This guide outlines how to remove lice from hair permanently, which home remedies are best and which pharmacy remedies are safe.
They are considered a terror in every kindergarten and school: lice. When head lice are around, many parents panic and try to protect their child from an infestation by the tiny insects. But even if your child has lice, there is no need to worry — as long as you quickly initiate targeted treatment to stop the rapid spread of the parasites you can remove lice from hair permanently.
In this article we will tell you what you can do against head lice and which home remedies for lice have proven to be successful for many years. Note: In this guide we mainly deal with the topic of “head lice”, but pubic lice and body lice are not covered in this text.
How to remove lice from hair permanently
What are head lice?
Lice, whose Latin name is “Pediculus humanus capitis,” are tiny, elongated, wingless insects with six legs. Together with the pubic louse and the body louse, they form the human lice family. The head lice, which are only around two to three millimeters in size, are blood-sucking parasites that feed exclusively on human blood and therefore prefer to nest on the scalp — especially of children, for whom you need to know how to remove lice from hair permanently.
Thanks to their specially designed legs (also known as claw grippers), the lice can cling to hair very well and hide in the hairline almost unnoticed due to their almost transparent, slightly grayish or reddish-brown body color (depending on the amount of blood consumed). They usually stick behind the ears, on the back of the neck or above the temples. In addition, they crawl very quickly, which also makes it difficult to see them with the naked eye.
Head lice bite about four to five times a day to feed and suck blood from the skin. At first, the bite does not cause pain because the lice secrete a blood-clotting agent with their saliva, which numbs the puncture site. Only later do the bites become noticeable through sometimes severe itching — an initial indication of head lice!
How to treat head lice with home remedies
Lifespan and transmission of head lice
If left untreated, head lice survive for about three to four weeks, making it important to know how to remove lice from hair permanently. Without food, i.e. human blood, they only live for about a day. However, because lice lay up to 300 eggs (so-called nits) throughout their lifespan, which they stick to the hair near the scalp with a water-soluble substance, they can sometimes spread quickly.
Small larvae hatch from the lice eggs after just seven to nine days, which in turn can continue to reproduce after another eight to ten days. Because of their underdeveloped legs, the newly hatched lice cannot yet crawl up to the ends of the hair and therefore usually prefer to stay close to the head.
Note: Lice can neither fly nor jump. Only adult head lice with fully grown legs can crawl into the tips of the hair and from there move onto other people’s hair upon direct contact.
Is poor hygiene responsible for the transmission of head lice?
Despite what is often said, poor hygiene is not the reason why head lice are transmitted from one person to another. Whether you wash your hair frequently or rarely, whether you use a natural shampoo or not, it doesn’t matter: anyone can get head lice if they come into close contact with a person infested with lice, use the same brushes, combs, towels or pillows.
Since children in particular often put their heads together while playing, in kindergarten or at school, the tiny animals are usually transmitted from one child to another by adult head lice crawling on the other child’s hair, making it important to understand how to remove lice from hair permanently.
Good to know: Although head lice are annoying and persistent, they are usually not dangerous for children and adults. The insects are usually passed from one child to another through frequent physical contact while playing and running around.
How to remove lice from hair permanently: The best home remedies
Unfortunately, it is not enough to clean your head extensively with normal shampoo or brush your hair thoroughly to get rid of unwanted head lice and nits — the lice and eggs are too stuck for that. Likewise, heat such as a dryer, a hairdryer or a sauna does not help in how to remove lice from hair permanently.
Nevertheless, not everyone wants to resort to an aggressive anti-lice treatment when they have head lice. For the sake of your skin and hair as well as the environment, it is sometimes better to try a mild home remedy for how to remove lice from hair permanently first. There are various home remedies that can help both children and adults in the fight against stubborn parasites!
In the following sections we will show you the best home remedies as a possible alternative to chemical or physical lice remedies for lice, so that you can treat a lice infestation in a short time. If you prefer the quick and intensive version, we are at your side with lice remedies from the pharmacy !
Important: Home remedies kill, anesthetize or paralyze the head lice. During this anesthesia phase, the lice and the nits that have been deposited and stuck to the hair must then be combed out with a very fine comb or, ideally, with a special nit comb from the pharmacy. This is the only way to permanently rid the scalp of annoying parasites and prevent any remaining eggs from hatching into further head lice after a while.
For this reason, it is also important to repeat the use of home remedies regularly (over a period of about one or two weeks) for how to remove lice from hair permanently so that no nits or lice remain in your hair.
