Head Lice are ectoparasites that exist on human hair. These are considered to be an object of ridicule to the person who has them. Some people suffer from infestations of lice on their heads during some seasons of the year, while they may die out in other seasons.

Lice can make the roots of the hair weaker and eventually lead to hair loss. In extreme cases, lice can also cause fevers in the person who has them. For this reason, it is necessary to get rid of head lice quickly and effectively.

Home Remedies for Head Lice

Head lice have been traditionally tackled with the help of several home remedies. The following are some very effective ways to get rid of a head lice problem.

Extract the juice of an onion in a small bowl. Apply this onion juice in the scalp of the head, massaging slowly at the hair roots. Let this juice remain in the hair for three to four hours. The pungent sulfur content of the onion juice will kill the parasites in the hair. Then have a good head bath to remove the dead lice from the scalp. Do this for three continuous days, since the nits (lice eggs) will not go in the first treatment. This is one of the useful home remedies for head lice.

Take a raw custard apple. Grind it into powder, with the seeds. You will need a heavy duty mixer grinder for this. Keep this powder stored in an airtight box. In the night before going to bed, apply this powder on the scalp, and tie your head with a cloth bandage. This will assuredly eliminate the lice and nits from the head. In the morning have a good bath to wash away the lice. This is one of the effective home remedy for head lice.

Head lice remedy - Prepare a fine paste of some custard apple that has been ground before, in an adequate amount of water. Apply this on the scalp and leave it overnight. Then, in the morning, wash the hair with a good shampoo. This will not only clear the lice and the nits from the head; it will also keep dandruff away.

Another good home remedy for head lice is to take six teaspoonfuls of clear water and two teaspoonfuls of vinegar. Mix these together. In the night, before going to sleep, immerse a wad of cotton in it, and apply this very nicely in the hair, working more at the roots. Then tie the head with a cloth bandage and go to sleep. Do this twice in a week. This will completely remove the lice from the scalp, and even deter the formation of dandruff.

Chop an apple into small pieces. Then apply these pieces into the scalp with a strong massaging action. Continue the massage for about 20 to 25 minutes. Do this once in a day for three days. This will ensure the complete elimination of lice from the hair. This is an effective head lice remedy.

Grind a garlic clove to fine paste and mix it in some lemon juice. Massage this mixture into the head in the night before going to sleep. In the morning, have a good head bath. Wash the hair thoroughly. The pungent chemicals in the garlic will kill the lice overnight, and the morning bath will remove their dead bodies from the hair. This remedy must be continued for four to five days. The lice will completely be gone from the scalp. This is one of the important natural remedy for head lice.

Take some freshly extracted coconut oil. Add some powder of the camphor in this oil. Apply this on the head every night while retiring. Wash your hair with a good quality shampoo in the morning. Continue this remedy for four days. This is one of the best home remedies for head lice.

Head lice cure - Grind the seed of a shareefa and apply it on the scalp. Keep it on the head for two hours. Then wash the scalp. This will certainly provide relief from the lice.

Keep three to four leaves of the neem tree in about 100 milliliters of coconut oil in a glass bottle. Keep the bottle covered so that the essences of the neem leaves get properly exuded in the coconut oil. Apply this oil on the scalp on a regular basis and then comb your hair with a strong comb (whose teeth are close together). The need extract will help to destroy the lice and the combing will remove the nits and dead lice from the hair. Remember that this comb must not be used by anyone else, or there is a chance they too will get infected. This is one of the useful head lice treatment.

Take some camphor extract, mix it in oil and apply it in your hair. This is a good remedy to kill the lice. After that have a good bath (shampoo your hair). This will remove the residues of the lice from the hair. This is one of the important head lice for home remedies.

Head lice infestation is a problem that occurs due to lack of hygiene on the part of the person. The following things must be done to keep the head clean and to prevent an infestation of lice in it:-

(i) Wash your hair everyday. You may shampoo it once in three days, but be sure to pass water through the hair daily. While washing the hair, massage at the roots of the hair, and not at the tips of the hair. That serves no purpose.

(ii) After your bath, oil the hair. Again, the oil must be applied on the scalp more.

(iii) Do not share combs, caps, hats, hairbrushes and any other kind of things used for the hair with anyone else.

(iv) Always wash your hair after you return home from a long journey where you have been in contact with crowded places.

Add your Home Remedy below..

Comments

Head Lice

I tried mayonaise, vaseline as well as every OTC Head Lice Shampoo...I finally dumped a whole bottle of listerine on my head and it worked. Going to repeat the process every three days just to make sure.

#1 - Barbara McDonald - 07/18/2007 - 20:29

jus simply apply a listerine mouthwash
it really helps i used to have a lot of head lice and now am free from them forever!

#2 - cured - 01/31/2008 - 14:02

I used an OTC shampoo for my daughter's treatment, but then couldn't get all the nits out. Combing and picking was making me crazey. While making a salad for our lunch, I spilled a little olive oil on the counter, and then at wits end over nits, I called my daughter to kitchen. Applied the oil to her head, covered with a shower cap. After lunch, approximately 60 min, the nits ALL combed out. After shampooing, her hair never looked better.

