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.  There is, however, some work involved.  

What you'll need:  

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, 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 your 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, for the nit comb:  

1.  You're going to comb all 4 directions - 

• front to back
• back to front
• left to right 
• right to left

2.  Each direction is like when you're mowing the lawn or vacuuming

• slightly overlap each comb stroke
• comb all the way to the scalp and all the way through to the ends of the hair
• after each stroke, WIPE THE COMB ON A WET PAPER TOWEL.  

3.  When you wipe the comb, check for bugs and little egg sacks (I know, it's disturbing.)  Have a stack of wet paper towels ready to go.  You may go through 5-10 each time, depending on how many bugs you find.  

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're super-close to your scalp.  

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

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

Next Steps:  

You need to do a 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, combs, and hair ties.    
• For things like stuffies or sofa pillows, stick them in a (clean) trash bag 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.  

Some things to remember about lice:

1. They can hold their breath, so 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.   
4. You can freeze your hairbrushes overnight to kill any lice or eggs on them.
5. Lice don’t like testosterone, so men don't get infected as often as women or kids.  But still check everyone in the house.  Same with African-American hair.  Lice prefer straight hair, but I've seen someone with kinky hair get lice, so... 
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.  If you have an adult female bug, by the end of the week, when the first eggs hatch, you’ve got an infestation on your hands.  The babies grow up within days, and start laying eggs of their own.  If you’re doing weekly comb-throughs, you'll get the mama bugs out and any eggs before they hatch.  The key is - REGULAR, WEEKLY COMB-THROUGHS.  During the school year, we do monthly maintenance comb-throughs.  
8. Lice do not jump or fly, but mama lice walk.  Also, they’re nocturnal.  If you’re sleeping next to someone with lice, they're likely to walk over and start a new family on your head.  

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!