How to Get Rid of Head Lice: Can Natural Remedies Help?

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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   Remove 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]
2. 2
   Smother 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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   Try 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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^[8]

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   • Using anise and coconut spray on your hair might also smother the lice. ^[9]
2. 2
   Cut 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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   Do 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]
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