#3 - barb - 05/28/2008 - 09:25

using pure olive oil, is the best thing that i have found works to remove nits from my childs hair. Add oil to the hair until it is fairly wet, leave on for about an hour-3 hours. (preferably in a shower cap). Remove cap, comb hair. Nits just slide right out. Its amazing and not so time consuming.

#4 - Jenn - 06/10/2008 - 14:51

I once put tomatoe sauce in the roots of my daughters hair. I left it in for an hour, then washed and brushed it out. It killed all the lice and only took 2 hours tops. IT WORKS.

#5 - it works - 07/19/2008 - 16:34

my son got lice so i try butter put it on the hair and massage it covered his hair with a shower cap for a hour the dead lice and eggs comb out easy

#6 - Gina - 08/12/2008 - 18:02

I'm wondering, I see a lot of people using olive oil in a mixture, but would vegetable oil mixed with mayo work as well too? Anyone who knows, please answer.

#7 - Christine - 09/02/2008 - 19:07

After using all the expensive store bought remedies, I used Vaseline. It worked, but what a pain to remove. The next time the kids came home with it, we used plain, generic MAYONNAISE, left on for 2 hours, followed by shampoo, and a VINEGAR wash, and comb with a metal nit comb! IT WORKED the best! I work at a school, everyone I suggested this to found it worked...and their hair was beautifully soft after!

#8 - Toni - 09/09/2008 - 00:00

Tea Tree Oil !!! Dilute it with water and apply it to hair leave for about ten minutes and rinse. You can also dilute it in a spray bottle and treat your furniture, etc.

#9 - Donna - 09/25/2008 - 22:13

vegetable oil works just as good, that's what I used in my daughter!

#10 - Sam - 12/20/2008 - 17:14

Just a comment on the last part of this summary: how to get rid of head lice....Hygene is not an issue of head lice... they like clean hair as much as they like dirty hair. the best solution is tea tree oil though. it seems to kill everything. just have to be careful on how much you use as it can burn the skin and scalp.

#11 - Marika - 01/15/2009 - 17:22

Tea tree oil usually does the trick. Comb through the hair then wash as usual. Remedies from the chemist are extremely expensive and never work. Furthermore I must object to the text under the heading "How to get rid of Head Lice" above suggesting that head lice infestation is a result of poor hygiene. Totally untrue and quite offensive. My 2 daughters shower everyday, sometimes twice depending on what activities they have participated in and they suffer quite often from head lice. To make such a statement implies that people with head lice are 'dirty'. Ridiculous!!!

#12 - Angie - 01/17/2009 - 19:33

had kids from church over the weekend and all the girls had lice! got on the internet and came up with this:
generic listerine rinse leave in for half hour before rinsing and combing which yeilded the bigger things (yuck), then because i did not have the denorex with salycic acid, used an acne face wash with same ingredients mixed half and half. lathered and left that in for half hour, rinsed and combed (all large lice gone by then with empty sacs breaking down). warmed some coconut oil with essential oil of rosemary, cinnamin, peppermint and tea tree, bagged the head & let sit for half hour before combing and rinsing and the smallest little nits came out.
gently shared with parents what happened and we are going to work as a team but next time i am going to call it beauty night for the girls so as to combat any feeling of uncleaness or stigma.

#13 - lynn - 02/01/2009 - 23:56

My mother used an effective tool when I was little and had lice. She called it a lice bomb. she mixed mayonnaise, vinegar, vegetable oil, eggs, and she covered our hair with a plastic bag with a bandana to hold and we slept in the mess and the next day she washed our hair put baby oil and combed out dead lice and popped nits. She would do this atleast once a month to make sure the lice did not come back.

#14 - Jeanette - 02/06/2009 - 01:10

HELP !!! I HAVE A DAUGHTER WHO CAUGHT LICE FROM SCHOOL AND I USED THE LISTERINE TREATMENT ON HER HAIR IT KILLED ALL THE BIG LICE BUT I CAN'T GET RID OF HER EGGS AND SHE PAST IT TO MY THREE MONTH OLD SON WHAT SHOULD I DO TO CLEAN HIS HAIR.

#15 - YAJAIRA - 02/06/2009 - 01:13

This is not a natural remedy. But still , for those who r desparate to clean the lice and nits... You can try the KP-24 medicine.

Apply it on the roots of the hair.Leave it for 30 mins. It will attack their nerves system(Thats what i heard, not sure) and make them feel dizzy. So that it will not move. And then wash the hair with water. And then using a "METAL COMB" clean the hair. Almost all lice and nits will come out.

Repeat it again after a week to kill the remaining nits.

I tried it for my 5 yr old daughter.AND IT WORKED!!!

#16 - Elakkiya - 02/26/2009 - 16:35

One of my friends told me that you can take 2-3 cups of ashes, put it in 3 liters water--and wait till the ashes fall down to the bottom. Than just use the water from the ashes--not the ashes itself-- put it on the scalp and the hair... leave it in for 15 minutes, than wash it out. This should kill everything too.

I tried it on my daughter yesterday. She didn't want to comb anything out yet. Let's see if it works.

