Natural Lice Removal Works Better Than Chemical Treatment

I can confidently say, without a single doubt, that natural treatment for lice is WAY more effective than the chemical stuff.

BTW, the chemical stuff (I won’t name names…) doesn’t work on lice anymore because the lice have MUTATED and are now IMMUNE to it.  

Instead, what's worked for my family (I have 2 school aged children and way more lice infestations than I'd like to recount), is this method.  It's all-natural and highly effective.  It is, however, a lot of work.  

1. Nit comb. (Walmart, Amazon, etc. ~$15)
2. Olive oil.
3. Old towels to use around your shoulders (for the inevitable olive oil stains) and on the floor under where you’ll be standing. 
4. Paper towels.  Have a whole roll nearby.  

Ready?  Let's get rid of those suckers.  

Everyone (with hair) in the household will need to be treated.  

First, brush your hair.  Then wash and condition your hair normally.  Comb it out so there's not too many tangles.  

Put some towels on the floor.  Be next to a sink or in the bathtub.  

Now drench the hair with olive oil.  The bugs can’t hold on to your hair so good with the oil and will slide off easily with the combing.  Comb through with a regular comb.  

Now, use the nit comb, and – this is super-important – comb all the way through the hair.  Start by scraping the nit comb against the scalp, tightly, then keep that pressure all the way through to the tips of the hair.    

You want the nit comb to touch every single portion of your scalp.  The comb has to touch the scalp with each comb-through or you won’t get all the bugs and eggs.  Mostly, they are are super-close to your scalp.  

Comb through 4 times to cover all possible directions.  Each direction is like you're mowing the lawn or vacuuming.  Row-by-row and don't miss or skip any parts. 

If the comb is difficult to get through, use more oil and do another comb through with the regular comb.   

1. front to back

2. left side to right side

3. right side to left side

4. back to front

After every swipe from front to back of the nit comb, wipe the comb off on a dampened paper towel. You'll see the lice and nits (lice eggs) coming out.  

At the end, wash your hair normally to get all the oil out.    

Now I have some slightly bad news.  Although not as bad as having lice…

You need to do a sh!t-ton of laundry. Definitely wash

• all bedding,
• towels, 
• clothing that have been used by anyone in the infected household.  

Pop anything else that’s fabric that can’t be washed into the dryer for 30 minutes at a high setting.  

• You can also freeze items for 12 hours to kill lice on things that can’t be put into the dryer.  Like your hairbrushes.  Definitely do this with your brushes!  
• Also, you can bag things (like stuffies or sofa pillows) for 3 days.  After 3 days of not feeding on human blood, the bugs will die.  

Do the comb-through every day for the next 10 days to prevent reinfestation.  

For the after-care, you don’t need to use the olive oil, but if you have very long thick hair, it will help to pull the comb through easily.  If it works for you, though, you can just use a lot of conditioner in the hair to do the comb-through during the after-care.  So, you wash the hair, put a lot of conditioner in, do the combing and rinse it out.  

Some things to remember about lice:

1. They can hold their breath, so just water alone will not kill them.  To suffocate lice, they have to be submerged (or frozen) for at least 12 hours.  
2. Heat kills them.  So you can put most things in the dryer, like stuffed animals and backpacks, on a high setting and that will kill them.  
3. They have to feed at least every 2 to 3 days; ideally every 12 hours.  So if you have stuff you can’t wash or dry, just stick it in a bag for 3 days.  They will starve to death. 
4. You can freeze your hairbrushes overnight to kill any lice or eggs on them.
5. Lice don’t like testosterone, so men usually get a pass on this whole thing.  But not necessarily... check everyone in the house.  
6. Lice need at least 1/4″ of hair to live on, so if you’re a dude with a shaved head, you’re probably all good.  
7. Mama lice lay around 8 eggs per day.  So if you have a mama bug, by the end of the week, when the first eggs hatch, you’ve got an infestation on your hands as the babies grow up pretty quick and start laying eggs of their own.  If you’re doing weekly comb-throughs, you will get the mama bugs out and any eggs before they hatch.  
8. Lice do not jump or fly, but mama lice walk.  And they’re nocturnal.  So if you’re sleeping next to someone, and mama louse is ready to start her family, she likes to find a new head and fresh blood supply for that, so she is likely to walk over and start her family on whoever’s head is next to yours on the bed.  

I got all this information from a lady who owns a company that actually comes to your house and de-louses you.  That was money well spent…  So, if you’re struggling with lice and can’t seem to figure out how to get rid of them, give the professionals a call!