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.
Rubbing Alcohol, Olive Oil
Posted by Valerie (Germantown, Md) on 10/02/2009
★★★★★
Lice: First you pour rubbing alcohol on your entire head. Cover eyes with towel first. After it dries, pour olive oil on your head and leave on over night. Wash in am.
Olive Oil, Dish Soap, Vinegar, Tea Tree and Neem Oils
Posted by Raviela (Whittier, Ca) on 08/10/2009
★★★★★
LICE CURE:
We are tired of the dangerous chemicals on the market, searched various site for natural remedies. Have tried most with the most sucess going to:
1) 1 Cup of olive oil - saturate the hair (more needed for long hair) leave on for 2 hours covered with a plastic shower cap, this sufficates the adults and plugs the hole on the eggs. (you can also use mayonaise or petroleum jelly-which takes weeks to remove)
2) Wash the oil out with DAWN dishsoap (regular) It's the only thing that will cut the oil. It won't harm the hair or scalp.
3) Rinse with White Vinegar, this helps to loosen the nits from the hair shaft (most will fall out, the rest will comb out.) It will leave the hair shinny & clean.
4) Comb the hair with the best nit comb (metal) you can find at your local pharmacy.
5) Add 10-15 drops of Tea Tree oil & Neem oil to your shampoo to use reguarly to keep the little buggers away.
Olive Oil, Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Grace (Nassau, Bahamas) on 07/29/2009
★★★★★
I used the traditional lice shampoo the minute my son began itching. I combed after and didn't see more than a few nits and no lice. About 5 days later I could see live lice, so I decided to use a home remedy since we couldn't apply our second dose of shampoo until day 7. I mixed 1/2 cup olive oil with 2 TBSP tea tree oil, massaged liberally into his hair and waited one hour. Next I combed dozens of dead lice from his hair, which tooked about 90 minutes. The next day I repeated the olive oil application and got only about a dozen dead lice. I can't comment on the nits b/c I cant see any. Hopefully it means that the lice were in the nymph stage and not mature enough to lay new eggs.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Angie (Los Angeles, CA) on 05/29/2009
★★★★★
Mayonaise, acv and tea tree oil got rid of headlice
My daughter when she started kindergarten she came home with lice one day. I bought the lice shampoos and did every possible thing I could do to get rid of them. I was so devastated I did't know what else to do for her. I would get rid of them only to find out she got them again within less than a month. This was my struggle for a whole year. Then one day my sister came accross a site, not sure which one but she told me to mix some Mayonaise in a bowl and to mix it with ACV to a consistency of pancake batter. Then to add some drops of tea tree oil and to put it on her hair. I put it for 1/2 an hour and then while she still had it on I combed her hair out with one of those nit removal combs and washed her hair. I kid you not but the day after when I checked her hair she did not have one single nit or headlice on her hair. It's been three years and she has not had a single headlice in her hair. After spending so much money on all the stuff I bought for her hair, I was so relieved to have found something so simple and so inexpensive that actually works and it is safe for her. Anyway, just thought this might help.
Hair Dye
Posted by Stardrum (Maple Falls, WA) on 05/29/2009
★★★★★
Lice cures: I am a foster parent, and as yet have never had a new child placed with me that didn't have lice. I have tried many remedies, including the tea tree, and the chemical, but the thing that has consistently worked for me the FIRST time is dyeing the child's hair. I use a commercial dye, and dye it the same color as the hair so it's not a dramatic change. Then, after the dyeing, we comb out the dead bugs and all nits. In two days after coming and combing, I use a salt water gel. This gel is applied, use a shower cap to cover for an hour or so, and then rinse. I then use tea tree oil in their shampoo forever, and we don't ever get them back. It leaves their hair soft and shiny too.
Neem Oil
Posted by Cindy (Pflugerville, Tx) on 05/21/2009
Neem oil is toxic though. Your little girl didn't get a headache or anything?
EC: Neem has been used in India and Bangladesh for centuries!
"Neem oil has an extensive history of human use in India and surrounding regions for a variety of therapeutic purposes. Puri (1999) has given an account of traditional uses and therapeutic indications and pharmacological studies of this oil, in his book on neem."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem_oil
Coconut Oil, Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Cyndy (Fayetteville, Arkansas) on 01/09/2009
★★★★★
After staying at a friend's home, while I was out of town, my daughter was infested with head lice. By the time I got home, the infestation was huge. She had scratched/clawed her head until it was bleeding and there was blood and skin matted into her hair. I got home at night and the only products I had on hand to treat were coconut and tea tree oil. I poured the entire contents of the tea tree oil onto her head and worked it through her hair until saturated. Then I got my coconut oil and did the same with it. I wrapped her head in a towel and put her to bed. She slept for several hours. When she awoke I went through her hair with a comb and my fingers pulling out bugs. I pulled out more than 60 head lice before I gave up. Most of them were completely dead and the rest were almost dead. We washed her hair with a strong dish soap and applied a good conditioner. After only that one treatment she was completely bug free. I went through her hair with a comb to remove any nits and they combed out very easily. next time your child is infested, try this first, before the harmful chemicals sold on store shelves.
