Eucalyptus oil is believed to be an ideal treatment because it kills lice as well as their eggs. One study determined that eucalyptus oil kills 100% of lice and their eggs in just one hour. In addition, it was found that only 3% of children treated with eucalyptus oil needed retreatment.
Eucalyptus Oil
Generally used as a repellent against parasites and insects, eucalyptus oil is among the most effective essential oils for lice. Apply eucalyptus oil to the hair shafts and then comb your hair gently. You can also mix this essential oil in your shampoo to make it more effective.
Washing, soaking, or drying items at a temperature greater than 130°F can kill both head lice and nits. Dry cleaning also kills head lice and nits. Only items that have been in contact with the head of the infested person in the 48 hours before treatment should be considered for cleaning.
Apply Olive Oil treatment- Apply oil on days 1, 2, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21. These treatment days have been carefully timed to coincide with the life cycle of the louse. Olive Oil smothers and kills active head lice, making nit removal easier and moisturizing the hair and scalp.
Rinsing the hair with white vinegar before washing may help dissolve the glue that holds the nits to the hair shafts.
Washing at a temperature above 130 °F will generally kill the insects. Alternately, try sealing the fabrics in plastic bags for 2 weeks. Soaking combs, brushes, and other hair care items in hot water for 5–10 minutes. Vacuuming the furniture, floor, and other surfaces that may contain lice or their eggs.
Lotions and sprays for head lice and nits
There are several different products that can be applied to the scalp and hair to kill head lice, including: dimeticone 4% lotion or lotion spray – applied and left for 8 hours (usually overnight) dimeticone 4% spray gel – applied and left for 15 minutes.
While the ovicidal (egg-killing) property is not as good, with tea tree oil taking 5 days to cause a 50% kill rate, louse eggs hatch in 5-8 days, so prolonged use of tea tree oil over the course of 2 weeks could be an effective eradication measure.
Vinegar is one of the classic home remedies for lice. However, if you are trying to find out how to get rid of nits using vinegar, you should know that using vinegar to kill nits or lice eggs is totally ineffective. Vinegar has no negative effect on the lice eggs.
How It Works: Baby oil not only makes suffocates the lice but also makes the hair slippery making it difficult for the eggs to remain attached to the hair.
It is not usually possible to get rid of lice in one day, as an infestation needs to be treated. However, there are treatments that can help get rid of lice and symptoms caused by lice more quickly. Lice infestations must first be treated by improving the hygiene of the infected person.
Eucalyptus oil is believed to be an ideal treatment because it kills lice as well as their eggs. One study determined that eucalyptus oil kills 100% of lice and their eggs in just one hour. In addition, it was found that only 3% of children treated with eucalyptus oil needed retreatment.
What repels head lice? Coconut, tea tree oil, lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon grass, and peppermint are scents popularly believed to repel lice. Using any coconut scented shampoo and conditioner is an easy way to increase your defense.
Can I leave eucalyptus oil in my hair overnight? Our experts don't recommend using pure eucalyptus oil on your hair or scalp for any length of time due to the potential side effects. Products that are infused with the oil are your best bet.
Rinse hair thoroughly with warm water. Apple cider vinegar can also be used as an alternative. Mix half a cup of apple cider vinegar with half a cup of water and apply this on the head. Use a nit comb to remove lice, and then wash off your hair with warm water.
Shaving the head does not cure lice. The itching should go away within a few days, but the medicated treatment will need to be repeated in 5 to 7 days to kill any new lice that may have hatched since the first treatment.
Petroleum jelly (Vaseline).
Like olive oil, many moms swear by this (other options: styling gel or mayonnaise). The thick jelly supposedly suffocates lice by clogging their breathing holes. For best results, coat the hair and scalp, cover it overnight with a shower cap, and wash out the next morning.
Permethrin lotion, 1%;
Permethrin lotion 1% is approved by the FDA for the treatment of head lice. Permethrin is safe and effective when used as directed. Permethrin kills live lice but not unhatched eggs. Permethrin may continue to kill newly hatched lice for several days after treatment.
Small studies have also shown that tea tree oil in combination with lavender oil can kill lice eggs and reduce the number of live lice. Tea tree oil seems to be relatively safe for use on the skin, although it can cause irritation or swelling for some.
Can you leave tea tree oil in your hair overnight? A. Yes, you can leave tea tree oil in your hair overnight. Choose your carrier oil – could be coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil – and add 10 drops of tea tree oil to it and leave it overnight.
Lice and nits can be removed by wet combing. You can buy a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb) online or from pharmacies to remove head lice and nits. There may be instructions on the pack, but usually you: wash hair with ordinary shampoo.
Can someone have nits but no lice? It may be possible to have nits but no lice. If a person cannot find any nymphs or adult lice in the scalp and the nits are more than a quarter of an inch from the scalp, these may be dead and from an old infestation.
Sometimes it will be easier to remove the nits if you wet the hair with white vinegar while you are combing the nits out. Vinegar helps loosen the "glue" that holds the nits to the hair. Separate and comb small sections of hair at a time.
Vinegar contains properties that kill and get rid of nits and lice. This mixture should be applied directly to the whole scalp. Mix 1 cup of vinegar with 1 cup of warm water. Next, distribute this mixture onto the scalp and cover your hair with a hair cap.