Natural Remedies for Lice

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Neem Oil
Posted by Stuman (Oceanside, Ca) on 12/30/2016
★★★★★

About 15 years ago my daughter had lice. We first tried combing my daughter's hair for days - it worked but the lice and nits were still popping up. We didn't want to use Rid with Piperonyl butoxide (4%) and Pyrethrum extract.

We read about undiluted Neem oil and it worked great with one application. Cover the entire affected area with the undiluted neem and leave it in the hair for 15 minutes or longer. Shampoo the oil out of the hair. The undiluted oil smells nutty, my daughter found it offensive. It will take time and several washes to remove the odor.

15 years ago there weren't many vendors selling neem oil. Now there are many health products with neem. Some say neem shampoo will prevent re-infestation after the undiluted treatment.


Neem Oil
Posted by John (Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia) on 02/11/2012
★★★★★

Yeah, neem oil is definitely really good..... Many Asians know about this and is a standard treatment in parts of India.. Neem is a hardwood tree that grows faster than other hardwoods, very oily. The oil can also be used in tootpaste. It is not known to be risky for humans but will attack parasites, bacteria and fungi.


Neem Oil
Posted by Cameron (Brisbane, Australia) on 04/05/2010
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Like so many others I've had such success with remedies from this site I thought it was time to provide some feedback and maybe help others.

My little girls had not gone to school yet but now had their second case of headlice, I watched my sister in law go through hell with these creatures with 5 kids and now it was our turn. I tried the horrible Mayo and plastic bag idea but it was revolting firstly and secondly ineffective, that time I enede up using an OTC product from the pharmacy.

The second time I came straight here again and decided Neem was the go, I mixed 1 part Neem Oil to 2 parts Olive Oil and left the mixture in the girls hair for an hour. We combed all the dead lice out and the eggs, we never retreated them it was a once only treatment that was 100% successful, we now use a Neem Shampoo that has allowed my little school girl to survive 2 school headlice outbreaks nit free even though her best friend got them both times.

As others have said you could simply mix some neem oil into your usual shampoo, it will however leave a nasty ring around your bath but its a small price to pay for nit free kids.

Thanks to all who take the time to post here it makes others lives that much easier.


Neem Oil
Posted by Diane (San Francisco, CA) on 10/06/2007
★★★★★

I have used neem oil very successfully to prevent head lice. My daughter caught them at school. I used an over-the-counter insecticide to kill the lice that were on her head. Then I used the special comb included with the insecticide to remove as many of the eggs as possible. Then I applied neem oil (heated until it was liquid) to her scalp, generously, then massaged her scalp to make sure the oil covered her scalp completely. After this treatment, she had no more lice. The other kids in her class continued to get lice, but she never got lice again. I understand that neem oil kills the eggs and also makes it difficult or impossible for the living lice to drink blood from the veins in the scalp, so they die without laying more eggs.



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