Mayonnaise
Posted by Haley (Ann Arbor, Michigan) on 12/15/2008
★★★★★
I got lice after taking care of my friends sisters children, and she failed to inform me her little girl had lice. A week later my scalp was so ITCHY! I heard from my friends mother who lives on a farm to apply MAYONNAISE to your hair! So I went to the refrigerator, grabbed the already opened jar of MAYONNAISE, dipped my hand into the pungent condiment, and applied it to my scalp. I soaked my hair and if you've ever dyed your hair you'll know how to apply it. Do the scalp first and work to the ends, make sure to saturate your hair and if you have a hair net wear that. I kept it in for about ten minutes and washed it out. The lice were dead!
A year later my little sister got lice, and we used the same remedy. Except hers came back because with the split visitation her father didn't wash the bedding at she contracted the bug again. But it works! Using it a second time for her did the trick! Best of luck!
Pure Alcohol, Aka Rubbing Alcohol
Posted by Demina (Athens, Greece) on 12/08/2008
★★★★★
Hello, in Greece in order to deal with lice we wet the hair with a very common disinfectant, a form of pure ethanol, the name here is "pure alcohol", I think the name in UK is "surgical spirit", is the kind of alcohol or ethanol we use for disinfecting hands, in its clearest transparent white form. As this, in many countries, is considered alcohol it might have a high price, so we can used also a mixed an unedible- form of that with glycerine etc - very cheap.
We wet the hair with it, put a towel for 20 min and repeat every day in the beginning for 3 days and then every other day. The lice suffocate and die instantly. They cannot develop resistance to this as even larger insects (cockroaches) also suffocate and die instantly if you spilt ethanol on them.
As the normal use for this is for disinfection and the pure form is used in all alcoholic beverages, well I guess is not very bad to put lets say a very strong vodka in your hair.
Denorex Shampoo
Posted by Kristy (Lansing, Michigan) on 11/01/2008
★★★★★
My daughter and I both wound up with a 'rash' on our necks, upper backs and shoulders. Our doctor prescribed some cream that didn't work. Other people suggested heat rash, since it was summer and we both had really long hair. And still others thought it might be a shampoo allergy.
During the two months this lasted, I had gotten a lice comb and checked her hair, just as she checked mine, but we didn't see any bugs or eggs. (I think they just didn't show up in her hair and she wasn't sure what she was looking for in mine!)
Anyway, I read something online that lice move very quickly but that hair conditioner will paralyze them temporarily so I finally got some and tried it and, sure enough, my daughters hair was chock full of bugs! So was mine!!!
We tried lice shampoo, we tried oil and I don't even remember everything else, to no avail.
Finally I found something about Denerox and thought, why not.
We scrubbed it in, left the shampoo in our hair and wrapped our heads with towels for 30 minutes, per the instructions. And the lice was gone, never to return.
I believe that it worked because Denorex on your towel wrapped head gets REALLY warm. Almost uncomfortably warm. And my theory is it not only 'cooks' the bugs, it 'cooks' the eggs, too! Kind of a disgusting thought, but whatever!
So I wouldn't mess with anything else, should this ever become a problem for my family again.
Olive Oil, Vinegar and Tea Tree Oil
Posted by SoCal (Orange County, CA) on 06/23/2008
★★★★★
Lice: I have found that olive oil, vinegar & tea tree oil works great. I soaked my daughter's head in Olive oil with a shower cap on it for 2 plus hours as soon as we discovered she had lice. We then used the metal nit combs to comb through her hair. You have to be very thorough doing this. It's best to section off areas of the hair. Using magnifying glasses and working in the best light - the outside sun - is the best way to be thorough about getting the nits. After combing through her hair the first time I then soaked her hair in vinegar for an hour or more with a different shower cap on. Then we combed through her hair again - with the tiny metal toothed combs - very very thoroughly. I rinsed the comb often in a bucket so the nits would be dislodged. Go over and over the sections of hair to get those nits and any left over lice. Most people get the lice but aren't thorough enough about getting the nits. The nits are eggs and they will hatch if you don't get rid of them. The whole cycle can start over if you aren't thorough with nit picking. She then shampooed with her regular shampoo that we put tea tree oil in - about 10 drops in a typical bottle of shampoo. We did the same in her conditioner but added twice as much tea tree oil. While the conditioner was in her hair she combed it through to dislodge any loosened nits/eggs. We continue to use the tea tree products and comb it through her hair periodically to ensure she no longer has lice. We have found this method to be better than using the chemicals.
