Last Resort Lice Treatment

Getting rid of head lice can be hard. Lice have a short incubation period and can multiply rapidly, leaving new eggs behind where you may have killed adult bugs. Conventional lice shampoos do not work as well as they used to because lice have grown tolerant to the chemicals. Before you decide to cut your child's hair or even shave it completely off, here are some last resort methods that can kill the bugs and get rid of lice eggs.

Mayonnaise

• Using mayonnaise on the hair can smother live lice bugs that are hiding in hair. Mayonnaise will not kill the eggs, called nits, attached to the hair, but you can comb those out after getting rid of the adult bugs. When treating hair with mayonnaise you will need a jar of mayonnaise, a fine-toothed comb (flea combs work better than nit combs but any fine-toothed comb should work), plastic wrap, a cup of hot soapy water and a couple of bath towels.

  Begin by spreading the mayonnaise all over the head from the nape of the neck to the hairline at the forehead. Be sure to get behind the ears well, too. Once all areas are covered, wrap the hair in plastic wrap and cover with a towel. If possible, leave the mayonnaise on the hair overnight. Cover your pillow with the extra towel.

  It may take more than one shampooing to remove all of the mayonnaise from the hair. Shampoo until the hair feels clean and the water runs clear. Now it's time to remove the nits. While the hair is still wet, go through each strand with the fine-toothed comb. Drop any nits or bugs found in the hair into the cup of hot soapy water so they can't get lodged in clothing or on furniture.

  It may be necessary to repeat this treatment method every two weeks until all of the nits have been removed. This method of lice treatment can also be done using petroleum jelly.

Tea Tree Oil

• Another last resort method for getting rid of lice is tea tree oil. It is thought that the aroma of the oil is unpleasant to lice. Tea tree oil can be purchased at drug stores and in some discount grocery store pharmacies. There are a few different ways to treat hair using tea tree oil.

  Mix 15-20 drops of tea tree oil into your normal shampoo and conditioner. Wash hair normally. After each wash, while hair is still wet, go over each strand with a fine-toothed comb to remove nits. You can also mix the tea tree oil with olive oil and apply to hair as a conditioner. Cover hair with plastic wrap and let sit for an hour or two. Rinse hair and go through strands with the fine-toothed comb.

  As with any treatment for lice, you may need to repeat this method every week or two until all of the bugs are gone and no more nits are found.