and my folks used it on her the first time she had lice and they were shocked at how well it worked. she never got lice again because on the night my mom has her, my mom puts a dab of neem in her conditioner.
Neem can be mixed with another oil like canola, coconut, almond, whatever and used as a mosquito repellant. to do that you need 1-2% neem which is about a teaspoon per 2 cups of carrier oil (almond, canola - yes, the stuff you cook with, coconut, whatever) and it is incredibly effective. Entomologists actually recommend this for use in India where the mosquitos cause devastating health problems because of the effectiveness and because neem is incredibly cheap there so most people can actually afford it even as poor as people are there.
We actually use neem instead of frontline for fleas because frontline was making our cat's hair fall out and he kept getting sick. I mix a cup of water, about a teaspoon of neem and a few drops of citronella or lemon oil (whichever I have handy depending on what the kids have used the essential oils for) in a spray bottle. I spray the cat with this and also spray where he likes to sleep and we don't have flea problems. It maybe isn't as convenient as frontline, but it also doesn't make him sick or make his hair fall out. I am not terribly sure that frontline is as safe as the company making it owuld like us to believe. I have had several cats who got sick after we used it on them, not just this one.
You can buy neem on ebay. I get mine there because no one here sells it. Given how little is needed, a four ounce bottle lasted for several years for us, even with three kids with very thick hair. Here is a link to the seller I use for neem and other oils/butters:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEEM-OIL-10...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item25670d1223
I buy neem oil, shea and argan oils, shea butter, and illipe butter because the things in commercial lotions cause severe problems with my skin. Not sure why, but they make me itch mroe than usual and my skin breaks down so I get sores if I put commercial lotions, creams, sunscreen, makeup, etc... on. I can still tolerate a bit of eyeshadow and a few brands of lipstick, but that is it for makeup. i cannot wear eyeshadow often even or my skin goes crazy. Using natural products has made a HUGE difference for me. It is one reason why I looked into a healthier way to get rid of lice. The seller I linked to is the one I have used for several years now.