Kerosene
Posted by Carla (Las Cruces, USA) on 04/07/2007
★★★★★
Don't use it unless you are desperate but it definitely works in one application. I had long hair and got lice on a trip to India. There were no shampoos for it where I was, local people were just shaving their heads to deal with it. I was determined not to return home with lice (and to keep my hair), so I got talked into washing my hair in kerosene. Be Careful to keep it off your skin, it got on my sunburn --- ouch!
I said not to use it unless you have to because it's bad for your hair.. I had to have my hairdresser put on all kinds of special conditioners to get my hair back to normal.
Denorex Shampoo
Posted by Kimberly (Fairmont, West Virginia) on 03/31/2007
★★★★★
Denorex shampoo it must be the Denorex that has coal tar. The salicylic acid one does not work. This kills live lice on the first time you are lice free. I wash my hair in it and let it set a few minutes maybe 5 then rinse and wash once again. I then use it once a day for 14 days just to make sure I did not miss any or eggs that may have hatched.
Vinegar
Posted by Candice (Victorville, U.S.A) on 03/20/2007
★★★★★
Hello. I just wanted to let you guys know of a remedy that worked for me as a child. I had super thick hair and unfortunetly got head lice IT WAS LIKE THE PLAGUE! I went to the doctor and got the perscription TWICE but like Ted said, I simply didnt work! So after spending my summer vaction battling these nasty bugs my grandma told my mom to try distilled vinegar to rinse (wash my hair) leave it on for a tiny bit while in the bath/shower. Then conditon with a coconut conditioner thick so that you can comb out the eggs afterward. After you treat your hair with Vinegar you will see MANY dead lice rinse out. Its really gross! This is the only thing that worked for my family after spending nearly a 1,000 dollars on over the counter and perscription medications. My mom also never had to treat my little brothers hair because she simply baby oiled his hair and he never got lice! So I suggest using oil, vinegar (as a rinse) and a good conditioner. Also lice hate tea tree oil so you can dillute some in a spray bottle with water and use it to spray on head rests in cars, bedding, anything that your hair comes in contact with. *Dont use if you have cats though* Be sure to also clean bedding, clothing, etc. throughly! This is the most important!!! Make sure to iron mattress' daily and if your tired of washing your bedding and clothing daily then throw them in the dryer while you clean the house for at least 30 minutes to kill the eggs! Good luck!
Vinegar
Posted by Amanda (Tampa, FL) on 05/09/2007
★★★★★
I got lice a few days ago and began to panic. I had decided it would be smart to look on the internet and see what it said to do. I had tried those CVS brands of lice shampoo and they didn't seem to work. I read about vinegar and thought i would try it. It works well and all pharmacists say that it is a splendid way to get rid of the lice. I also wanted to add in that while using vinegar or whichever treatment you chose and leaving it in your hair for a while try wrapping saran wrap tightly around your head and it is an easy way to keep your hair up and out of your way while letting the treatment work.
Olive Oil
Posted by Ann G. (Tampa, Florida) on 04/23/2007
★★★★★
In Florida head lice are almost a certainty if your children are in public school.
Beware of head sets in the media centers and sharing MP3 headsets...it's just like sharing your comb.
After getting the head lice that wouldn't die, the kind that are resistant to the OTC stuff they tell you to buy, I found out that the cure of the desperate was petroleum jelly. Yes, that certainly did work however, it is just awful to try and get out of your hair! The next time the kids brought lice home from school, we tried olive oil. Generously douse the hair with it...work it in and put a shower cap on their head and leave it on as long as you can stand it, sleep in it if you can. The next morning, shampoo it all out, go over their hair with a nit picker comb and you are done with the lice. Check back every day or so to make sure none of the eggs are still in the hair. The oil simply suffocates the bugs. I have never had to reapply the olive oil. Added benefit, the olive oil leaves their hair really soft and shiny. While the hair is being treated of course, wash all the bedding in HOT water and spray the lice spray on the bed. Pack all their stuffed animals and pillows that can't be washed in a trash bag, tie it up tight and put it out in the garage for about two weeks to kill off the lice. They can't live without biting and they die of starvation!
EC: And if we might add -- people should always avoid using shared headsets, especially the ones found at the music stores that let you sample CDs before buying them.