#17 - Danielle , Brazil - 03/11/2009 - 11:43

Can someone help me with the right way to
put the tea tree oil in my children's hair. I have
1 parent who suggest putting it directly onto the hair and massage for 1/2hr. And another said to dilute with water. Which is the safest route ? It seems like this is some toxic substance. Please help

#18 - SALLY - 03/25/2009 - 10:13

My family struggled with head lice are whole life, till one day we had enough. We took Lice Shampoo, and treated are heads, then washed are hair in Dandruff shampoo, Combed and Combed, then took Mayo and put it on our heads but bags over are hair, then went to bed, when we woke up in the morning we started to comb again and everything just fell out. It was like a miricale.

#19 - Amber - 04/16/2009 - 19:06

We tried KP24 and we all broke out in an itchy rash and I am guessing that it is really bad to put on your scalp so please beware of this product. I would NOT recommend it and it did not get rid of all the eggs because we treated 3 times with no luck.

I am about to try the Olive Oil as recommended here although I did find it interesting that Tina Nichols (post # 16) mentioned that they do not like coconut powder so will keep coconut milk in mind. Olive Oil is a natural moisturiser so that is why some people have commented on how nice their children's hair was after treating using Olive Oil.


Will let you know how we go.

#20 - Eileen - 04/19/2009 - 07:08

I just tried leaving Olive Oil on the hair for 2 hours with a shower cap as that is all my 6 year old could stand. I used a lice comb and was surprised at how much came out...louse, eggs, grey specks. I then washed her hair with our usual shampoo and then again the next day as there was residual oil. It has only been day since treatment so will look again in two days to see if there is anything left. Will let you know.

#21 - Eileen - 04/21/2009 - 04:08

Today I tried olive oil. It worked! My daughter has fine blonde hair. I used kroger brand. Soaked hair wrapped in plastic bag for 30 min. Had her wash her hair 5 times ( to get the olive oil out) I used a wire brush. BINGO!

#22 - Tanya - 05/07/2009 - 09:49

As a follow on from my earlier post, I have to say that the Olive Oil worked. What I did notice was that we thought we still had them until I realised that someone at school kept re-infecting my daughter. Once the school finally sent a notice around, the lice miraculously stopped appearing.

keep that in mind if you think you cannot get rid of those little blighters, and definitely worth doing Olive Oil.

#23 - Eileen - 05/14/2009 - 06:16

pour pure pine sol on your hair preferablly pin scent, let saturate for one hour, add a mixture of 1 cup bleach to 1 gal. water pur this ouver head rinse well with warm water, shampoo, and viola!!

#24 - raevyn - 05/23/2009 - 21:30

I have eczema in my head. Therefore my scalp is always really dry and flakey. When my daughter got head lice I already had what was needed on hand. Sulfur8 makes shampoo and conditioner that killed them instantly. To prevent them from returning I used the sulfur8 hair moisturizer on my daughters scalp. Easy and no mess!

#25 - toni - 06/10/2009 - 00:10

i have a teen and an almost 8 yr old. we made it all the way through 8th grade with our one child and never dealt with head lice. but last year in school our 1st grader was infested badly and sent home from school twice! we used all the chemical stuff, tried the natural boxed versions from sprays to gels to suffication methods, to olive oil, to mayo, of course cleaned and vaccumed and all that. but she kept getting reinfested somehow, even after school ended. she has long long hair and it was horrifying to constantly be combing it out. two days after the olive oil treatment they were still around! they even were still crawling immediately following pesticide treatments! then she gave them to me! never had them in my life or childhood...but all of a sudden i had huge welts on my ears and back of my neck. an allergic reaction to them! i read a woman's natural suggestion of using hydrogen peroxide..the kind you use for gargling or cuts and scrapes, 3%. i put it on my head for 15 mins with a plastic cap and then rinsed with dawn detergent. after combing i found all the lice to be dead! not one was moving....they were bloated and dead! haven't found any new eggs and nits and so far it seems to have worked! will keep combing and see if they're gone for good but it looks very promising. My little one is free of them too after doing the same treatment. now i will use the natural shampoo of tea tree oil drops, dawn and white vinegar for a few weeks to make sure they're prevented from coming back!

#26 - jessie - 07/20/2009 - 06:28

#25 above... you r kiding right? Pinsol and bleack? read the bottle this stuff is not meant to be breathed in. this is very dangerous to do to anyone. Never Do This To A Child! sounds like a bad child protective services story!

#27 - BrinaXO - 08/05/2009 - 09:48

I am 13 and i have had trouble with head lice for about 4 years! it sounds like i dont care about it BUT I HATE THEM! my mum has tried ALL of the head lice treatments on the market, and tried them so much the lice built up a resistance to them (not to mention the cost!) so im gonna try mouthwash, mayo, and olive oil! i'll give you an update later...

#28 - Milly - 08/10/2009 - 12:07

I used Rit. After i used it I saw how dangerous it could be. I wont use it again. For my son, I cut his hair very short and used John Freida hair smoothing serum. It has something very slippery in it. His head is free from it all. I have combed our hair w small METAL comb every day. The plastic ones have larger spaces between the teeth, thats why they dont pop the nits off. I have thick, wavy long hair and still have the little live ones on me. I will try rosemary or tea tree oil tomorrow.

