This article was co-authored by Zora Degrandpre, ND. Dr. Zora Degrandpre is a Natural Health Doctor and Licensed Naturopathic Physician in Vancouver, Washington. She is a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She received her ND from the National College of Natural Medicine in 2007.
There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
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If you hear that you have head lice, you’re probably feeling worried and a little embarrassed. Don’t worry! This is a common problem that anyone can get, and it has nothing to do with being dirty. Lice are a little tricky to treat, but you can get rid of them with some specialized shampoos and head washes. If you’re curious about natural treatments, there are also a few of these that could help. However, they don’t work as well as conventional options, and doctors don’t recommend them in most cases. Most aren’t harmful, however, so you can try them if you want to. If your home treatments don’t work, then visit your doctor to take care of the problem.
Steps
Natural Steps That Might Work
You might come across all kinds of home treatments for lice, so it’s only natural to wonder which ones actually work. The following tricks might have some success in killing lice. However, keep in mind that they probably won’t work as well as specialized medications and washes, and there’s a good chance they won’t kill all the lice or their eggs. If you’ve been treating yourself at home for 2 weeks and still have lice, then visit your doctor for further treatment.[1]
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1Remove lice and nits with wet-combing. This method is tedious and time-consuming, but it could be an effective way to physically remove all the lice. First, wash and condition your hair, then comb it straight with a normal comb. Take a very thin-toothed comb, usually called a lice or nit comb, and press it all the way down to your hair roots. Comb each section of hair from the root to the top 5 times before moving on, and wipe the comb off with a towel after each pass. Wash your hair again after. Repeat this every 2 days until all the lice are gone.[2]
- Repeat this treatment until you haven’t seen any lice for 10 days to make sure they’re all gone.
- Make sure you clean all the combs you use by soaking them in hot, soapy water for 5-10 minutes. Otherwise, you could end up putting the lice back onto your hair.[3]
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2Smother the lice with petroleum jelly for a faster solution. Petroleum jelly could suffocate the lice and their eggs.[4] Lather it onto your hair, then cover your head with a shower cap and leave it on overnight.[5] This might work faster than wet-combing alone.
- While some people think Petroleum jelly has a positive effect, current research [does not support its use.[6]
- There are some other home remedies to suffocate and smother the lice, like mayonnaise, coconut oil, or olive oil. Keep in mind that there is no strong evidence that smothering is an effective way to get rid of lice completely.[7]
- Even if you kill the lice, smothering them won't remove them from your hair. You may still have to practice wet-combing to physically get rid of them.
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3Try poisoning the lice with essential oils. A few essential oils may work to kill the lice as well. A commercial product containing tea tree oil at a 10% concentration and lavender oil at a 1% concentration appears to kill lice, so you can try this for yourself. Apply the product to your hair each day for 2 weeks to see if this works for you. Although some studies support the use of essential oils for head lice, more research needs to be done to determine whether it is effective.
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- Using anise and coconut spray on your hair might also smother the lice.[9]
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2Cut your hair off if you want to destroy the lice’s habitat entirely. This is an extreme treatment, but it could work, especially if you normally cut your hair short anyway.[10] If you want to try this method, shave your hair all the way down to the scalp, where the lice eggs usually are. Otherwise, not all the lice will be gone.[11]
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3Do not try to kill the lice with anything flammable. You may have heard that chemicals like gasoline or kerosene will kill lice. These chemicals are toxic and flammable, so using them on your skin is extremely dangerous. Skip this home remedy for your own safety.[12]
Stopping Lice from Spreading
Whether you use professional or home treatments, you still need to take some steps to avoid spreading lice to others. Luckily, lice usually can’t live for more than a day if they aren’t on your head, so any lice that have fallen off will die pretty quickly. To be safe, clean everything that you touched at least 2 days before to reduce the chances of anyone else catching the lice.[13]
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1Soak all of your brushes and combs in hot water. All of your hair care products could have lice on them, so be sure to clean them well. Soak them in hot, soapy water for 5-10 minutes to kill any lice.[14]
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2Wash and dry all of your bedding and clothing on the hot setting. Heat should kill the lice, so do your laundry on a hot water setting. Then dry your clothes and bedding in the dryer on a hot setting to make sure all the lice are dead.[15]
- If any items can’t be machine-washed, you can still put them in the dryer to try and kill the lice.
- You could also dry-clean things that can’t be washed.[16]
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3Seal items that you can’t wash in plastic bags for 2 weeks. Some things, like stuffed animals or pillows, can’t be machine-washed. In this case, seal them in a plastic bag and leave them alone for 2 weeks to make sure all the lice are dead.[17]
- You could also put the bag in the freezer overnight if you need to kill the lice faster.[18]
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4Vacuum all your rugs and couches. Focus especially on places that you usually sit or lay. This should get rid of any straggling lice or eggs.[19]
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5Don’t worry about your pets. The lice that can live on your head don’t infect animals, so you don’t have to worry about treating them or spreading the lice.[20]
Medical Takeaways
While having lice is troublesome, it’s a problem that should clear up once you get treatment. You could try natural remedies to take care of the lice, but even successful home treatments might not kill all of the lice. It’s better to visit your doctor for an approved treatment for the best results. That way, you can get back to your life as soon as possible.
References
- ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/head-lice.html
- ↑ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice-and-nits/
- ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/head-lice/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20356186
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6494540/
- ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/head-lice/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20356186
- ↑ https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fda-approves-new-treatment-for-head-lice-201101191170
- ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/headlice.html
- ↑ https://bmcdermatol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-5945-10-6
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6494540/
- ↑ https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/no-panic-guide-to-head-lice-treatment
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC558503/
- ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/head-lice/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20356186
- ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/head-lice/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20356186
- ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/head-lice/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20356186
- ↑ https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/a-z/head-lice-treatment
- ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/head-lice.html
- ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/headlice.html
- ↑ https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/a-z/head-lice-treatment
- ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/headlice.html
- ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/head-lice.html
About This Article
If you have head lice, you can treat them naturally with simple home remedies. Try smothering lice and nits by applying a coat of mayonnaise, olive oil, butter, or petroleum jelly to your scalp and hair, covering it with a shower cap, and wrapping it with a towel. Leave the product in overnight before removing it with baby oil in the morning. Shampoo and condition your hair as normal. Another way to treat lice is to mix 50 drops of essential oil, like tea tree or anise, with 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Apply the mixture to your hair, cover it with a plastic shower cap, and wrap a towel around your head to seal in the heat. Leave your hair for an hour before shampooing it. For more tips from our Medical co-author, including how to manage lice infestations, keep reading!
Medical Disclaimer
The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, examination, diagnosis, or treatment. You should always contact your doctor or other qualified healthcare professional before starting, changing, or stopping any kind of health treatment.
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