HALLS Head web designer Tony Wilton has put Mandurah on the international map for an unusual reason.
Along with Perth friend Philip Rice, Mr Wilton has invented a natural solution to combat head lice.
Following his daughter coming home from school with head lice five years ago, Mr Wilton did some research and was horrified to discover that most commercial lice treatments contained harsh chemicals like malathion, phenothrin, carbaryl and permethrin.
“I knew that these chemicals had the potential to cause side effects including eczema and scalp irritation, but further investigation revealed that pesticides contained in some head lice shampoos could be factors in an increased risk of childhood leukaemia,” Mr Wilton said.
“I happened to read a report from the French scientific research group, INSERM, in which the scientists discovered that using chemical based shampoos to eliminate head lice appeared to lead to a doubling of the risk of contracting childhood leukaemia.
“I wouldn’t use those treatments on our family dog Agro let alone my daughter.”
Initially the Wiltons tried what seemed to be the easiest, least intrusive treatment which was just combing them out.
“But after hours of the laborious process, I gave up, feeling similar to a chimpanzee preening its partner,” Mr Wilton said.
So he then continued his research and formulated a treatment based on natural plant products with the help of Mr Rice, a respected global exporter and developer of Australiana products.
“Phil was always developing natural products such as herbal soaps and essential oils and I knew that he would come up with the goods,” Mr Wilton said.
After 18 months of testing different combinations of ingredients, the pair finally developed a natural head lice treatment that worked.
“We had hundreds of different combos and about 40 to 50 test pilots which we had to find through word of mouth through family and friends.
“We knew we were onto something when we started getting a lot of positive feedback.”
The most effective results came from a combination of tea tree oil, citronella oil, lavender oil and neem oil.
“I was aware of the properties of the tea tree (melaleuca), and lavender oil from my landscaping experience in Australia, whereas my research took me to India where the
neem oil from the fruits and seeds of neem is used for preparing cosmetics and has been highly regarded since ancient times for variety of therapeutic purposes including
treating skin diseases, and as an insect repellant,” Mr Wilton said.
The result was Australian Head Lice Treatment – Heaven’s Natural Blend.
“We’ve basically gone from the kitchen table to a factory unit at Osborne Park and selling it to just family and friends then their friends to selling it world wide.”
Since www.headlicenits.com.au went online two years ago the pair has sold about 4000 bottles.
“We just want more people to be aware of the harsh chemical used in most treatments and now there is a natural solution.”