#29 - Debra - 08/11/2009 - 19:13

The very best thing I have found for lice is pepperment shampoo. You can buy it at GNC or you can buy the essential oil and add it to a daily clarifying shampoo. The second way being the least expensive. Also using a tea tree oil shampoo occasionally will keep them away. And bty having lice has nothing to do with hygene. Lice, like any other parasite will get on anyone.

#30 - Kay - 08/13/2009 - 15:45

i am 18 and caught lice from my 9 year old brother. i leave for college in two days, so naturally i am terrified that i will take the disgusting creatures with me and infect the whole school.
i used nix at 5am this morning (i am a night owl) and was paranoid and unsatisfied so i looked up home remedies. since 5am, i have used listerine twice in conjunction with dawn soap and i am sitting with my second "lice bomb" (see #14) on my head. (my hair is wrapped in several layers of saran wrap and then a towel.)
i just want to say how genuinely amazed i am at this lice bomb. i left the first one on for several hours while trying to sleep and then combed my hair with a clean lice comb with the mess still in my hair. i was able to remove a ton of them - all dead. i had a lot of difficulties combing on my own and couldn't finish my whole head. this is why i have done a second lice bomb. my dad is going to help me comb the rest out when he comes home from work at 230 and i intend to post here with results.
my boyfriend takes garlic supplements every day and never gets bitten by mosquitos while i do not take the pills and am constantly bitten. i am wondering if it would be at all possible that it would have the same effect with lice since both pests thrive on blood.
if anyone knows what garlic might do, please do post below.

if there is anything else i can do since i have so few days to completely eradicate this infestation, please also post below.

this website has really helped, i will pass it on to everyone i know!

#31 - college bound. - 08/17/2009 - 13:32

My daughter has had head lice a few times the best thing to get eggs out is baby oil..they just slide out always remember to back comb the hair as well in different directions..... and spend at least 40 mins on it until you can go a good 10 mins without getting anything. know sometimes you can forget to check their hair and only comes to mind if you see them srcatching...try and make a habit of checking after every wash while wet as easier,that's how i keep on top of my daughter 's hair and so far so good......

Hope this helps

#32 - Clare - 09/01/2009 - 12:05

Yesterday I found lice on my two children's heads as well as my own. My son has only had it once and my daughter maybe twice. It has been YEARS since I have had it, so I was like "WTF!" I didn't have any money to go and buy any Rid or other OTC products, but based on my childhood experiences, it seemed as though the OTC treatments didn't really work as well anyway. I basically improvised and used some products that I had on hand, all I had to buy was some lice combs and some coconut oil hair conditioner (which I was out of anyway as I usually keep this on hand). What I did was took a jar of real mayo (not lite or miracle whip) and slather it through all of our heads. I then took a plastic grocery bag and wrapped the hair up (like a doo rag or bandana). Then I took some Glad Press n' Seal and wrapped it around the grocery bag to seal everything in. One by one, we each went into the bathroom and ran the blow dryer over the covered head for about 5-10 mins. Then we all let it sit for 2-3 hours. While waiting, we bagged up stuffed animals, gathered up linens and dirty clothes, sprayed down furniture and bedding with Avon bug spray and then with a strong mixture of vinegar & water. When the time was up, we rinsed out the mayo hot water. Next, shampooed with TRESemme and partially towel dryed hair. Then we blow dryed hair for 2-3 mins. After that, we began the tedious task of combing from all angles. We then applied olive oil to the scalp and hair to the point where the hair looks wet. We worked in the olive oil very well and started combing again. After that we applied Palmer's coconut oil hair conditioner to the hair and scalp, combing it through. (you can use Palmer's or Blue Magic brand) Leave this in overnight and wash the next day. Comb thoroughly and be very meticulous! This method does work. As I mentioned earlier, the last time that I had lice was YEARS ago (before I started coloring my hair or using ethnic hair products). My mom always used the straight up mayo but I put a twist on this method to get all the little f@#!ers out. (goodbye and good riddens!) By the way, tea tree oil is another great product to use and is best used after hair washing as a preventative. It also works wonders for dryness/itchy scalp.

#33 - Daisy - 09/07/2009 - 16:10

to the comment #25 i would not suggest using pine scent pine sol WTF? and or bleach they are household chemicals bleach would bleach your hair would burn your scalp and would propably harm yourself and your kids OMG! why would you want to try this? if its work for you congrads your lucky you didnt GET hurt BURNED do not use household cleaning chemicals very dangerous!

