4 Natural Remedies for Getting Rid of Lice
Several years back, my daughter was sent home from school with a letter. She was regularly sent home with letters so it wasn’t a big deal. She walked in the house itching her head, took off her shoes and back pack, scratched her head, unzipped her back pack, scratched her head, handed me the letter and scratched her head again. I said hello and we chatted about her day for a minute or two as I absentmindedly opened the envelope and scanned the letter. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my daughter scratch her head as she reached into the fridge for an after school snack. Then the letter hit me: LICE. The words jumped out at me. Lice was going around the school. And my daughter had itched her head five times in the same spot in the last three minutes.
People think getting rid of lice is a huge deal. So did I, that’s why my heart sank when I checked my daughter and found that she did have lice. Back in the day they thought you had to shave off all the hair to get rid of it. This isn’t true. There are many types of natural lice remedies and chemical free lice removal treatments that you can try.
Fun fact: lice is attracted to clean hair. So they are actually not a dirty pest after all. Of course, you don’t want to keep them. But, lice actually prefer a nice, clean environment. So, if your child has lice, be encouraged; they likely wash their hair properly. That’s the upside. Now, the downside: it’s a pain in the neck. If your kid has lice, while you don’t need to cut off their hair, you’ll probably need to cancel your plans for the evening as this lice treatment thing is going to take a good few hours. Here are several natural lice remedies that you can do with things you might already have around the house.
Vinegar
Vinegar has a high amount of acetic acid that quickly kills head lice. It also dissolves nits so that you don’t have to fuss with that tedious combing job. However, you can’t get rid of the lice and nits in one go. It takes doing to the treatment two to three times a week for about eight weeks. Here is the first of the natural lice remedies:
- Mix equal portions of vinegar and mineral oil.
- Rub into the scalp and hair before the infected person goes to bed.
- Cover the head with a shower cap and sleep in it.
- In the morning, wash the hair regularly with shampoo and conditioner.
Mayonnaise
This is very popular among natural lice remedies. Mayo actually works to suffocate the lice which of course, eventually kills them off. This treatment should be done about once a week for eight weeks. Here are the steps:
- Thoroughly coat the hair and scalp with mayonnaise.
- Cover with a shower cap.
- Leave for above five to six hours. You can sleep on it as well.
- Wash the hair regularly with shampoo and conditioner.
- A hair dryer can be used to ensure the lice are dead.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is the answer to many problems. It also uses suffocation to kill the lice but on top that, coconut oil is extremely good for your hair. Plus it only take five days of daily treatments to get rid of the lice.
- Take three tablespoons of coconut oil and warm it up.
- Add camphor to the coconut oil.
- Rub the oil mixture into your scalp and cob it through your hair.
- Pop on the shower cap and leave it overnight.
- Thoroughly wash your hair the next morning.
Onions
The thing with onions is that they contain a lot of sulfur which lice cannot live through. If you want to use this treatment, you’ll have to do it every day for three days and then once a week for the eight following weeks in order to get rid of the lice.
- Grind up about four onions (more if your hair is thicker) to make them into a paste.
- Use a sieve and press the paste to get out the juices.
- Rub the onion juice into your scalp.
- Cover with a shower cap and leave for a minimum of two hours.
- Shampoo regularly.
