Happy Heads All-Natural Shampoo Targets Chemical-Resistant Lice

Lice are an itchy nuisance that come with an uncleanly connotation.

Melissa Gordon tried to use strong treatments from the pharmacy for removal, which failed. "We couldn't get rid of it," she said.

Gordon was ultimately successful with a tedious regimen of olive oil and combing. In turn, it put her on the path to producing a natural remedy called Happy Heads.

"It's basically using nature against itself," said the Pleasantville entrepreneur.

Lice secrete an enzyme when they are ready to molt (or shed their protective shell).  Happy Heads Shampoo contains a similar enzyme that tricks lice into molting before they are ready. It kills them within a few seconds, she says.

The typical treatments that come over the counter or in prescription form have yielded the type of experience that the Gordon Family encountered four years ago. Mostly containing chemical pesticides, strains have become resistant to the drugs, she says, and created generations of super lice. 

Additionally, the attack the pharmaceuticals lead upon the bugs' central nervous systems can open the door to the same on their hosts. In addition, since children have less developed immune systems, they have a harder time getting rid of the toxins, she says.

Gordon also explains that over the counter shampoos aren't effective against lice, and says that they build resistance against them.

Olive oil, however, has some benefits. "It's a viable way to kill lice," she says, and it acts to smother them. However, the catch is you have to wear it for eight to 10 hours because lice can shut down their breathing vents for that long.

Furthermore, the eggs can't be killed, and if they aren't completely combed out, a new lineage is hatched. That puts you right back to where you started, she says.

Gordon says that with Happy Heads, the eggs that are left behind hatch but die off with the repeated exposure to the main ingredient during the two-week application.

But if you really want to think preventatively, Gordon has been offering Scootie Cootie for the last three months. It contains tea tree oil, peppermint oil and lemongrass oil, which are intended to smell pleasant enough in a shampoo but have a scents that insects don't like.

For more information about the business, go to www.happyheadsproducts.com.

Editor's Note: The original version of this story spelled Gordon's last name as "Gordan," which has been corrected. Also, the products do not contain petri oil, which was initially stated.