#34 - tammy - 09/11/2009 - 14:48

thx to everybody for your home remedies my kids came home from school with lice and eggs they are very picky about there hair dont like me picking at there hair and combing it hurts them pulling there hair i have tried all the rid, nix the stop lice, and they keep getting it back i tryed olive oil my daughter she has had bad reaction to the shampoos and the olive oil! broke her out in a rash and dryed her scalp, i WANT to go natural! I used the real mayo keep it in there hair all night it seemed to work was alot easier to comb hair going to try the tea and coconut oils today after i shampoo there hair again with lice b gone from the school nurse? and mayo again and The mayo REALLY WORKS! BUT ALSO I HAVE CONCERN I have a dog and 2 cats the nurse told me that the cats could have caught lice and givien it back to my kids so what could i use on my dog and cats to treat them that would kill lice on them just to make sure? I havent seen anything on them cant afford the cat and dog flea an lice shampoos any advice? for treatings dog an cats for lice? I just want to make sure i have taking care of all steps just to make sure that my kids dont get it back thx

#35 - tammy - 09/11/2009 - 15:18

Hi, This is all crap. Firstly. I wash my hair twice a day and still got lice. No I'm not a mother of a child that has has head lice but I am a 15 year old teenager who has had head lice for TEN YEARS! None of this stuff works. And neither do the chemical washes that are sold. I've tried so hard looking for the internet and all I could find were the same old attenmts that dont work. I've tried them all. And the ones that seemed to work were being sold and I am too younge for a credit card so I'm not able to buy them. Please if you have any idea's help... I'm seriously considering shaving my head and I used to love my hair more than the world..

#36 - Sarah - 09/26/2009 - 21:51

"Head lice infestation is a problem that occurs due to lack of hygiene on the part of the person." --- really rude. Anyone can get lice

My daughter had lice 3 times this school year. I believe it is finally gone. The over the counter stuff does NOT kill the eggs. If it did, why would u have to retreat the hair in 7 to 10 days.

First, when we found the lice I vacuumed her hair. I hate seeing those bugs and this gets rid of the adult lice. I put vinegar on her hair for 20 minutes than shampooed. We than used vegetable oil and the METAL lice combs. - - as mentioned by another user, the plastic combs don't work- - I had a bucket with clorox water that I soaked our brushes in. I dipped paper towels in the bucket and used the towels to clean the metal comb as I brushed the hair. It took almost an hour to brush every strand of hair. She shampooed her hair again. I sprayed her scalp with a mixture of water and white vinegar. She said the vinegar felt good. She slept with the vinegar on her hair. We washed her hair again before school. When she came home we did it all over again. The oil, the brushing, and vinegar on the roots before bed.

Everyday I washed the bed clothes, towels, book bag, jacket, and hair brushes. I put the pillows in the dryer on high for an hour everyday. The first day I washed the pillows in hot clorox water.

I checked our poodle with the metal combs, and nothing.

I made a mixture of Tea Tree Oil and water that I sprayed on the couch and chairs. I vacuumed them when they were dry. Daily

Its been two weeks and I believe we are lice free. It is a real pain in the butt, but you have to put oil in the hair and comb, comb, comb.

Anything that the hair touches, clean it. Cell phones, head phones, pillows, jackets, towels, brushes, car seats, hair clips, book bags, purses, etc.

* My daughter has long hair. Her head was not itchy, but her back was *

* If the hair is hard to comb, wet it and add a bit more oil. Keep a spray bottle handy and wet sections of hair as u r combing *

The nits are about the size of a pin head, they look like dots with a tail to me. They don't run like the adults do, If they freak you out, try vacuuming the adults out of the hair with your hose attachment.

Good luck and remember... This too shall pass.

#37 - Kelly - 10/22/2009 - 13:33

Me and my daughters are trying the mayo method. Anyone whose tried the lice shampoos has probably found out, like us, that they don't work. We left it on as directed and when I washed their hair, they still had live bugs! I read that cats have different lice, if anyone knows for certain, please share the info. Thanks and bless all moms, we are doing our best.

#38 - Peggy - 10/30/2009 - 21:34

use onion juice for 3 continuous days actually works...

#39 - ramsha - 11/14/2009 - 07:33

OMG pine sol can give you arsenic poisioning I'm pretty sure and why would you put bleach on someone elses hair? I use a spray bottle to apply rubbing alcohol to my hair and wrap it in a wal mart sack for 30 min then wash as usual. Kills everything doesn't loosten the eggs but they never hatch. Still I would never do this to my daughter. I'll stick to olive oil and vinegar and combing for her. Also for the 15 year old that nothing works for, Me and my daughter got it from a friend so bad I thought it would never end. I had to bomb my house to finally get rid of it. Try that if you havn't already.

#40 - Lisa - 12/01/2009 - 22:53

just wash ur hair with vinegar continiously for 2 days....it will kill lice....i tried it...if it doesnt work repeat it for a few more days

#41 - nida - 12/02/2009 - 04:22

mayo n vinegar work

#42 - suzzi - 12/02/2009 - 04:32

HOW TO GET RID OF THE NITS FEELS LIKE ITS A PROJECT.. N WUT TO DO IF U GOT NO ONE TO REALLY COMB THROUGH UR HAIR.. IS THERE SUCH A THING THAT U CAN WASH UR HAIR N ALL LICE N NITS JUST WASH RIGHT OUT AFTERWARDS

#43 - EV ELYN - 12/29/2009 - 09:40

O.k. This is a good site. very informative.

Home remedy is useful but you need a little information and useful science to help in making chioces people.

