Natural Remedies for Lice

Coconut Oil

Posted by Angela (Kingsland, GA) on 09/14/2007
★★★★★

My son came home from school the other day, and I was told he had lice. We went out and bought those chemicals, but decided to read about them before using them, and I am so glad we didn't use them. That's when I was told about using Coconut Oil by my mother in law. We bought a jar of the oil, it comes in a solid format, and turns liquid as applying it. We treated my son, my husband and myself just to be safe. We put the oil in his hair, then covered his head with a plastic shower cap and had him sit and watch TV for about an hour. Then we took the cap off and combed his hair out. Getting all the nits was painful to him, but it was VERY SUCCESSFUL. I would definitly recommend this method to anyone. Of coourse there is the little matter of getting the oil out of his hair, it took a couple of washings, but his hair is very soft now!

Kerosene

Posted by Sandy (Il, Usa) on 09/02/2020
★★★★★

Growing up in India, whenever I had lice my mom applied kerosene and it worked well. Kerosene also helps any pain in the leg and knees. I always used to massag my grandma's legs with kerosene. It works.

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Punky Ramone (Quezon City, Philippines) on 09/20/2012
★★★★★

Im 42 years old american been living all over the pacific and asia including philippines from 2004-2005. Since my wife is filipina. Left went to saipan then to u.s. 2008 back and forth between u.s and philippines til 2011 where we started business until july 2012 we never had problem with head lice. We still dont know where we got it but being a devoloping country could have been anywhere. This I do know 1st and formost get out all the bugs and nits u see using a very fine comb and a white tshirt on the floor. The ones that come out that are moving give them a good squezze u will here them pop. Then burn the tshirt. Second use tea trea oil mixed with shampoo. Comb again next day take a day off. Then use eucalyptus oil. Dont dilute at least the eucalyptus oil we have in philippines leave on 30 minutes wash out with shampoo. Repeat 3-4 times and get used to the smell of eucalyptus coz u can wash the oil out ur hairs not oily but the smell stays nothing u can do deal with it. Besides its not a bad smell alternate tea tree and eucalyptus every other day for 2 weeks. Lice gone but if you dont remove all the bedsheets and pilow cases all this treatment is pointless. Best to get your bedsheets to a commercial dryer and set it as high as possible after washing in clorox if they are not colored if colored wash in borax then dry on highest setting and vacuum everything hope this help

Kerosene

Posted by Nona (British Columbia) on 05/26/2022

The Kerosene was indeed used medicinally in the past for various ailments....so was Turpentine, which I still use today. It works for cleansing the body, food poisoning, and the good ol' seasonal deworming routine. I also mix it it in with coconut oil and it's the goto for skin bites, bee stings, rashes, head lice, etc....the kids ask for it. The biggest problem is finding the pure products as you don't want to purchase from Home Depot. I get Georgia Pine on Amazon....read the reviews...as I'm not alone!

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Kathy (Lv, Nv) on 06/21/2012
★★★★★

When my niece bought home lice I was crazy!!! After trying so many things I finally went to walgreens and bought an electric zapper type headlice killer. I don't remember the name but you just comb it through dry hair and when the teeth come in contact with the lice they get electrocuted and die. Very easy... I combed her hair twice a day and mine as well.... Took off all of her bed linen but left one pillow with case and 1 blanket and I put them in the dryer on high every day for 30 minutes for two weeks straight. I also vaccumed her bed every morning when she got up. And she could only sit on a kitchen chair not the couch... I didn't want them crawling around the whole house. It takes alot of time... and I vaccumed my car often too...

Cedarwood Oil

Posted by Chargir (Cleveland, Ohio) on 01/21/2012
★★★★★

I used cedarwood oil for lice. It is a essential oil that can be bought from most soap making supply companies, I got mine from a local soap and candle supply company. Keep in mind. It must be The real essential oil to work well. The cedarwood oil kills the lice, and dissolves the nit glue easily and also kills the eggs. It is totally non-toxic. I coated my granddaughter's head, left it on for 30 min. (Test a nit egg to make sure it releases easily) Worked like a charm, after fighting for a month with over the counter treatments. This put an end to the cycle.

