Natural Ways to Get Rid of Head Lice

When Pesticides Aren't the Answer

Medicated shampoos and hair treatments popularly recommended by doctors, nurses, and pharmacists are basically pesticides. Rid, a popular anti-head lice treatment, contains Pyrethrin/piperonyl butoxide, a pesticide said to be safe for human use. And Nix, another front runner in head lice treatment, uses permethrin as its active ingredient. Some studies suggest that head lice may be becoming “immune” to these pesticides. Other pesticides used by prescription only for treatment of head lice are lindane and malathion. Even though approved for use by humans, some of us are understandably reluctant to bathe our children’s heads in pesticides. 

What natural, non-pesticidal remedies are there for ridding one’s self of head lice? A lot, apparently. Some of them are dangerous, and shouldn’t be used on animal or human. Using kerosene on your hair to kill head lice is one of those dangerous practices. Other popular treatments involve coating the hair in Vaseline, or petroleum jelly, and leaving it on overnight. The danger with that remedy is, of course, that petroleum is flammable. Leaving your child’s head coated with a flammable substance is probably not a good idea. 

Many parents recommend coating the hair with a hair conditioner, making sure to bathe each strand. Then carefully comb, section by section, with a fine toothed metal comb, especially made and sold to combat head lice. Wipe the comb after each pass through the hair. A louse is about the size and shape of a sesame seed; the nits (or eggs) are small, white, and cling to the hair shaft down near the root. Nits resemble dandruff but do not flake off. The hair conditioner makes the nits easier to comb out, some people believe, although others stated that the conditioner makes the nits more difficult to see. Either way, every strand of hair must be combed all the way from the root. 

Cetaphil Skin Cleanser gets a lot of favorable feedback in the war against head lice. You use it the same way you would the hair conditioner. Other people like to coat the hair thoroughly with the cleanser; then dry with a hair dryer until you have created a stiff “helmet” of hair; sleep on it overnight, then comb out with fine-toothed, metal comb in the morning. The theory behind this approach is that the lice will suffocate while trapped in the dried cleanser. Head lice can live several hours without oxygen, so be prepared to leave this cleanser on your head for at least 8 hours. 

Freezing is known to kill head lice, but you would not want to use that option on a live human’s head. Freezing is effective for small stuffed animals, treasured hair ribbons or bows, or other small items that may have potentially be contaminated by head lice.