Tea Tree Oil Recipe for Lice

A tea tree oil recipe can help to kill hatched lice and soften egg sacks glued to the hair shaft. Once the recipe has been applied to the hair and then rinsed, the dead lice and egg sacks may be easily removed. Tea tree oil should always be used with caution, however, and it must never be applied directly to the skin without dilution.

Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil is a strong essential oil produced from the leaves of the Melaleuca alternifolia tree, which is native to Australia. Tea tree oil has strong antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal properties, and it is frequently used in the treatment of fungal or bacterial infections of the skin. Tea tree oil has long been used to kill lice, and it may be particularly successful at killing lice which have become resistant to over-the-counter pesticide treatments that contain permethrin.

Recipe and Application

To create your own tea tree oil recipe for lice, purchase therapeutic-grade organic tea tree oil. This is the best type of essential oil to use on skin applications and in recipes because it does not contain additional ingredients such as alcohol or chemical residues, which could irritate the skin and dilute the oil.

Combine your tea tree oil with a base of apple cider vinegar. This mixture will kill hatched lice and loosen egg sacks from the hair shaft for easy removal. For each cup of apple cider vinegar, add 2 tsp. tea tree oil. Mix the two ingredients well and then apply to hair after it has been shampooed. The mixture should be worked well into the scalp and down the hair length, and then the hair and scalp should be covered with a shower cap for at least 15 minutes. Once the hair is rinsed, a fine-tooth comb should be used to comb out the dead lice and egg sacks.

Clothes, bedding and towels should all be washed in warm water with 1 tsp. tea tree oil and 1 cup apple cider vinegar to prevent re-infestation.

Warning

Tea tree oil should never be applied directly to the skin; you must always dilute tea tree oil with a base of apple cider vinegar before you can use it to kill lice. Tea tree oil is a strong essential oil that has been known to cause skin reactions in some people; it is best to test out the apple cider vinegar/tea tree oil mixture on a small area of skin before using it on the scalp and hair.