Cradle cap. Snot. Head lice. (Ew.) If you have kids, chances are you’re going to have to deal with one or more of these ick-inducing afflictions, probably multiple times. If you don’t like the idea of lathering your child’s head with pesticides or coal tar, here are some natural, eco-friendly alternative products you can use.
Head lice love little kids. From ages 3 to 12, your child’s very likely to get them. Lice aren’t dangerous and don’t spread disease, but they itch like crazy, and who wants a head full of creepy crawlies? Many conventional lice shampoos and treatments contain pesticides such as permethrin, malathion and lindane. Like the stuff sprayed on traditionally grown crops, the pesticide in lice shampoo has been linked to cancer. Attachment-parenting guru Dr. William Sears recommends LiceMD, a pesticide-free product that contains dimethicone. This polymer makes hair slippery, which allows a lice comb to slide through easily and brush out those critters and their eggs. Because it doesn’t contain pesticides, you can use it as often as you need to.
Other natural delousing treatments, like Fairy Tales shampoo and conditioner, use essential oils like rosemary, lavender, and tea tree oil. These kill existing lice and repel any new ones that are considering visiting your child’s scalp. Opinions differ on whether essential-oil-based products kill lice eggs, so use a lice comb every 3-4 days during treatment to comb all the eggs out of your child’s hair.
Your baby isn’t even three months old yet, and he already has dandruff! Sound familiar? Then you’re dealing with cradle cap, also known as seborrheic dermatitis. There are lots of shampoos and moisturizers on the market that claim to treat scaly, greasy little scalps. However, they are often full of potentially harmful ingredients like sodium laureth sulfate and parabens, which can cause allergic reactions and may even be carcinogenic. Shampoos with coal tar or salicylic acid are also not a good idea. Coal tar is a known human carcinogen. Salicylic acid is possibly toxic and bioaccumulative, meaning it’s hard for humans and animals to excrete from their bodies, and its concentration gets higher as it moves up the food chain. One of the simplest ways to treat cradle cap is with plain old olive oil. (Mineral oil can irritate baby’s skin further, plus it’s a petroleum product – not very green.) Rub it gently into your baby’s scalp. You can use a soft-bristled brush to help the de-scaling process. There are also some good natural cradle-cap products on the market, such as Mustela Stelaker, which contains aloe vera to moisturize baby’s scalp, while leaving out fragrances and parabens. Its alpha hydroxy acids help skin cells turn over more quickly, so that flakes and scales are gone.
Ever tried to teach a stuffed-up toddler how to blow her nose? Yeah, it doesn’t work so well. Nasal bulb aspirators do an OK job, but most are very hard to clean, and they may be made of PVC. Some fancier models of aspirator do the booger-sucking for you, and are even battery-powered – meaning these products add stuff to the waste stream. The Nosefrida is a mucus-removing device that you power yourself. You put one end up to your baby’s nostril – unlike traditional aspirators, you don’t have to insert the Nosefrida into the nose. Then you take the other end, put it to your mouth, and suck that snot out! Sounds incredibly gross, right? Don’t worry – there’s a small disposable foam filter between you and the boogers. (This is my one gripe with this product: I wish there was a way to come up with a reusable filter, so these little pieces of foam wouldn’t have to go into the landfill.) The body of the Nosefrida is made from BPA- and phthalate-free polypropylene. Because you control the suction, you can make sure you’re not hurting your baby, but you can also ensure that you’re clearing her nasal passages effectively. To clean it, stick a small bottle-brush down into it, and then throw it in the dishwasher to disinfect it.
Boogers and scaly scalps are gross, and so are “cooties.” Now you can help your kids get rid of them without polluting your surroundings, and their bodies, with (even more gross) chemicals.
