Lice dislike the smell of many things, but the thing they hate most is peppermint. So, before you send your kid off to hang out with other kids, spray them with a peppermint spray. It's the same concept as using a mosquito or bug spray in the summer months, except the scent is less offensive.
What repels head lice? Coconut, tea tree oil, lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon grass, and peppermint are scents popularly believed to repel lice. Using any coconut scented shampoo and conditioner is an easy way to increase your defense. At 1% concentration, tea tree oil killed 100% of head lice after 30 minutes.
Unfortunately, there is no proven head lice deterrent that will prevent your child from getting head lice again. The best you can do is stay alert for suspicious head scratching. Itching is an allergic reaction to chemicals in a head louse's saliva.
Lotions and sprays for head lice and nits
There are several different products that can be applied to the scalp and hair to kill head lice, including: dimeticone 4% lotion or lotion spray – applied and left for 8 hours (usually overnight) dimeticone 4% spray gel – applied and left for 15 minutes.
Lice and nits can be removed by wet combing. You can buy a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb) online or from pharmacies to remove head lice and nits. There may be instructions on the pack, but usually you: wash hair with ordinary shampoo.
Lice eggs are so small you would never know if they hatched or not. The only way to prevent them from hatching would be to remove them with a good metal nit comb, or your fingernails.
As with furniture and carpets, adult lice typically live for around 2 days on pillows and sheets without human contact. Nits will not hatch and will die within a week. People should machine wash any pillows or sheets someone with lice has used in hot water of more than 130°F (54.4°C) .
Spinosad (Natroba).
You usually need only one treatment with this product. It kills nits and live lice. It's safe for kids aged 6 months and older.
While Vaseline is one of the more effective home remedies, it's not foolproof. One study found petroleum jelly stops all but 6% of nits from hatching and can kill a lot of lice – but it won't stop the surviving lice from laying more eggs.
Tea tree oil is often recommended as a remedy to get rid of head lice and prevent them from coming back. It's a natural disinfectant, and it has the bonus of smelling quite nice too, but you might not know that it's also a natural insecticide, making it ideal for nit treatment.
Help protect against head lice with the MOOV Head Lice Defence Spray. Simply spray directly onto hair to provide up to 8 hours protection against head lice by making hair an unpleasant environment for head lice to inhabit. Enriched with Vitamin E, help condition and protect in one easy step. Keep away from eyes.
Tea Tree and Lavender Oil Blend: Tea tree oil is extremely effective at killing lice and their eggs, whereas lavender oil calms the scalp and relieves irritation. Apply tea tree and lavender oil in equal parts to the scalp and hair, along with a carrier oil like coconut or olive oil.
Hair gels, hairspray, oils or other non-medicated hair products including dandruff shampoo will not kill lice or prevent eggs from hatching or sticking to the hair. 4. Old-fashion remedies aren't completely effective. Vinegar rinses or mayonnaise might kill lice but do not kill nits or detach them from hair.
Do head lice prefer a particular hair or blood type? No. Head lice are not selective and do not prefer a particular hair type or length. Head lice can infest hair that is clean or dirty.
Nit combs should be metal (not plastic) and have long teeth that are very close together. The narrow spacing between the teeth allows for small lice and nits that are stuck to the hair to be removed while combing. Metal flea combs, available at most pet stores, can also be used.
Vinegar is one of the classic home remedies for lice. However, if you are trying to find out how to get rid of nits using vinegar, you should know that using vinegar to kill nits or lice eggs is totally ineffective. Vinegar has no negative effect on the lice eggs.
Smothering agents: There are several common home products that may kill lice by depriving them of air and smothering them. These products include petroleum jelly (Vaseline), olive oil, butter, or mayonnaise. Any of these products may be applied to the scalp and hair, covered with a shower cap, and left on overnight.
Combing wet hair with a fine-toothed nit comb may remove lice and some nits. Studies show that wet-combing results vary. Start by wetting the hair and lubricating it with hair conditioner or olive oil. Comb the entire head from the scalp to the end of the hair at least twice during a session.
Lice can look like dandruff or other conditions of the scalp. Identifying head lice often depends on spotting the nits (eggs), which look like tiny yellow, tan, or brown spots stuck on the hair shaft near the scalp.
Research suggests that bed linen, hats, clothing and furniture do not harbour or transmit lice or nits and that there is no benefit in washing them as a treatment option. Nits and lice only live on the human head. They quickly dehydrate and die if removed from the head.
Any nits that fall off the head will not hatch or reattach.