1. acid of any kind (mild and fresh, from plant extracts like onion,lemon,garlic, also vinagars etc.,) helps to loosen the glue the nits are attached to hair follicle with and to degenerate the egg casing. Time and concentration of product are the key factors obviously. Personal preferance to scent, availibity and cost are actually not as important as delivery and reapplication procedures.

2. oils are not all the same, oils that are naturally presssed, or essential oils are more potent, they have acidic properties that produce more effectiveness then just "smothering" the parasite, they actually kill the parasite over time and if done repeatedly are effective agents to stop infestations on the scalp. Oils that are processed may still smother and weaken the egg caseings but do not actually kill the parasite, just place it in a dormant phase, the same as water, the only differance you see is lack of movement, which is understandable considering the meduim in which the parasite is within at the time of removal. So to disintegrate or to dormant is your chioce with oils. I choose disintegrate, it works even while it's being washed out!

3. Use of alcohol based/or bleach based products is just unwise, unhealthy, VERY ignorant. Not made to work with your hair follicle, not good for your scalp, not good for your skin, period. Do not use!

4. a note; Peroxcide will change the color of your hair, weaken the hair follicle, but also disinfects the skin. Depending on the level of infestation/ treatment peroxcide is not dangerous as longs as it is done with precision and carefully. Better for cleaning the scalp after repeatedly oiling or cleansing with several substances.

5. With delicate hair follicles use lighter treatments and proceed to stronger doses as effectiveness is shown. When hair is thick and infestion is heavy then start with a meduim dose of proposed hair remedy.

6.Make a list of the remedies you have ingrediants for, and dose options from the sites you find, adverage the doses out, think about your hair, consider your options, make a few doses, and choose the least messy/most effective option.

7. remember, what makes a home remedy vs. a pharmacy option is not effectivness, or use, but rather wording and control groups. Use common sense and caution when trying anything proposed by outside sources!

#44 - Kay - 01/04/2010 - 02:07

Im trying to listenrine Ill be back later to inform you if it has worked

#45 - Bianka - 01/10/2010 - 02:08

my wife applied JUICE of SOURE ORANGES in the hair of my daughter for 3 hrs only and it worked thankx God .......

#46 - atiq advocate - 01/29/2010 - 10:35

We are sister in laws, and our children are close in age and we live close together. We each have girls, some with unreal thick hair and then there's the length. We have dealt with the occasional outburst of lice, and sometimes it's BAD. We use R & C shampoo for the first initial treatment, this rids the hair of the live lice. Recently we tried a straightening iron (you can actually hear the nits pop). Now there was a situation with ALOT of nits, almost every strand. We tried the olive oil and a metal nit comb. USE a metal one, the plastic ones just bend. I believe I found mine at a pharmacy, it cost me about $8..... WELL WORTH IT. The nits do come off, but not all. you will still have to pick and check. This is very important, PICK!! It takes hours, I know. I remember one instance with my oldest girl we were picking for 8 hours straight in one night. If possible don't have your children sleep in the same bed, that was my first introduction to lice. My girls were sharing back and forth, I couldn't get rid of them. Be diligent and check. Also once you are lice and nit free, spray with tea tree oil and water mixture OR just use plain styling products. Lice do like clean hair. If you put products on the hair it will deter them from laying eggs, the hair will be too gunked up for the lice to want to lay their eggs. Dippity Do is a cheap product, or just plain hair spray. Teach your children to not share combs, hats, etc.
*** Most important though, IF your child has lice inform their friends, the school, and your local health nurse. If you keep it a secret the break out will be much worse, and honestly those who think its a "dirty" thing are just plain ignorant and you shouldn't care what they think.

#47 - mary & monica - 02/08/2010 - 14:04

omg y dumb b (#24 Raevyn) u cant use bleach and pinsol wtf u thking .......ne wayz gona try tea tree oil thks donna # 9 ill post back to let u all know if worked

#48 - los09 - 02/19/2010 - 00:40

After having lice for about 6 years, I heard my teacher say that applying vinegar for 2 hours then listerine for 2 hours really works... so my mom and me are gonna try it this weekend... hope it works!

#49 - annie - 03/12/2010 - 21:57

well after my daughter bein constantly infected by other kids at the school ive washed her hair with vinegar, combed thru it all with a metal comb til all the crawlers are out, ( it even brought out alot of the eggs) then washed her hair with normal shampoo, then retreated her hair with tea tree oil an leaving it overnight to see if they come back. head lice are known to not like tea tree oil so with any luck once they detect its presence on her hair theyll jus jump back off.

im just hopin that theres no more crawlers lying in wait around the house.

#50 - Fourth try lucky - 03/18/2010 - 17:03

I am a 13 year old, long thick hair and I got lice somewhere in the middle of last year from school. My mom freaked out because I had never ever gotten lice. We tried the tomato sauce, olive oil, mayo, coconut oil and vasaline. It doesn't work! I am allergic to vineger so that's a no no. Anything else which would get those things out my hair for ever? Cause i seriously hate them thingie's!

Thanks in advance. x

#51 - Sick of Lice. - 03/29/2010 - 00:04

after applying onion juice we have 2 sampoo it or just wash tha hair? does onion harm da hair?

