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Natural Remedies for Lice

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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Neem Oil

5 star (4) 
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Posted by Stuman (Oceanside, Ca) on 12/30/2016
 ★★★★★

About 15 years ago my daughter had lice. We first tried combing my daughter's hair for days - it worked but the lice and nits were still popping up. We didn't want to use Rid with Piperonyl butoxide (4%) and Pyrethrum extract.

We read about undiluted Neem oil and it worked great with one application. Cover the entire affected area with the undiluted neem and leave it in the hair for 15 minutes or longer. Shampoo the oil out of the hair. The undiluted oil smells nutty, my daughter found it offensive. It will take time and several washes to remove the odor.

15 years ago there weren't many vendors selling neem oil. Now there are many health products with neem. Some say neem shampoo will prevent re-infestation after the undiluted treatment.

Neem Oil
Posted by Cameron (Brisbane, Australia) on 04/05/2010
 ★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Like so many others I've had such success with remedies from this site I thought it was time to provide some feedback and maybe help others.

My little girls had not gone to school yet but now had their second case of headlice, I watched my sister in law go through hell with these creatures with 5 kids and now it was our turn. I tried the horrible Mayo and plastic bag idea but it was revolting firstly and secondly ineffective, that time I enede up using an OTC product from the pharmacy.

The second time I came straight here again and decided Neem was the go, I mixed 1 part Neem Oil to 2 parts Olive Oil and left the mixture in the girls hair for an hour. We combed all the dead lice out and the eggs, we never retreated them it was a once only treatment that was 100% successful, we now use a Neem Shampoo that has allowed my little school girl to survive 2 school headlice outbreaks nit free even though her best friend got them both times.

As others have said you could simply mix some neem oil into your usual shampoo, it will however leave a nasty ring around your bath but its a small price to pay for nit free kids.

Thanks to all who take the time to post here it makes others lives that much easier.

Replied by John
(Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia)
02/11/2012
★★★★★

Yeah, neem oil is definitely really good..... Many Asians know about this and is a standard treatment in parts of India.. Neem is a hardwood tree that grows faster than other hardwoods, very oily. The oil can also be used in tootpaste. It is not known to be risky for humans but will attack parasites, bacteria and fungi.

Neem Oil
Posted by Diane (San Francisco, CA) on 10/06/2007
 ★★★★★

I have used neem oil very successfully to prevent head lice. My daughter caught them at school. I used an over-the-counter insecticide to kill the lice that were on her head. Then I used the special comb included with the insecticide to remove as many of the eggs as possible. Then I applied neem oil (heated until it was liquid) to her scalp, generously, then massaged her scalp to make sure the oil covered her scalp completely. After this treatment, she had no more lice. The other kids in her class continued to get lice, but she never got lice again. I understand that neem oil kills the eggs and also makes it difficult or impossible for the living lice to drink blood from the veins in the scalp, so they die without laying more eggs.

Replied by Cindy
(Pflugerville, Tx)
05/21/2009

Neem oil is toxic though. Your little girl didn't get a headache or anything?

EC: Neem has been used in India and Bangladesh for centuries!

"Neem oil has an extensive history of human use in India and surrounding regions for a variety of therapeutic purposes. Puri (1999) has given an account of traditional uses and therapeutic indications and pharmacological studies of this oil, in his book on neem."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem_oil

Replied by Stuman
(Oceanside, Ca)
12/30/2016

I noticed your post is seven years old and things have changed. Yes, wiki does mention neem may be toxic to pregnant women and children when consumed. However, for topical applications there are many over the counter soaps and shampoos available. On a side note the OTC toothpaste do not have neem oil. It is neem leaf and or neem bark.

Nit Remedies

Posted by Alison (Uk) on 04/13/2015

My child has a huge problem with nits! I have no problem getting rid of the mites themselves but can't seem to get rid of the eggs. My child has lots of very fine hair and nit combs dont seem lift them off the hair. Tried all the obvious remedies but no joy. Any ideas anyone?

Replied by Mmsg
(Somewhere, Europe)
04/13/2015

Alison, like someone here already wrote, you just have to pick them out by hand one by one. Do some daily, and in a short time they should be gone.

Replied by Mgh
(Uk)
04/13/2015

Have you tried the nitty gritty comb , it was designed by a mum who was also an engineer, it has long teeth with spirals on them , you use on wet hair with conditioner, it just combs lice and nits out really quickly, no nasty chemicals. It was a life saver when my 4 children were little.