Listerine

Posted by Cristina (La Coruna, Spain) on 04/21/2011
★★★★★

My daughter brought home lice from school a few weeks ago and all the family got them. We tried products from drugstores and supermarkets and they were no use.

Then one day someone told me about Listerine and vinegar, great!! And it doesn?t even feel cold or itchy on your head.

What you do, is you pour Listerine (I used the blue one) over your head making sure it's all over. Then you put a shower cap on and wait for 2 hours. After that you rinse your hair with water (you?ll find some of the lice dead). The next step is to rinse your head thoroughly with white vinegar (this helps to get rid of the nits) and massage well. Rinse again with water.

Then you just wash your hair normally with shampoo and conditioner. I always add a few drops (5 o 6) of tea tree oil to the shampoo, this helps them NOT come back at school!

Our hair is very shiny and clean, and we are at last rid of the plague.

Cedarwood Oil

Posted by Kelly Elmore (Kingston, Ok) on 08/26/2010
★★★★★

Cedar oil it awesome for lice, bed bugs, fleas and on and on. It's completely natural, smells good and absolutely no side effects, of course unless you're allergic to Cedar oil. It's amazing. I use on the yard, the outside of house, the inside of my house, for fire ants, flies, gnats, mosquitos, in my dogs ears, on my dogs and cats. It's GREAT!!!! No ill effects on anyone or any animal in our home.

Kerosene

Posted by Teegr (Pacific Nw, Wa) on 03/22/2010
★★★★★

Just thought I'd tell you that my grandmother who was born in 1916 always told me about the time they got lice right after they had got married...and bought a used mattress after sleeping on the floor for months. They lived in rural Texas..and there was no running to a market in a wagon to get treatments...even had they the money during the depression. They certainly couldn't afford to throw away an infested mattress. They treated the mattress, bedding, AND themselves with kerosene (which they used for bedbugs in bedding when she was a child) and that took care of the problem, except for their eyelashes, which they picked off for awhile. I was always shocked when she told me about it...visualizing they soaked the mattress. She finally explained to me that they dipped a rag into kerosene and scrubbed the daylights out of it. As a result of her experience she always told me to drag out our mattresses and bedding into the sun to bake each side at least every spring, which I did faithfully till I couldn't drag a mattress outside anymore.

Hair Dye

Posted by Stardrum (Maple Falls, WA) on 05/29/2009
★★★★★

Lice cures: I am a foster parent, and as yet have never had a new child placed with me that didn't have lice. I have tried many remedies, including the tea tree, and the chemical, but the thing that has consistently worked for me the FIRST time is dyeing the child's hair. I use a commercial dye, and dye it the same color as the hair so it's not a dramatic change. Then, after the dyeing, we comb out the dead bugs and all nits. In two days after coming and combing, I use a salt water gel. This gel is applied, use a shower cap to cover for an hour or so, and then rinse. I then use tea tree oil in their shampoo forever, and we don't ever get them back. It leaves their hair soft and shiny too.

Coconut Oil, Tea Tree Oil

Posted by Cyndy (Fayetteville, Arkansas) on 01/09/2009
★★★★★

After staying at a friend's home, while I was out of town, my daughter was infested with head lice. By the time I got home, the infestation was huge. She had scratched/clawed her head until it was bleeding and there was blood and skin matted into her hair. I got home at night and the only products I had on hand to treat were coconut and tea tree oil. I poured the entire contents of the tea tree oil onto her head and worked it through her hair until saturated. Then I got my coconut oil and did the same with it. I wrapped her head in a towel and put her to bed. She slept for several hours. When she awoke I went through her hair with a comb and my fingers pulling out bugs. I pulled out more than 60 head lice before I gave up. Most of them were completely dead and the rest were almost dead. We washed her hair with a strong dish soap and applied a good conditioner. After only that one treatment she was completely bug free. I went through her hair with a comb to remove any nits and they combed out very easily. next time your child is infested, try this first, before the harmful chemicals sold on store shelves.