#52 - smitha - 04/04/2010 - 00:53

Hi! I bought a holistic hair remedy called nitzend from my health shop to get rid of head lice.
it has two steps...
the first is to put on essential oils of lavender,citronella, and manuka in an olive oil base, put it all over dry hair and leave in as long as possible ideally overnight in a shower cap. then use a fine tooth comb and comb out dead lice. put shampoo onto dry hair and massage then rinse to remove oil.

step two contains apple cider vinegar with essential oils of thyme, lavender and peppermint - you add this to water to dilute then soak your hair all over in it and leave it in, now you use the comb again and get all the dead eggs.

the lady at the health shop also told me once i have done this to rinse my hair with soda water and this will explode any eggs that maybe left...
Hope this helps and good luck :)

Ps. this remedy worked for me and my son, i bought it in a two pack in Auckland NZ for $30. It says that this has been specifically researched for their ability to eradicate and prevent head lice. www.holistichair.co.nz

#53 - melissa - 04/06/2010 - 19:34

Can you sleep in the vinegar? What is the mixture for spraying furniture, mattresses, etc? Please help

#54 - son ya - 04/22/2010 - 21:07

Doctor Bronners has a pure peppermint oil castille soap that is ALL NATURAL. It can be ordered online or purchased at any Trader Joe's store locations for about $8 or $9 (and it's a HUGE bottle). It is safe to use on anything and everything. It is even non-harmful if swallowed, but I assume it tastes horrible and feel like it's burning, even though it isn't. Anyway, it should be diluted if you use it on your body (the bottle explains), and maybe even more soon when used on a child's head, depending on age. I had used this product on my own when I was horrified to find out I caught lice from going camping with friends. The RID/NIX products did nothing, and I felt like I was stripping the crap out of my hair (I'm not a spring chicken but my hair is long, though no longer thick - thankfully, maybe). One of my hippy-dippy vegan friends told me to try the Doctor Bronners product (apparently, that's all she takes with her to Burning Man, blah, blah, blah). Well, I have to say she was right! It worked. I covered my head in the stuff, threw on a shower cap, and like someone else mentioned, spent about 5-10 minutes with a hot hair dryer. I washed me and everything I had contact with in it, as well as diluting it into a spray bottle and dousing my carpets, furniture, and mattress with it. I repeated this for one week to ensure annihilation of these little suckers. Gone. Now, out of habit, I have the housekeeper clean everything with the Doctor Bronners and use it on the carpets and furniture before vacuuming, as well as taking my morning and evening showers with the product that same day. I even give my 43 pound pit bull a bath with it, and have no worries that it will do any harm to me or him or even my housekeeper!!!

#55 - Vama - 04/23/2010 - 08:25

Dye your hair and leave it in for an extra 10 mins.....all the eggs, lice, nits will be suffercated and be with-drawn from your hair!!!

#56 - Pebble - 04/30/2010 - 19:52

You are completely wrong when you say that Head Lice occurs due to the Lack of Hygeine. A louse is more attracted to a clean head to harvest it's eggs on.
And passing water through it will not do a single thing.
So you are wrong.
Believe me i am a cosmetology student and we had to learn all about what can and cannot happen with any type of Lice. You are giving false information.

#57 - Sarah - 05/07/2010 - 11:26

i have terrible nits and very very thick coarse wavy hair. i dont think i have any lice yet but im sure i will in a little bit if i dont get rid of these nits! please help! also i dont have a metal comb, i cant tell my mom, and i dont have any money to go to a store and get something by myself! help!

#58 - nitshelp! - 05/23/2010 - 15:29

My 6 yr. old daughter came home from kindergarten with lice. After reading many of the suggestions here (The Rid shampoo DOES NOT work!) I decided to try this: I carefully applied slightly warm white vinegar with a turkey baster starting at the scalp and then work your way down the hair, leave in for an hour then rinse. Next we applied Listerine in the same manner but had to rinse it off after a minute as she said it was too hot (minty). We then applied mayo and left that on for an hour. The last step was Denorex shampoo. I believe the vinegar killed the lice. The eggs were still left, so we warmed some organic coconut oil and applied it to the hair as we did each section. (I was careful with the coconut oil as we were almost out of it). After applying to each section, comb down to spread the oil. When finished applying to the entire head, start combing through section by section again as the oil will have had some time to loosen the nits/eggs. This (oil) may take a few tries.

Make sure to notify your childs school and any friends that they may have been in contact with. Six children were infected with lice in the AM kindergarten class and we were never notified. My daughter is in the PM class but also gets a little extra help and is in with a few of the AM children, which were the ones who ended up having the lice.

What a nightmare this has been! Best wishes : )

#59 - Robin - 05/24/2010 - 23:47

i thought of trying to just colour my hair to kill the nits (then comb them out), but my scalp is so irritated & sensitive that i'm afraid the colour will damage my scalp. also, doesn't listerine sting if your scalp is scratched/irritated? i appreciate any help from anyone out there... thanks.

#60 - linner - 05/26/2010 - 12:02

This seems like a decent site, however you're assertion that head lice are the result of poor hygiene is not only incorrect but adds to the stigma and ridicule of people who get lice. Lice prefer CLEAN hair and unless you have a preventative (like tea tree oil or vinegar in your hair constantly) you are going get them if your hair comes into contact with the hair of another person who has them.