Olive Leaf

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Posted by Diane (Uniontown, Pa) on 03/27/2014
 ★★★★★

My grands were INFESTED a few years back with head lice. Both my husband and I were taking olive leaf extract at the time and we never got them. Olive leaf extract taken internally kills them. They got them again. So we took the olive leaf extract and I also used Denorex Therapeutic proactively. They got it again, my head started itching, and I found a bug. So I took ole, did the Denorex Therapeutic again, got rid of them easily. I never even nitpicked. I never vacuumed, washed bedding or any of that. I just changed my pillow cases. My grands have head lice yet again. Their mother has finally agreed to at least make a tea from the ole capsules and pour it on their heads to see what this will do. Just wondering if anyone from here has tried an ole tea yet for head lice?

On another note, for those of you that are wondering why you keep getting them, I heard an interesting story a while back. A coworker said her family had a problem with head lice the whole time she was growing up. Her mother would wash all the beddings, put things in garbage bags and contact all the other parents every time they got them. Her dad was so desperate he poured kerosene on their heads, and they still kept getting them. Years later, they found out that their aunt had them and never told anyone because she was too "embarrassed". So if you're struggling with head lice, it's probably someone in your close circle not letting you know.

Olive Oil

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Posted by Ashley (Brownfield, Me, United States) on 12/05/2012
 ★★★★★

I have a daughter who is in her first year of kindergarten. One day my daughter came home with her hair so tangled and while I was combing her hair I noticed that she had lice and I will admit I freaked out and so I called my mom up and asked what was the best way to get rid of lice and she hung up and came straight over. I watched as she was putting olive oil in my daughters hair... All I could think was 'why olive oil?' but knowing that my daughter had school the next day I was willing to do anything to get rid of the bugs. I stayed up till four making sure that my home was lice free it took me an hour after I washed her hair out wit dish soap to brush it but I then rinsed her hair with white distilled vinegar and I saw such a difference it was amazing. I have never heard about tree oil till now but even now I check my daughters hair every night before she goes to bed.

Olive Oil
Posted by Ann G. (Tampa, Florida) on 04/23/2007
 ★★★★★

In Florida head lice are almost a certainty if your children are in public school. Beware of head sets in the media centers and sharing MP3 headsets...it's just like sharing your comb.

After getting the head lice that wouldn't die, the kind that are resistant to the OTC stuff they tell you to buy, I found out that the cure of the desperate was petroleum jelly. Yes, that certainly did work however, it is just awful to try and get out of your hair! The next time the kids brought lice home from school, we tried olive oil. Generously douse the hair with it...work it in and put a shower cap on their head and leave it on as long as you can stand it, sleep in it if you can. The next morning, shampoo it all out, go over their hair with a nit picker comb and you are done with the lice. Check back every day or so to make sure none of the eggs are still in the hair. The oil simply suffocates the bugs. I have never had to reapply the olive oil. Added benefit, the olive oil leaves their hair really soft and shiny. While the hair is being treated of course, wash all the bedding in HOT water and spray the lice spray on the bed. Pack all their stuffed animals and pillows that can't be washed in a trash bag, tie it up tight and put it out in the garage for about two weeks to kill off the lice. They can't live without biting and they die of starvation!

EC: And if we might add -- people should always avoid using shared headsets, especially the ones found at the music stores that let you sample CDs before buying them.

Olive Oil, Dish Soap, Vinegar, Tea Tree and Neem Oils

5 star (3) 
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Posted by Raviela (Whittier, Ca) on 08/10/2009
 ★★★★★

LICE CURE:
We are tired of the dangerous chemicals on the market, searched various site for natural remedies. Have tried most with the most sucess going to:
1) 1 Cup of olive oil - saturate the hair (more needed for long hair) leave on for 2 hours covered with a plastic shower cap, this sufficates the adults and plugs the hole on the eggs. (you can also use mayonaise or petroleum jelly-which takes weeks to remove)
2) Wash the oil out with DAWN dishsoap (regular) It's the only thing that will cut the oil. It won't harm the hair or scalp.
3) Rinse with White Vinegar, this helps to loosen the nits from the hair shaft (most will fall out, the rest will comb out.) It will leave the hair shinny & clean.
4) Comb the hair with the best nit comb (metal) you can find at your local pharmacy.
5) Add 10-15 drops of Tea Tree oil & Neem oil to your shampoo to use reguarly to keep the little buggers away.

