Tec Labs’ LiceFreee!^® Hair Gel Receives Patent

Albany, Ore. — Tec Labs' popular LiceFreee! Hair Gel, a nontoxic solution to head lice, has been awarded United States Patent Number 6,607,716 B1. Named inventors of the patent are four Oregonians: Robert Lee Smith and Wendy Dennis Langley of Albany, Steven Dale Smith of Jefferson, and John Mark Christensen of Corvallis. The patent is the first for Tec Labs' products.

LiceFreee! Hair Gel, a homeopathic pediculicide, is the best selling non-toxic head lice treatment in America. Introduced to the market in 1999 as a safe and effective alternative to harsh chemical delousing remedies, it now ranks in the top 12 of nearly 150 anti-lice products sold, according to industry sales figures.

The non-toxic formula of LiceFreee! Hair Gel uses the naturally occurring mineral, sodium chloride, USP (Latin: Natrum muriaticum), as the active ingredient to kill head lice.

Customers report strong satisfaction with LiceFreee! products. Of about 500 customers who responded to a company survey in 2000, nearly 90 percent had a good to excellent opinion of the products, with 82 percent reporting that they had tried other brands that had not worked.

Lice are small wingless insects parasitic on warm-blooded animals and humans. As many as six to 12 million people worldwide get head lice each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Americans spent more than $80 million last year on head and body lice treatments at retail food and drug stores, according to industry sales figures.

About LiceFreee^®!
Tec Labs developed its LiceFreee! product line, which includes LiceFreee! Hair Gel and LiceFreee! Spray, to safely and effectively eliminate human head and body lice.

LiceFreee! Lice Control Spray with phenethyl propionate (from peanuts), cedar oil, peppermint oil and sodium lauryl sulfate (used in shampoos), is a safe way to control lice on inanimate objects. These ingredients have long been known and used for their natural pesticide characteristics in everything from clothing storage to insect repellents to pet shampoos. This easy to use spray formula goes on quickly, kills lice and leaves the air pleasantly scented. When used as directed, LiceFreee! Lice Control Spray is safe for use around humans and household pets.

LiceFreee! Lice Control Spray can also be used to pre-treat linens, bedding, clothing and other washable items prior to being laundered in cold or hot water for added protection and effective household cleanup after a lice outbreak.

In a recent study conducted by Insect Control and Research, Inc. (ICR) in Baltimore, researchers found that non-toxic LiceFreee! Lice Control Spray successfully killed 100 percent of the adult human body lice within 24 hours and prevented any nits (or eggs) from hatching.

The study, submitted to Tec Labs on Jan. 21, 2003, concluded that LiceFreee! gives “complete mortality” to lice and “inhibits further egg development at an early stage.” In other words, “At 24 hours, 100% of the treated lice were dead” and “none of the treated eggs hatched.”

Call 1-800-ITCHING for a free brochure on head lice. Visit www.teclabsinc.com for more information on preventing and treating head and body lice and where to purchase LiceFreee! and other Tec Labs products.

About Tec Labs
Tec Laboratories, Inc. is an innovator of over-the-counter topical pharmaceuticals and developer of breakthrough technologies in this field. Founded in 1977, Tec Labs' commitment to new product development has fueled the company's growth. Tec Labs has been protecting consumers and industrial workers for over 25 years with products that cleanse, relieve, repel and protect, including LiceFreee! and the Oak-n-Ivy Brand^® product line (Tecnu, Calagel, and Corticool), as well as the 10-Hour™ and PowerDEET 25^® Insect Repellents and Solarepel^® Sunscreen with 25 SPF, a non-greasy sunscreen.

For the fifth time in the last six years, Tec Labs has been included in Oregon Business magazine's list of "100 Best Companies to Work For," ranking sixteenth in 2003.

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Tec Labs’ LiceFreee!® Hair Gel Receives Patent

Tec Labs’ LiceFreee!^® Hair Gel Receives Patent