Head lice infestation is a common problem in humans – particularly in children.
While it’s not a serious infection, when left untreated, it can lead to manic itching and burning and cause a lot distress.
Remember those childhood days when your mom would warn you not to play with kids who had lice and nits?
Lice, scientifically known as pediculus humanus, are tiny parasites that live and breed on the scalp of hair and feed on blood. The eggs or the young ones of lice are called nits.
A child or an adult can easily get head lice and nits from those who are already infected.
There are special lice or nit combs that you can buy from a drugstore and use to get rid of the parasites.
But that’s a time-consuming process and one that will easily exhaust you. Plus, this method will not remove 100% lice and nits from your hair shafts and scalp.
Here are ten best home remedies that you’ll find extremely useful for solving this common problem:
1. Garlic
Garlic has an aroma which chokes lice to death.
Mash up 8-10 garlic cloves and add 2-3 teaspoonfuls of lime juice. Apply this paste to your hair and scalp.
Leave it for 30-40 minutes and then give your hair a thorough wash with lukewarm water.
Repeat this exercise twice a week until the infection goes away.
2. Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil has insecticidal properties. When used appropriately, it will help you get rid of both lice and nits.
Before you go to bed, take some tea tree oil in your hands and apply it to the area where you have lice infestation.
Put a towel or piece of cloth on your pillow and go to sleep. When you wake up in the morning, give your hair a good combing to remove all the dead lice and nits.
Repeat this every night before going to bed for 8-10 days and you’ll soon see that your lice infestation has cleared.
3. Olive Oil
Everyone has at least some olive oil in their homes. It’s one of the most effective home remedies for killing lice and nits.
Apply olive oil all over the infected area before going to bed. Cover your hair with a shower cap and sleep overnight as usual.
In the morning, was your hair with warm water and let the dead lice and nits come out. In addition, comb your hair with a nit comb to remove those left.
Carry on with this exercise for a couple of nights.
4. Coconut oil
For removing head lice, coconut oil works almost as good as olive oil. It chokes and kills lice and nits present in your hair.
Take some coconut oil in a pot and warm it up.
Apply warm coconut oil on to your hair and massage it so that it reaches your scalp too. Once you are done, put on a shower cap.
Leave it for 2-3 hours. Later, give your hair a thorough combing using a special nit comb.
After the dead lice and nits are removed, go and wash your hair with shampoo.
Continue doing this twice a week. You may want to increase the frequency of this exercise in case of heavy infestation.
5. Petroleum Jelly
For people who are allergic to coconut oil or have short hair, using petroleum jelly for head lice is a great alternative.
Before you are off to sleep, apply petroleum jelly to the lice-affected area. Make sure it goes to the scalp.
Next, put on a shower cap or simply cover your head with a towel and have a sleep.
When you wake up, use baby oil to clear the petroleum jelly from your hair. Comb your hair thoroughly to remove all the dead lice and nits.
Use of petroleum jelly in this way every night for 8-10 days in a row will free your hair and scalp from all the lice and nits.
6. Mayonnaise
A delicious sandwich condiment, mayonnaise is one of the most useful home remedies for killing head lice and nits. Most people have it in their fridge.
If you don’t, it’s easily available in the market.
Spread mayonnaise all over the scalp. Once applied appropriately, cover your hair with a shower cap.
Leave it overnight for all the nits and lice to get suffocated and killed.
In the morning, comb your hair with a special nit comb to remove all the dead lice and nits. Later wash your hair with a shampoo to remove mayonnaise from your hair.
Since mayonnaise is greasy in nature, don’t worry if it takes a second or third wash to fully go away.
Carry on with this treatment for several nights at a stretch or as long as it takes to remove the infestation completely.
7. Neem Oil
Neem oil is also a well-known home remedy for head lice. It cuts the air supply and lice and nits ultimately die.
All you need to do is add a few drops of neem oil to your hair shampoo and use it on a daily basis.
Give your hair a good rinse after you have applied the shampoo on to your hair.
Then, comb your hair using a special nit comb to eliminate all the dead lice and nits from your hair.
Continue with this application regularly until infection is gone.
8. Vegetable Oil
Vegetable oil is found in every kitchen. It can be used as an effective remedy for treating head lice and nits problem.
Apply vegetable oil to the affected area of hair and scalp before going to bed.
Wear a shower cap and have an overnight sleep as usual. Rinse and wash your hair with your regular shampoo.
Practice it until all the lice, nits and eggs go away.
9. Baking Soda
Baking soda treats the itchiness of the scalp and leaves lice and nits struggling to breathe until they die.
Mix one part baking soda with three parts hair conditioner and apply this effective mixture all over your hair and scalp.
Comb through your hair to remove dead lice and nits. Wash with a hair shampoo.
Repeat this a couple of times each week to treat lice infection.
10. Vinegar
Vinegar contains a compound called acetic acid, which separates head lice and nits from hair shafts and scalp so they can be removed easily. Use either apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
Mix one part vinegar with one part water and apply this mixture to areas infested with lice, nits and eggs.
Wrap a towel around the head and leave the application to do its job for 30-40 minutes.
Next, comb your hair multiple times using a nit comb to get rid of all the lice and nits.
Follow this treatment until all the lice and nits have cleared.
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