Olive/Coconut Oil and Vinegar Remedy

Lice may be small, but they can take over your head quickly. However, the fact that they are small is actually an advantage to you, because they can be smothered with little effort.

First, wash your child’s hair thoroughly with the shampoo you normally use. Then apply a half cup or more of room temperature olive or coconut oil to the hair so it’s thoroughly saturated. Then cover the hair with a shower cap. Within an hour, all of the lice should have suffocated under the heavy layer of olive oil. In order to get the oil out of the hair, it’s beneficial to shampoo twice or as many times as necessary.

To remove the dead lice, soak a towel in distilled white vinegar. This towel as well as a dry one needs to be wrapped around your child’s head for an hour. Then you can easily remove the lice with a nit comb.

Essential Oil Remedy

You can use the same steps above, but create a 50:50 mix of olive oil and an essential oil. Any of the following essential oils can be used: tea tree, lavender, thyme, geranium, ylang ylang, or anise seed. Cinnamon and peppermint is also effective, but if you or your child has sensitive skin, you might want to avoid these ones.

Because lice are carried to another person so easily, it’s wise to treat everyone in the family. Also, explain to your child how he/she can prevent this from happening again in the future. It requires a lot of effort to remove lice from your head, bedding, carpet, furniture, toys, etc., but at least there are chemical free ways to remedy the problem.