How To Get Rid Of Head Lice Naturally
When it comes to treating head lice, some people swear by chemical treatments and other people highly prefer using home remedies they can make themselves.
Not only because these home remedies are much cheaper than commercial products, but also because they know what they put on their kids’ heads.
This way there is much less risk of having to deal with undesirable side-effects.
Home remedies for head lice are most of the time grandma’s recipes, but most of them are proven solutions, sometimes even by scientific trials and a few studies.
#1 Nitpicking and combing
The gold standard for head lice removal, you'll need to do this in conjunction with almost all other treatments. First, you comb hair section by section with a special comb (you can buy one at the drugstore) to remove lice and nits.
No matter what kind of (lice-killing) product you use, the combing it the key, You cannot get rid of lice until you've picked every last egg.
#2 Oil/Smother Treatment
There are around half a dozen essential oils which have proved effective against lice. These are cinnamon, eucalyptus, tea tree, geranium, spike lavender, rosemary, and thyme. The most effective are judged to be tea tree and eucalyptus.
First, coat the hair in the oil of choice.You can put the oil on your hair and comb it through. Or you can try coating the comb and putting it through your hair. Just choose whatever works best and gets your scalp and hair completely coated. Using hair clips, you may want to separate the hair into more manageable sections. Make sure to do this under good lighting. Rinse the comb frequently under very hot water as you’re working. Once you’ve combed out and coated all of the hair in oil, shampoo and rinse your child’s hair twice in a row. This approach is recommended every day for a week. For the two following weeks, continue to perform wet-combing every night to make sure the lice are all gone.
#3 Salt & Vinegar + Oil
Salt and vinegar may work together to dehydrate and kill lice/nits. To use, apply as a spray (1/4 cup salt dissolved in 1/4 cup warm vinegar) until the scalp/hair is wet. Allow the mixture to sit until the hair is fully dry, then coat the scalp and hair completely with coconut or olive oil. At this point, you can either leave it on for eight hours to suffocate and remaining living lice, or you can comb out the lice that have died from the saltwater solution immediately.
After combing, wash with shampoo as many times as needed to remove the oil, then wash and dry all the towels and clean out your comb. Also, throw any sheets/pillowcases that have been slept on in the dryer for 20 minutes.
#4 Petroleum Jelly
Petroleum jelly can have a stifling effect on roaming lice.
Apply a thick layer of petroleum jelly to the scalp before going to bed. Cover your head tightly with a shower cap or towel. Leave it on overnight. In the morning, use baby oil to remove the petroleum jelly. Comb your hair thoroughly to remove the lice.
Repeat this several nights in a row.
#5 Garlic
Lice are not fond of the strong aroma that garlic puts off and the fact that it can suffocate them makes this a highly effective home remedy. Grind ten cloves of garlic into a paste and mix in three teaspoons of lime juice. Apply the mixture directly to the scalp. Be sure to cover all the scalp. Leave the treatment on for thirty minutes and rinse with hot water. The strong fragrance of garlic can suffocate lice, ultimately killing them.
#6 Apple Cider Vinegar
Before and after shampooing, rinse your hair with vinegar or soak hair with vinegar and leave it on for a few minutes before combing with a nit comb. Towel-dry hair. This will help remove nits from the hair shaft.
#7 Mayonnaise
Slathering your entire head of hair in mayonnaise might just be the most effective natural way of fighting head lice. This is because, thanks to its consistency, it’s a powerful tool that can help to suffocate these annoying little creatures.
If the mayonnaise doesn’t kill all the lice by suffocation, those that survive the initial application will end up dazed and trapped in the sauce. The survivors can be got rid of using a fine comb – simple!
Afterwards, make sure to wash your hair thoroughly. We recommend repeating the treatment once a day for a week to get the best results.
Plus, a great side-effect is that this treatment will leave you with shiny, healthy locks thanks to the properties of the mayonnaise.
#8 Sesame Seed Oil
High in antibacterial, antifungal and natural insecticide properties, sesame seed oil can also be used to solve the problem of head lice.
Mix together one-fourth cup of sesame seed oil, one-eighth of a cup of neem oil, one teaspoon of tea tree oil, one-half teaspoon of eucalyptus and rosemary essential oils, and about 10 drops of lavender essential oil.
Rinse your hair with apple cider vinegar and allow it to dry.
Apply the oil solution to the hair and scalp, cover with a shower cap or towel and leave it on overnight.
In the morning, comb your hair thoroughly to remove the dead lice. Then shampoo normally.
#9 Baby Oil
Baby oil can suffocate lice. To use this method, put baby oil on the hair, then comb the hair out slowly as lice fall from the head. Use hot water and shampoo to wash the hair after the treatment.
