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Non-Toxic Lice Treatment

Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) is not dangerous from a health standpoint. However, it is a problem that can be embarrassing, irritating and uncomfortable for the one suffering from the infestation. Head lice are bugs that live on human hair strands and periodically move down to the scalp when feeding on their host's blood. There are various products containing insecticides that can treat this problem by destroying the bugs and their eggs; however, these can be ineffective if you're dealing with treatment-resistant lice. They also are chemicals and as such may be toxic to certain individuals, especially children, babies and pregnant women.

  1. Why Not Chemical Insecticides?

    • A study reported on the HeadLiceNits website states that while prevalence of cases of lice has increased, the effectiveness rate of permethrin dropped from 95 percent to 60 percent. Permethrin is the most common insecticide used in lice treatment products. Others include piperonyl butoxide and benzyl benzoate. These are chemicals and as such may be toxic to some humans.

    Plant Oils

    • Many nontoxic alternative treatments for lice involve plant oils. Some of the plants you can utilize include olive oil, eucalyptus, tea-tree, geranium and lavender. These oils make the hair slippery and a challenge for the lice to cling to the hair shaft. The smell of the oils also is unpleasant to them and helps drive the bugs out of the hair.

    How to Use Plant Oils

    • The plant oil you use is up to you, but the one thing you must have when using any of the nontoxic oils is a lice comb. Saturate the hair the full length with the oil and leave it in for 20 minutes. Then comb through the hair with the lice comb. Wipe any combings onto a tissue, because you will want to check the lice and make sure you don't comb out the lice only to reapply it elsewhere. It is important to perform this intervention two times seven days apart in order to ensure it is effective.

    Other Lice Removal Options

    • There are other nontoxic options. One is a product called quassia chips, which are wood chips you can find in health food stores. Boil 2 tbsp. of these chips in 1 cup of water. When it is cool enough, wash your hair with it, but do not rinse. Let it sit on your hair for about 30 minutes before rinsing and shampooing as usual. Castor oil is another effective treatment. Use it the way you would any plant oil, but leave it on overnight before rinsing. Petroleum jelly and mayonnaise are sometimes used in a similar way. The castor oil, plant oils, petroleum jelly and mayonnaise are all known as suffocants because in addition to the slippery, hostile environment they create for the lice, they also may suffocate the bugs.

    Warning

    • Lice treatments are usually not completely effective with the first treatment. Remember to follow up with the intervention after seven days. During that week, use a lice comb every day to remove any nits that may have hatched after the first treatment. Professor Rick Speare of James Cook University in Australia states that eggs not killed by the first treatment will hatch. Though they will probably be killed by the retreatment, during the week they will feed and continue to grow. If you use the comb with the conditioner daily, the hatched bugs will be removed quickly.

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