My beloved and beleaguered sister has spent over four weeks battling a lice infestation in her home. That means for the last thirty days she’s had to launder all bedding, spray down mattresses, and vacuum thoroughly… Every. Single. Day. Not only has it been incredibly time intensive, she’s invested hundreds of dollars in treatments that haven’t worked.

How is this possible? Apparently new strains of lice can quickly evolve to become resistant to toxic treatments–making natural alternatives even more appealing.

While she tried natural remedies such as Listerine, olive oil, vinegar, and many others, she’s finally found a product that has wiped out the infestation without hurting her young children’s skin.

A scientist developed ClearLice using a natural enzyme that lice excrete during molting, so they can’t develop a resistance to it and it’s very safe and comfortable for use on infants and small children. It’s a bit pricey at nearly $30 for a bottle of Clearlice shampoo or about $100 for a complete Clearlice family treatment kit, but since many other shampoos and treatments have to be used multiple times, it seems worth the investment to wipe it out in one attempt. (For the record, I’m not being paid to recommend this product. I’m just very thankful that my sister finally found something that works!)

There’s also a Clearlice Head Conditioner and Repellant, which I would consider using a few times a week once my children are back in school and daycare. (Often children with lice infestation are excluded from school for several days to ensure they are lice free. That’s a long time for families to take off work to de-louse every inch of their homes!)

Tea Tree oil is also supposed to be a natural lice repellant, and Trader Joe’s has some Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo for just $3.99 a bottle while Babo Botanicals also makes a Rosemary Tea Tree Lice Repel Shampoo that comes in at $15.99. We do use Tea Tree Oil shampoo with our kids, but careful rinsing is required as it stings quite badly in their eyes.

I hope your baby never, ever gets head lice. But if he or she does, it will be nice to know that there’s a product that won’t harm the planet or your baby, while quickly zapping the lice colonies nesting on their delicate little heads.