Replied by Joy1234
(Ravenna, Ohio)
09/21/2011
★★★★★

I tried the Olive Oil, and White Vinegar remendy and IT WORKED!!!! My daughter is in first grade and she has been getting head lice from other students at school since Kindergarten it got to the point where we were spending $100.00 a month on medicine and laundry to get rid of the head lice, we even bug bombed the house several times and she was still getting it. I started to Google how to get rid of head lice naturally and found this site. I can't believe we actually found something that works.

Replied by Brittany B
(Spring Lake, Mi)
08/21/2012
★★★★★

This really did work! Thank you for the tips. My daughter came home from Preschool last week and we did the Nix and Rid treatments three times and it would not take care of it. Not to mention all of that is so expensive! You could even see the live lice it killed from the oil and the nits that the come didn't get came out so easily. Amazing! Thanks again!

Olive Oil, Tea Tree Oil

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Posted by Grace (Nassau, Bahamas) on 07/29/2009
 ★★★★★

I used the traditional lice shampoo the minute my son began itching. I combed after and didn't see more than a few nits and no lice. About 5 days later I could see live lice, so I decided to use a home remedy since we couldn't apply our second dose of shampoo until day 7. I mixed 1/2 cup olive oil with 2 TBSP tea tree oil, massaged liberally into his hair and waited one hour. Next I combed dozens of dead lice from his hair, which tooked about 90 minutes. The next day I repeated the olive oil application and got only about a dozen dead lice. I can't comment on the nits b/c I cant see any. Hopefully it means that the lice were in the nymph stage and not mature enough to lay new eggs.

Olive Oil, Vinegar and Tea Tree Oil

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Posted by Kimberly (Fl, Usa) on 02/02/2012
 ★★★★★

My niece came and stayed all night at our home, we did not know she had head lice. I found it in my grand-daughters hair about a week later. Her hair hangs all the way to her waist. I also got the little "darn" things. I too, have hair not quite as long as hers. We did the olive oil, wrapped out heads in saran wrap and tied a plastic bag around our heads. Slept all night, in the morning I rinsed our heads first with vinegar. I then put some tea tree oil in the shampoo and washed our hair. I sprayed some no more tangles on our hair and then combed it out with a nit comb. One week later I repeated the process all over again. Did not see any nits or bugs the second time. We used the shampoo all week with the tea tree oil in it. Still in the shampoo to date.

P. S. Got them out of my nieces hair too however I used the alcohol and vinegar mixture with the tea tree oil and wrapped her head with saran wrap and plastic bag. (didn't have olive oil) She kept it one for 2 hours, combed her hair out with nit comb. Sent her home with shampoo with tea oil in it. One week later I repeated except this time I used the olive oil, vinegar and tea tree oil-she was nit and bug free.

Olive Oil, Vinegar and Tea Tree Oil
Posted by SoCal (Orange County, CA) on 06/23/2008
 ★★★★★

Lice: I have found that olive oil, vinegar & tea tree oil works great. I soaked my daughter's head in Olive oil with a shower cap on it for 2 plus hours as soon as we discovered she had lice. We then used the metal nit combs to comb through her hair. You have to be very thorough doing this. It's best to section off areas of the hair. Using magnifying glasses and working in the best light - the outside sun - is the best way to be thorough about getting the nits. After combing through her hair the first time I then soaked her hair in vinegar for an hour or more with a different shower cap on. Then we combed through her hair again - with the tiny metal toothed combs - very very thoroughly. I rinsed the comb often in a bucket so the nits would be dislodged. Go over and over the sections of hair to get those nits and any left over lice. Most people get the lice but aren't thorough enough about getting the nits. The nits are eggs and they will hatch if you don't get rid of them. The whole cycle can start over if you aren't thorough with nit picking. She then shampooed with her regular shampoo that we put tea tree oil in - about 10 drops in a typical bottle of shampoo. We did the same in her conditioner but added twice as much tea tree oil. While the conditioner was in her hair she combed it through to dislodge any loosened nits/eggs. We continue to use the tea tree products and comb it through her hair periodically to ensure she no longer has lice. We have found this method to be better than using the chemicals.

Peppermint Castile Soap

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Posted by Chris (Chicago) on 01/18/2016
 ★★★★★

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Dr Bronners peppermint castile soap for Lice. You have to use the peppermint one though because the peppermint and saponified oils kill the lice. It's used as a natural insecticide in organic gardening.