Listerine

Posted by Q (Utah) on 10/23/2025
★★★★★

Years ago my kids came home with lice. It was going around their school. We found lice treatments from the pharmacy ineffective. Anyway I searched the web and found a testimony about using Listerine mouthwash to treat the lice. It works wonders. We used a spray bottle to wet their hair and scalp. It kills the lice and the eggs on contact. And it dissolves the glue from the eggs, making it much easier to pick them out.

Kerosene

Posted by Ana (New Zealand) on 05/11/2024
★★★★★

Persistent lice is very hard to get rid of and some over-the-shelf products don't actually work. I remembered the elderly people talking about using kerosene for hair lice. I googled it and it said to use white kerosene (lamp oil). I filled up a spray bottle with white kerosene and sprayed my hair, being careful not to get any in my eyes. I left it on for 2 hours, then put on eye googles so none got into my eyes in the shower. I used shampoo to wash it off. Then I used a fine-tooth lice comb to remove lice. This worked more effectively than anything else. I started on Friday night and by Monday morning, I was free of lice. Thanks kerosene!

Vaseline

Posted by GertJr (Madison) on 06/08/2021

Back in the day, moms would slather mayonnaise on the children's hair if they had lice. The oiliness smothered the lice as well as kind of 'sticking' them so they couldn't jump off onto someone else. It worked. (They also covered hair with kerosene to kill lice, but that's not a great idea. And they would shave heads if it was bad.)

Selsun Blue, Vinegar, Essential Oils

Posted by May (Australia) on 07/24/2018
★★★★★

Hair Lice - I found this formula on internet - worked like a charm in 1 application

You require a bottle of Selsun Blue shampoo, any conditioner, vinegar, tea tree & eucalyptus essential oils

50 ml of the bottle of Selsun Shampoo
100 ml of any conditioner
3/4 cup of vinegar
25 drops of Tea Tree plus 25 drops of Eucalyptus essential oils

Mix and shake well in a bottle.

Dampen hair slightly, apply the solution and rub in well as if you are shampooing hair.

wrap in a shower cap & leave on for 1hr if possible.

rinse hair - blow dry hair on heat - go through hair with a fine knot comb.

Neem Oil

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.

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Nante (Germany) on 09/27/2014
★★★★★

Want to get rid of lice in once? It requires a lot of work but pays off.

1. Wash your hair with tea tree shampoo or if you have none add tea tree oil to shampoo

2. Put as much coconut oil in your hair as you can fathom. wait 2 hours

3. Comb, comb, comb with a fine lice/flea comb (i used my pets flea comb after disinfecting). This is really important. divide your hair up in partitions to make sure you have had each section. After each stroke dip the comb in hot water with vinegar and brush with an old toothbrush. Keep combing until the comb is clean.

4. Wash again with tea tree. use also vinegar with your wash to kill eggs.

5. Apply new coconut oil and leave it in for two days. keep combing every day.

6. Sleep with a shower cap. put a towel on your pillow that your replace every day.

7. Meanwhile: take out all of your bedlinnens, all coats, scarfs and clothes you have been wearing. Put them in separate closed bags. Spray vinegar in the bags. Wash them as soon as you can. keep them closed and in quarantaine until you are ready to wash.

8. Add baking soda and/or vinegar to your laundry to kill lice & eggs.

9. Wear clean clothes every day for 3-5 days depending on the severity of your infestation. add the dirty clothes to the separate, closed bags. keep the laundry separate for a week.

10. Steam clean your home, mattrasses, pillows, blankets, laundry basket and clean your whole house thoroughly. don't forget the wardrobe, cloth hangers! Replace the vacuum bag. if you don't have a steam cleaner use vinegar everywhere and let it soak for a while.

I know this is a lot but it will get you rid of the lice in ONCE!