Normal hair conditioner for better combing
Intensive treatment with a conventional hair conditioner can help against head lice. The background is that a conditioner makes the hair easier to comb and silky soft, making it easier to comb out with a nit comb. It is important that the nit comb is wiped or rinsed after each strand to remove the nits and parasites adhering to it.
The nit comb should then be disinfected — depending on the material of the comb, this can be done in boiling water or with vinegar water, for example. If you want to use conditioner as a home remedy against lice, you should carry out the described procedure with washing your hair and carefully combing it every day for about eight to nine days.
Vinegar paralyzes head lice
Head lice hate acidic substances, which is why vinegar is a proven home remedy for how to remove lice from hair permanently. Simply make a mixture of one or two parts warm water and one part vinegar, work the mixture into your hair like a shampoo or conditioner and leave the mixture for about 10 (if using apple cider vinegar) to 15 minutes (when using vinegar) on the scalp. Now wash your hair with regular shampoo and comb it with a suitable lice comb.
Tip: If you have head lice, use this mixture not only as a natural hair conditioner or shampoo to combat the insects, but also to clean the combs and brushes you use!
Warm oils help as home remedies against lice
Although most people are more familiar with oils such as olive oil and almond oil in connection with topics such as cooking recipes or oil pulling, they can also be used in how to remove lice from hair permanently.
The best way to do this is to warm the oil slightly in the evening and gently distribute it over the entire head so that every strand is soaked. Then simply wrap a large towel around your head and leave the product on for at least four hours (ideally overnight) before washing your hair with commercial shampoo. Then individual strands are combed out with a lice comb as described above.
Essential oils to fight head lice
Essential oils are mainly used to promote or maintain health and general well-being, but not as a remedy against parasites. However, head lice are reportedly suffocated or repelled by essential oils.
Make a mixture of two drops of essential oil (for example lavender, rosemary or citronella, geranium, eucalyptus, rosemary or tea tree oil) and neem, coconut or soybean oil, put it on the head and massage the product thoroughly into the head scalp and leave it on for at least an hour. After this time frame, the infestation of head lice should decrease significantly, as the animals either move away or even suffocate on the product because of the unbearable smell.
Note: It has not yet been scientifically proven that essential oils actually work for how to remove lice from hair permanently. So if the head lice are not killed, but instead just move on and possibly attack another family member, this probably does not have the desired effect. Essential oils can also cause skin irritation and allergies, which is why their use may need to be reconsidered.
Lavender and lavender vinegar to fight head lice
Lavender vinegar is also said to help in how to remove lice from hair permanently. However, this remedy must be prepared well in advance — the lavender vinegar needs two weeks to infuse and develop its effect. If you have so much time (for example, if there are head lice in circulation but there is no known infestation within the family), you can mix 3.5oz (100g) of fresh flower tips and 2 cups (500ml) of vinegar, let this mixture steep for 14 days and stir occasionally.
Before the treatment, the vinegar mixture is strained through a sieve and then used on the scalp like the other vinegar mixtures. Alternatively, you can steep real lavender in cider vinegar and apply it to your head after washing your hair normally.
Thyme hair treatment for head lice
Thyme is also said to be a very effective home remedy against lice. Add 3.5oz (100g) of fresh or dried thyme to 4 cups (1 liter) of water and cook for 15 minutes. Then put the mixture through a sieve and (cooled!) apply to your head like a hair treatment after the shampoo.
Arnica as a home remedy for head lice
The decoction of boiled arnica flowers is also said to work in how to remove lice from hair permanently. To make the mixture, 1/3 oz (10 g) of arnica flowers are boiled in a 4 cups (1 liter) of water for 5 minutes, left to steep for another 5 minutes and finally drained through a sieve. The remaining broth is massaged into the scalp while it is as hot as possible.
Dye your hair or tint it with henna to fight head lice
What sounds almost too good to be true is actually supposed to work against annoying head lice: dyeing or tinting your hair. The chemical hair dye and the less aggressive henna dyes, which are even available commercially as colorless versions, are reportedly reliable in killing the insects. However, this tip should only be used for adults.
Mayonnaise and petroleum jelly to kill head lice
In addition, kitchen stars such as mayonnaise or cosmetics such as petroleum jelly are sometimes used to combat head lice. Rubbing them with the fatty substances is said to suffocate the animals. To do this, first rub your head and hair thoroughly with mayonnaise or petroleum jelly and then cover it with a towel, a shower cap or a little cling film so that the product can take effect for several hours or, better yet, overnight. After the exposure time, the hair is washed thoroughly as described above and combed out with a lice comb.
