Home remedy for head lice?

Question

My daughter came home today with head lice. Does anyone know any good home remedies for getting rid of these things? I hate putting chemicals on my child.

I have heard about mayonaise and olive oil has anyone had success with these? Can you offer any other suggestions?

Answer 1

Lice can be killed quickly, easily, cheaply and safely with mayonnaise. Simply get a new jar of mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip) from your kitchen shelf or at the grocery store. (Don’t grab one from the refrigerator, as it will be way too cold.) Grab a handful (or several) and cover all of you child’s hair, being sure to get behind the ears and down the neck a little. You can cover this with a plastic shower cap to keep the mayonnaise from dripping or getting onto your furniture. Leave the mayonnaise on for two hours to smother the lice and developed eggs. Then, remove the shower cap and throw it away, both of you wash your hands good with soap, and shampoo the hair thoroughly. It may take two or more shampoos to get the hair clean.

You can use Vaseline if you don't have any mayonnaise. The only way to remove Vaseline from hair is to saturate the hair in baby oil, rub in through the hair completely, then squeeze out as much as you can. Then wash the hair three times with Dawn dish soap and hot water (not hot enough to burn!), each time leaving the dish soap on for a few minutes to allow it to work.

Vaseline can be left on overnight if you wish, but this is not safe with mayonnaise because it turns poisonous when it is not refrigerated. Your child may scratch his head while sleeping and then put his fingers in his mouth.

If you don’t trust the mayonnaise or Vaseline to smother the lice, you can make a natural lice shampoo to kill the lice but not poison your child. To a base of five teaspoons of Pure Olive Carrier Oil (or Pure Coconut Carrier Oil), add five drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil, five drops of Rosemary Essential Oil, five drops of Lavender Essential Oil, five drops of Peppermint Essential Oil, and five drops of Eucalyptus Essential Oil. Add a small amount of regular shampoo to the mixture, and put this all over the hair - all the way to the edges. Leave this on for an hour under a towel or tight-fitting shower cap to prevent drips. Rinse the hair, and shampoo the hair. (Olive oil and coconut oil kill lice by "dissolving" their exoskeletons, and other oils will not have the same effect.)

Don't use a conditioner at this stage, but you will find that the hair is very easy to comb after using this oily mixture.

Notes: 1) The respiration of a baby can be slowed down or even stopped if peppermint oil or eucalyptus oil is close enough for the baby to even breathe either. 2) High blood pressure may be elevated by peppermint essential oil. 3) Peppermint or rosemary may be harmful during pregnancy.

Answer 2

Jennifer, Here is what we used when the store stuff failed and the whole mayo thing was also a disaster. We checked for some natural products on the internet and also tried to find the best nit comb that we could since we knew we needed to get rid of all of the nits and the live lice. We ended up with some product from a company called NitFree that were chemical free (important to us) and this could work for you as the lice strain you have may be chemical resistent. They have a mousse that helps to kill the lice and dissolve the glue that is holding the nits to the hair and they also have a great comb. You will likely need two bottles of the mousse, one comb, maybe Neon Nits to find the last few nits, and we are using the Mint Spray to ward off any further infestations. And, of course, you have lots of laundry to do...and the stuffed animals etc need to go in the dryer. I will give you a link to their Canadian site and also their US and International one as I do not know where you are. You can ask them questions about the products if you want as they are the experts but I can vouch for them in our situation. Good luck Susie

Answer 3

i used something the doctor recommended when i was little but I found a product that was natural but after using any product be sure to buy all new brushes and combs, make sure to wash all clothes, pillow cases and sheets.

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Answer 4

search and "neem oil lice" on-line.
there are several products available but you can just use the oil straight. it kills the lice and sterilizes the eggs. i've read leaving it on 1-4 hours will do the job. comb with a nit comb and then wash. you can add some to shampoo to continue the treatment. it is also a repellent so it can prevent your child from getting them again. it has been used in classrooms as a chemical substitute for lice problems with great success. it is a natural oil from the seed of a tree so it is completely safe and very effective. has a strong smell but that is the worst of it. it has a lot of other uses too so it is good to have around the house.
if you use tea tree oil as some suggest, just be sure to dilute it.

Answer 5

The only natural cure for head lice known to work is TEA TREE OIL. You could use a good shampoo with high tea tree oil content. You could also put 10-15% of this oil in a spray bottle (15 ml +85 ml water) shake well and spray the scalp with it till saturated. Leave for 20 minutes then wash with the tea tree oil shampoo. Do it daily and use a fine-tooth metal comb to get rid of the nits after washing.
There are also products containing promethrin which is made from a plant but considered more drastic than the oil. Both work.

Answer 6

Tea Tree essential oil. Very powerful substance. some manufacturers may already have it on the market as a lice killing shampoo you can look that up on the internet! You can also make your own mixture of soap and the oil. Test it on a small part of your childs skin it will have a tingly property but wont hurt, if it does put more base (unscented shampoo) into the mixture. You have to use it for a month because you want to make sure any eggs that manage to survive will be killed as hatchlings. Then you must be sure to soak pillows, toys and anything else in something that will kill lice and prevent reinfestation. Mice carry lice too so check if you have mice

Answer 7

Mayo and olive oil don't get rid of it all of the way. They just make the lice sick, it will not kill them. The reason is, they change the natural Ph of your head, making your skin taste bad to the little buggers. Chemicals never sound good, but it won't hurt your daughter.. if she is extremely young, say 7 or under, then you can call your doctor or nurse or ask a pharmacist if it is safe.

Just remember to read and follow the directions carefully so you won't have to keep reapplying every week (like I did when I was 13).

Answer 8

My daughter had lice and I kept using expensive chemicals to no avail...I tried Mayo saturating her head and then put a shower cap on her and she wore this for about 6 hours and then I combed her hair with a lice comb and washed her hair and she has never has lice again. Cool huh!

Answer 9

The only 'home remedy' is to shave her completely bald. There are no 'home remedies' that work for lice. Use the proper chemicals, boil everything, and let your child get back to normal. Experiementing with crap from your kitchen will not get rid of the lice, only prolong your child's suffering, and dramatically increase the chances that she will spread it to family/friends.

Answer 10

Don't fool around with ineffective, messy, ridiculous "home remedies". Just use the over-the-counter "chemicals". (Hint: WATER is a "chemical", as are ALL THINGS!!) The OTC stuff has been tested and is safe for use on your child -- and thousands of concerned parents like you use them without problem. Don't mess around - go for the stuff that's proven to work!