Please remove this offensive and untrue assertion from your site!

#61 - Molly - 06/08/2010 - 00:28

I've tried everything on my head-Listerine, vinegar, olive oil, coconut oil, tee tree oil and I still feel movement. My hair is very thick and curly and nobody can seem to find anything in it. Is it just my imagination? There are little bumps on my head and irritation from scratching. The Listerine feels warm, but doesn't really burn.

#62 - Melissa - 06/11/2010 - 06:39

head lice isn't caused by lack of hygiene. In fact, lice are more likely to infest clean hair rather than dirty.

#63 - Amanda - 07/29/2010 - 22:59

You can tea tree oil in your regular everyday shampoo to help prevent re-infestations, but if you don/t get all of the nits out of the hair, you will have live ones within 7-10 days....this why when you use the store bought stuff you have to retreat.....mayonaise works well, so does olive oil. I personally would never put a chemical such as bleach on a child hair, it is just not safe.

#64 - Tina - 08/12/2010 - 14:20

I bought a Riddance Herbal Head Lice Removal Kit from this website: http://www.elixirhealth.co.uk and it worked brillantly. Neem seems to be a plant which kills bugs, midges, lice and everything. Highly recommended!

#65 - Jason - 08/17/2010 - 06:27

The ignorant comments about lice liking 'Dirty' hair is so wrong. I'm in middle school and share just about everything with my friends. that's were i made my mistake. The other day we went to the water park and i started scratching my head once we got home, i COULD feel movement so i told my mum to check my hair. As she did she was horrified at what she saw. As i was saying Louse do NOT like 'dirty' hair they like CLEAN hair. I wash my hair 2 times a day in the morning and night. But since i have been infected from my schoolmates i seem to be washing my hair a whole lot more. My mum checked my hair and said, "Savannah we deffinetly need to get rid of this!" So i started to flip out, as many young ladies my age would. it was so nasty. Mayo works quite well. The rinces and shampoos that they have like over the counter things at drug stores and at the market do NOT work. we rinsed my hair and STILL found ALIVE bugs. The eggs are just about impossible to get out. So my mum uses a METAL comb. The plastic ones just bend and snap. But that might also be because i have thick course wavy long hair. I dyed my hair, still had louse. They are so very difficult to get rid of. Well hope you people have better luck than I did. (:

- Annah. o_O

#66 - Annah. - 08/17/2010 - 15:43

I think the best treatment to use is vegertable oil treatment, it removes dandruff AND lice and nits, its also safe to use just incase you feel your child has lice or nits. Eggs and vegetable oil remove dandruff , dandruff is caused from heat applied to hair and different weather changes. If you have dandruff, try not to use hair straighteners or hair dryers and etc. DONT EVER APPLY CLEANING CHEMICALS TO HAIR AS IT WIL DAMAGE IT. cleaning chemicals will damage fine hair and make it wavy and very hard to keep staright, if you have wavy hair, you will need to apply lots of heat to make it straight and therefore you can cause your hair to have dandruff. The greatest and strongest chemical you can use is oil used to light fire. This maybe strong but it will remove lice and nits after 3-4 treatments. Dont try to burn the lice or nits with straighteners as that wont work and will burn the hair. Change all bed sheets and pillow sheets and vacuum toys and bean bags etc. I suggest you follow my directions and apply coconut to hair after so that it will stay/become healthy. Good luck removing Hair lice and nits and dont panic too much because it wont help. :)

#67 - Hayley - 08/22/2010 - 22:11

For those who use mayonnaise, Vaseline, or oil, try washing the hair with Dawn followed by your regular shampoo. That will remove all of the oily residue.

#68 - Donna - 08/25/2010 - 14:28

The part of this article that says to keep your hair clean... it's a lie. Lice LIKE clean hair. My kids have their hair washed everyday, it's VERY clean. They came home with lice. Lice cling to clean easier than dirty hair. I have tried ALL and I mean ALL the otc medications and it's still hasn't gone away. We are now sitting with veggie oil on our heads. One more hour to go! I'll let you know how it works.

#69 - Kristi - 08/30/2010 - 16:42

As I said I would report my vegetable oil findings for these nasty little buggers. The kids had oil on their hair for 2 hours. I combed through and found only 1 slow moving bug. I was absolutely AMAZED at how easy the nits came out. They slid right out! I couldn't believe how many I had missed in my last 10 million attempts to rid ourselves of these.

Now. As an experiment, I left the oil on my own hair for almost 4 hours (I could tolerate it longer than the kids :P) I have combed through my hair and there is not one single thing coming out in the comb. No bugs, no eggs, hell, no even any white dandruff-y skin flakes.

I wont know fir sure for a few more days if this attempt was successful, but I'll let you guys know!

#70 - Kristi - 08/30/2010 - 18:56

Forgot to add. I tied plastic bags on our heads to keep the oil from running and I rinsed with dishsoap (a cheap brand) then followed with a thorough shampooing and conditioning. Hope this helps.

#71 - Kristi - 08/30/2010 - 18:58

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