A disadvantage of using mayonnaise and petroleum jelly in how to remove lice from hair permanently is that these products are difficult to wash out and sometimes require a lot of water and shampoo to wash your hair.
Medical treatments to remove lice from hair permanently
Lice treatment with Dimeticon or chemical treatment
If no home remedies help to effectively combat head lice, a proven lice treatment with Dimeticone (silicone oil) or a chemical agent should be used for how to remove lice from hair permanently.
Agents containing Dimeticone have an extremely low surface tension. This allows them to coat the animals in a matter of seconds and flood their fourteen tiny breathing holes, so that the head lice suffocate within just ten minutes.
Chemical agent containing insecticides
Lice treatments with insect venom (for example with the active ingredient allethrin, pyrethrum or permethrin) attack the nervous system of the head lice. As a result, they can no longer move and die within 30 minutes.
Valuable information and practical tips
Although lice remedies with Dimeticon are very effective against head lice, they do not pose a danger to people — neither to small children nor during pregnancy or breastfeeding. The non-toxic silicone oils do not contain insecticides or neurotoxins and are not absorbed by the skin or mucous membranes. Thanks to the purely physical mode of action, resistance to active ingredients is also prevented from developing.
Chemical lice treatments are usually well tolerated when used correctly. However, good sun protection for the hair must be ensured, so sun and blow-drying are initially taboo. In addition, increasing cases of resistance to individual chemical substances have been reported abroad.
In order to get rid of the pests for good, you should definitely follow the package leaflet and the exposure time of the respective products and repeat the treatment regularly as indicated (see also the next paragraph).
Fighting head lice: instructions and tips
Whether home remedies or chemical or physical lice remedies, whether children or adults: So that you are well prepared if the worst comes to the worst, we have put together understandable step-by-step instructions and practical tips for you below so that you can understand how to remove lice from hair permanently.
- Step 1: Use the home remedy of your choice and comb out the still damp hair strand by strand.
- Step 2: After eight to ten days, repeat the treatment from step 1 with your preferred lice treatment so that any larvae that have subsequently hatched are also combed out.
- Step 3: Another four days later, you should thoroughly check the scalp for insects before cleaning the hair well again and combing it out while it is damp.
Tips to fight head lice
- Stay at home as prevention. It is probably the best way to prevent head lice. As soon as it becomes known that a child or several children in kindergarten, daycare, sports club, etc. have lice, your child should stay at home for a few days if possible.
- If you suspect head lice, you can check it with a lice comb. Once the animals have nested in the hair, they stick to the comb. A magnifying glass can provide further clarity.
- If your suspicion of head lice is confirmed, you should inform those responsible at school, kindergarten, daycare or sports club to prevent them from spreading.
- Clean your bed linen and towels at 60 degrees and clean hairbrushes and combs thoroughly so that the insects cannot spread from there.
Textiles or cuddly toys that cannot be washed at 60 degrees are best placed in the freezer at around -18 degrees for a day. - Only use a lice comb on damp hair and then pamper the hair with good hair care.
- Be thorough when combing out: first brush the hair roughly before carefully combing out individual strands from the hairline to the tips with the comb.
- After each strand, wipe the lice comb on a kitchen paper towel and hold it under running water. After treatment, you should clean the comb in vinegar water, with a hair conditioner or in boiling water (for 10 minutes), depending on the material.
- When washing and combing, protect the clothing with a towel or cape and clean it after use.
Other ways to prevent head lice
Even though lice are basically harmless and treatment is usually very effective, fighting lice is annoying and takes some time to remove lice from hair permanently. Luckily, there are a few ways to prevent lice infestation.
Anti-lice hair ties
Anti-lice hair ties are ideal for children (and adults) with long hair. They are treated with an anti-lice agent and are intended to ensure that head lice do not settle in the hair in the first place. Note: The effect of the hair ties wears off after a few hours or days (depending on the model). The hair tie should then be replaced to ensure adequate protection against lice.
Essential oil behind the ears
Just as you can mix essential oils into shampoo for treatment, you can also use them as home remedies to ward off lice. Simply put a few drops (e.g. lavender oil) behind your ears and on the back of your neck. This should help to effectively keep the head lice at a distance. Tip: Make sure that the essential oils are suitable for use on the skin. Otherwise, unpleasant skin irritations may occur.
Always use your own helmets and hats
If possible, avoid borrowing hats and helmets for yourself or your child. No matter whether it’s a sun hat or a ski, bicycle or riding helmet… Especially if many people have already worn the helmet and it is not cleaned regularly, the risk of lice is very high.
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