What you do is you use the Dr Bronners straight undiluted. Apply it generously to dry hair. You do not have to bag it. The soap dries and won't get on your stuff. Even if it does its just soap. Bagging a childs head is a suffocation hazard, I know alot of parents mean well and think it wont happen to their kid but this is more common than you think. So you get a bit of soap on your kids pillow, ITS NOT THAT SERIOUS. Leave the soap in all day or overnight, when you take your kid a bath and rinse it out make sure not to get it in their eyes because the peppermint stings. It's harmless but why make them more uncomfortable. A bunch of dead lice will be falling out of their head after doing the treatment.

Do the UNDILUTED treatment every few days (use your best judgement as you know how bad the infestation is), everyday when you bathe them use the dr bronners diluted as a shampoo and when their hair is dry add coconut oil as a leave in treatment. You can even add peppermint oil to coconut oil but its not necessary. Coconut oil does plenty on its own. You should nit pick but you dont have to. My daughter is autistic and its hard to get her to sit still for it. Also if you miss even one egg and it hatches your efforts were for nothing. Use dr bronners and the coconut oil religously and you will keep killing them as they hatch and youll be lice free before you know it. Use the dr bronners diluted as a shampoo, then use the coconut oil as a leave in treatment. No nit picking necessary. Though if you do a vinegar rinse after shampooing and comb with the nit comb it will help take the eggs out but you can just comb, you dont have to sit there for hours nitpicking. Just comb it through their hair and youll get some eggs out here and there. This is how I rid myself and my daughter of lice without nitpicking through our hair and our family and friends have also has success with the Dr Bronners. I normally notice theyre all gone after 1 or 2 treatments (you might find babies that have hatched after the first treatment). But I keep shampooing for 2 to 4 weeks as a precaution. Washing with Dr bronners regularly and using the coconut oil kills them as they hatch and keeps them from laying more eggs. So even if you are nitpicking and miss some eggs they wont live long enough to mature and lay more. And remember to use the Undiluted treatment every few days as a more heavy duty treatment. Its the most important one.

On another note PLEASE DO NOT USE KEROSENE on your child's head to get rid of lice. All it takes is some static on your childs clothes to light the kerosene and their head on fire. It's very dangerous. I understand lice suck and they are a plague on our children but at the end of the day they are harmless bugs. You don't need to practically douse your childs head (or yours) in gasoline. ITS NOT THAT SERIOUS.

Peppermint Oil and Coconut Conditioner

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Posted by Tammy (Bridgeport, New York) on 12/10/2011
 ★★★★★

I used about 4 drops of peppermint oil used in candy flavorings and coconut conditioner- mix together coat head really well, cover with shower cap for about 30 minutes. The peppermint and coconut oils kill lice on contact and after you rinse it out, the nits comb right out with ease.

Pick Them Out in Sunshine

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Posted by Charity (Faithville, Us) on 03/21/2015
 ★★★★★

I have LOTS of experience with these lice. My daughter got them and did not mention it to me until it was horrific case. We tried tea tree oil. A whole bottle overnight, she had long hair wrapped in a towel. I wouldn't do that again.

Ao over the course of six months . I nit picked out in the sun. If there is one egg left on the hair shaft and it hatches. Then you are back to square one. I also washed her stuff constantly in hot water and bagged it while using stuff that had been in bags. I also had 3 feet of hair and never got it. My other family members never got it either.

For my grand daughter, I used a lighted magnifying glass my friend got lice and I picked her twice in a week between her using tea tree shampoo and she was over them. The combs don't get them all off the shaft you have to pick.

Pure Alcohol, Aka Rubbing Alcohol

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Posted by Joe (Starkville, Ms) on 12/20/2011
 ★★★★★

Easy, inexpensive remedy that completely eliminated lice after 3 treatments. Mix equal parts of 91% rubbing alcohol and white vinegar into a spray bottle. Add 1 drop of tea tree oil for every fluid ounce of mixture. 3-4 ounces will be sufficient to treat a head of long hair. Thoroughly wet hair with mixture, and comb out in sections with metal nit comb. After every few strokes, rinse the comb in a container of water to see what is coming out of the hair and to track progress. Wash and condition hair afterwards with coconut based products. Blow dry hair on high heat. Repeat treatment every other day to break the reproduction cycle until lice are gone.


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