Home Remedies Against Lice

Head lice
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Q: Do you know of any home remedies against lice? I don't have a lot of money and would like to get rid of lice with household products.
 
A: There are a number of "home remedies" that use typically found household products to kill the lice. People opt for these methods either to save money, or because they want to avoid using chemicals.
 
The effectiveness of the home remedies is variable based on the user and his/her thoroughness, and the trade-off in avoiding chemicals is an increase in physical work to get rid of the problem.
 
Here are a couple of suggested techniques:
 
Soak the hair with vinegar and cover the head in a plastic cap. Allow the vinegar to sit on the head for 30 minutes or more and shampoo the hair with a stringent shampoo. Follow up by rinsing the hair again with vinegar and allow the hair to dry naturally. While waiting for the hair to dry, take a fine-toothed comb and carefully comb-through the hair and remove any nits you find.
 
Rinse your comb in a glass of soapy water to remove the nits and rinse it with tap water before reusing it. The vinegar will kill all the nits in about two days, and the process should be repeated after 5-7 days to kill any additional lice that may have hatched.
 
Alternately, you can massage mayonnaise through your hair and leave it in place for two hours before combing through it. Afterward, shampoo your hair and rinse it, then use the fine-toothed comb as above to remove any nits you can find. Repeat the treatment after 5-7 days to be sure you kill any that manage to survive the first treatment.
 
You also need to remember that treating your hair is only one part of the equation. Lice can infest your furniture and bedding and virtually any fabric covered surface with which your head may come in contact. These items need to be laundered, and those items like bedding that cannot be easily laundered should be placed in plastic bags and sealed as tightly as possible, then left for two weeks. Treating your soft furnishings will likely require some investment in a spray lice treatment.
 
©Hairfinder.com
 
See also:
 
Head lice treatments
 
Human hair and fleas
 
Household hints for a beautiful you.