Natural Remedies for Head Lice

In cases of lice, the usual treatment is an insecticidal shampoo or cream, however, this should not be used on children under the age of two, pregnant or nursing women and those with asthma and some other medical conditions.
In these cases or any time you aren’t enthusiastic about using a chemical insecticide, you may want to look into natural options.

The first and most widely recommended is to manually remove the lice and eggs.
You will need:

A bright light
A magnifying glass
A fine-toothed comb
Tweezers

Use the light and magnifying glass while combing the lice and eggs out with the fine-toothed comb. Rinse the comb at each comb-through to remove live lice and eggs. Start the comb very close to the scalp to get the eggs. Use the tweezers to pick out lice that escape the comb. Repeat this procedure everyday for several days to make sure you get all the lice and again in 7 days in case any eggs were missed and have hatched.

Another popular natural remedy uses olive oil or vegetable oil.
Saturate the hair and scalp with the oil. This coats the adult lice and suffocates them. Cover your hair with a shower cap and keep it firmly in place with a scarf. Leave this on for at least 2 hours before shampooing. It may take two shampoos to remove all the oil. Follow this with the combing and picking procedure described above. (just one time) Check your hair in seven days to make sure all the lice are gone.

Other home remedy experts prescribe essential oils added to the vegetable oil to make it more efficient. (Always perform a skin test to test for irritation prior to application.)

One recipe is:

¼ cup vegetable or olive oil
20 drops tee tree essential oil
10 drops lavender essential oil

Combine the ingredients and apply to the scalp and hair. Cover with a shower cap and leave it on for 2 hours. Shampoo to remove all the oil. Follow with the combing and picking procedure described above.

No need for harmful pesticide sprays in your home.
Lice will not live away from the body for more than 48 hours. You can put any stuffed animals, dolls or items that cannot be washed in a sealed plastic bag for several days.

You can also place items in a hot dryer for 45 minutes to kill adult lice.

Lice are a nuisance and are embarrassing but they are not dangerous and with attention to procedure and detail, they can be eradicated. And without chemicals!