Why Home Remedies for Lice Removal Don’t Work

Head lice is common among children attending school and the home remedies to get rid of lice are just as common. As a parent dealing with a child with head lice, it can be very frightening and stressful. While you will want to get rid of head lice right away, it is important to stay away from home remedies. Not only are these home remedies not effective, but some might even be harmful for your child. Here are some common home remedies to stay away from:

Olive Oil 

Many people will try to apply olive oil to the hair and let it sit for 6-8 hours in an attempt to suffocate the lice. Then they will comb out all the lice until there is none left and assume the head lice is all gone. The problem here is that oftentimes olive oil will not fully suffocate head lice and there is no guarantee that you will actually comb them all out. This method also does not account for the eggs that will still hatch when the olive oil is rinsed out. Even after repeating this treatment, you will not be any closer to getting rid of head lice for good. 

Mayonnaise 

The method of putting mayonnaise in your child’s hair relies on its thickness to suffocate the head lice. Unfortunately, no matter how thick the substance is, the eggs will never be affected by it and will hatch regardless. Having mayonnaise in your hair for hours is unpleasant and does not even get rid of head lice. In the worst-case scenario, you can risk getting salmonella due to unrefrigerated mayonnaise. 

Petroleum Jelly 

Similar to oils and mayonnaise, petroleum jelly is used in the hair to try and kill lice to then comb out. But again, this does not treat the eggs that are ready to hatch at any moment. Not to mention, petroleum jelly is extremely difficult to get out of your hair. Using the petroleum jelly treatment is more trouble than it’s worth and will not help your head lice infestation. 

Listerine 

Because Listerine contains menthol, eucalyptol, and alcohol, it may kill some bugs living in the hair. However, these harsh chemicals will harm your child but will not kill any lice eggs. Therefore, you end up with the same exact problem as all the other home remedies. Listerine is flammable and you may end up burning your child’s scalp instead of treating their head lice. 

OTC Treatments

Although over the counter drugs to treat lice do contain many harsh chemicals, head lice have become increasingly resilient to them. Many of these treatments are also expensive and dangerous for your child. One commonly used ingredient in many over the counter treatments is a neurotoxin which can produce severe side effects. And even with all these harmful chemicals, they still do not kill the lice eggs. Over the counter treatments are overall ineffective and threatening to your child.

Lice Clinics of American in Racine 

If you or your child have become infected with head lice and you are not sure what to do, Lice Clinics of America in Racine, Wisconsin can help. Here at our lice clinic in Racine we use our FDA approved AirAlle lice treatment. Our AirAlle treatment kills both lice and their eggs so that you do not have to repeat this process. Instead of using harsh chemicals or ineffective oils, we only use warm air. Contact Lice Clinics of America in Racine for a lice treatment that is affordable, effective, and safe.