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.
Tea Tree Oil
Posted by alisha (mineral wells, wv) on 09/04/2007
★★★★★
we are a family of 5 and if one of the kids bring home head lice, its costly and not effective. this works. cover scalp in tea tree oil, let sit 10-20 min. covered if possible. it takes only 1 treatment and it works.cost around 5.00 for the whole family. tip is to put some oil in a spray bottle & some water and spray on. can also add small amt to shampoo to use as prevention.
Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Lisa (Cheyene, Wyoming) on 06/09/2007
★★★★★
My daughter used to get lice when she was younger from kids at school. because she had the dish water blonde long hair they seemed to be atracted to, I would spend hours getting them and the eggs out. I used tea tree oil with her shampoo at first once a week, then once a month, then every so often. She never got another outbreak again. ( be sure to just use a couple drops it is very over powering. Hope this helps someone else
Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Chris (Denver, CO) on 12/07/2006
★★★★★
Tea tree oil works great. My son had lice last year that he brought home from his tennis class (he also had gone swimming a lot). We mixed tea tree oil with olive oil (about 50:50), rubbed it on his head and then used a lice comb. We did several more applications of oil and combing, but after the first combing we only found one more dead louse. We kept combing the nits out and after one day everything was gone. As a side note, weâ€TMve always been using shampoos containing various essential oils and a few years ago, my son's whole class got lice, except for him. I think that last summer all that time in the pool had eliminated all the essential oils from his head, so it was "inviting" to the louse population. Our neighbor wrestles as a sport, and he said his coach told them to put a few drops of tea tree oil into their shampoo to avoid lice.
Tea Tree Oil, White Vinegar, Liquid Soap
Posted by Racer (Hampton, Tn) on 11/15/2010
★★★★★
Lice Remedy
6 ounces Dawn
2 ounces white vinegar
2 TBSP Tea Tree Oil
You can get this all at walgreens. Put six ounces of dawn in a measuring cup that measures ounces, and then add white vinegar to it until it rises two more ounces. Put two tablespoons of Tea Tree Oil into this. Mix up. Put on hair, Massage in, put grocery bag over hair, close with clothespin. Leave on 10 minutes. Take off bag, massage and rinse, put in conditioner, rinse and comb out with lice comb. Maintain this by putting 15 drops of Tea Tree oil into any botttle of shampoo or conditiuoner and using twice a week. I give the kids each their own lice comb or flea comb and tell them to brush their heair each time it itches, and anytime they think of it, morning and night also.
Vaseline
Posted by Mel B (PA) on 06/07/2021
★★★★★
I am African so combing for lice with a steel comb wasn't an option. I couldn't find anyone who was familiar with lice so I thought about what my ancestors did. We always greased the scalp after washing hair. So I pulled out Vaseline and put it from scalp to tip then covered it with a plastic bag and added a scarf for fashion. It drips a little and sometimes you see dead ones. But this process will smother them and kill them off in seconds. I had zero itching.
Also I washed it out in 3 days and reapplied and wrapped again for any eggs that will be hatching. They say they hatch within 7 days so I kept it on 4 more days. Washed hair as usual and no more lice.
For good measure I spray hair first with ACV and covered with scarf. I saw about 80% dead but some big ones were crawling around on plastic when I removed from head. I think the ACV made them run from my scalp?? One of my sons got lice from school and it only spread to me and my other son. My girls and husband were fine. I didn't treat any linen or go crazy around the house. I simply put Vaseline in everyone's hair so they have no source. We were all clear in a week.
Vaseline is cheap and simple if you can stay inside. If not put on a decorative scarf and hat/wig over it.
Replied by GertJr
(Madison)
06/08/2021
Vaseline
Posted by Elaine (Edmond, Oklahoma, Usa) on 09/06/2010
★★★★★
When my daughter was little she got hold of the Vaseline and smeared it in her hair. Like coconut oil it is very hard to wash out. Impossible in fact. Then I remembered when she was a baby I would put both Vaseline and baby powder on her tush. I thought, what's the point? The powder soaks up the Vaseline. Bingo! I sprinkled baby powder in her hair, let it set for a few minutes to soak up the Vaseline and washed out the powder. Talc works better than corn starch, but both work within one to two shampoos.
Vinegar
Posted by Tina (Dayton, Oh) on 10/03/2009
★★★★★
I got rid of my daughter's lice a few years ago by pouring vinegar over her head in the bath tub and letting her sit there with it on for about 10 minutes, then rinsed. Did this for about 4 or 5 days while also removing as many as I could with a lice comb and getting every egg out I could find. But the vinegar does really kill them. You could see dead ones floating in the water. vaccuming and cleaning as much as possible is necessary as well.
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.
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!
Vodka
Posted by Blossom (France) on 12/27/2017
★★★★★
For head lice I use vodka. Any 40 percent alcohol is good. Put on head wrap scalp in plastic bag. Leaving no room for air in or out. They get killed by the alcohol fumes. Wait 40 minutes. Wash off.
This kills lice, not their eggs, so repeat in 1 week to kill the lice that will have hatched out.
I'm happy to treat with non toxic things for my girls. Lice free house. Works without fail.
Vodka With Essential Oils
Posted by Mary (Boston) on 11/21/2017
★★★★★
My children have never had lice until my youngest was 9. I tried several of the over the counter treatments however they were pricey and although they killed the lice there was some doubt that they were effectively killing nits. I was also concerned with the chemicals they contained. So I started to research for the best treatment. What I found was Vodka. Vodka contains ethanol which kills both lice and nits. I decided to use 4 oz of vodka mixed in a squirt bottle with 25 drops of tea tree oil (tea tree oil was shown to kill 100% of lice within 30 minutes of application) in a govt study. I also added 25 drops of lavender oil which was shown to kill nits when combined with tea tree oil. I used these in addition to the vodka just as insurance that I was covering all my bases. I soaked my daughters hair with the mixture put a shower cap on and had her sleep in it. In the morning I washed her hair with tea tree oil shampoo and then rinsed it with water then did an apple cider vinegar rinse. The apple cider vinegar actually dissolves the glue that holds the nit to the hair, for easy removal. I then put a tea tree oil conditioner and proceeded to comb her hair with a nit comb, section by section. Then I blow dryed the hair with high heat (heat also kills lice and nits). She went to school and didn't have a critter or egg on her.
I also took 6 oz of rubbing alcohol, with 25 drops each of tea tree oil, lavender, clove and eucalyptus oil and sprayed all my furniture, rugs, mattresses daily. I washed all our bedding, pillows clothing with hot water and 20 drops of tea tree oil in addition to laundry detergent. Dried all clothing on high heat. All bedding was washed daily to be on the safe side. When making our beds, the mattresses, pillows, sheets bedspreads were all sprayed daily with this alcohol/essential oil spray. I also made small spray bottles for us to take to work and school so we could spray our hair throughout the day as a precaution. Worked like a charm, cheap, not messy and safe.
