Any Tips on How to Get Rid of Head Lice

Beauty supply stores sell Tea Tree Oil Shampoo. I don't know how well it works though, I use it on my son to keep him from getting lice at school. So far he hasn't had any.

I have heard that there is a chemical resistant batch of lice out there this year, more than there have been in the past.

you should be able to find complete directions on line but here's the homeopathic method used a lot in England...

You'll need olive oil
a shampoo cap
a timer
beauticians string cotton (optional)

wrap the head in the string cotton to keep the oil from dripping
drown the hair in olive oil
cover with a shampoo cap for 45 minutes
shampoo
conditioning won't be necessary
use the nit comb to completely go through the hair, 1/2 sections at a time. This should be a lot easier after all the olive oil

you'll have to do this every two days for 6 days (3 times total) then wait 7 days and do it every two days for 6 days(3 times) again.

this smothers the lice so they can't breath. It does work.

With Gratitude,
J. M

Try this website www.peoplespharmacy.com and search "lice". They have several recommendations. Good luck!

I'm a little late with this response, but I hope it helps! Hopefully after all this time you've gotten rid of them!! I battled the bugs for about 7 or 8 months with my daughters and I didn't think we'd ever win! Both girls have long thick hair, so that didn't help! I tried 4 or 5 over the counter products, and home remedies too. The final straw was talking to the doctor and getting a prescription for Ovide. It's very pricy! I paid $30 for a one ounce bottle. (that's after insurance picked up their part!) I had to apply it and do the combing/picking thing and then reapply it 7 days later. (Yep, had to pay another $30 too!) It was the only thing that worked. Make sure you clean the bedrooms and bedding as well. Also, if they are in a car seat or booster...spray that down too! Stuffed animals in a bag in a closet for a couple weeks too! I wish you the best of luck! It's not an easy process...but it can be tackled and won!!

Well I have went through the same thing about a year ago. I understand how frustrating it is to have those on your child and in your home. I tried all of the over the counter stuff and that helped. I bagged up all of the stuffed toys and put them outside in the heat. Lice hate the heat, then I used a hair dryer on my children. I know that this sounds bad for your childs hair but I used my hair straightener. It killed all of the lice and all of the eggs. Now to prevent them from coming back I put a drop of tea tree oil in their shampoo. The lice dont like it for some reason. We had a scare of lice in the schools last year and they never got it. Oh make sure that you shake up the shampoo real well before each time you wash their hair. I hope that this is helpful.

I've heard that lice don't like tea tree oil or vodka (wash the hair with vodka and then shampoo and condition). I read this in an essential oil book and it also suggested to mix a little tea tree oil in shampoo and conditioner to prevent lice. Hope this works.Using essential oils

http://www.aromacaring.co.uk/head_lice_the_facts.htm

Many publications list several essential oils suitable for treating head lice. Of these, Veal (1996) used laboratory tests to assess their effectiveness in killing both eggs and live lice. She arrives at the following: Oregano, aniseed and cinnamon leaf – kills 100% of adults and eggs. Tea tree – 83% eggs, 93% adults. Veal also states that the active ingredient in the essential oils used are mostly the phenols, ketones, oxides or aldehydes, so oils high in these chemicals will be the most effective. These would include Bergamot, Spearmint, Niaouli, Petitgrain, Pennyroyal, Ravenscara, Benzoin, Caraway seed, Roman chamomile, Eucalyptus (citriodora and smithii), Clary sage, Jasmine, West and East Indian lemongrass, and Spanish marjoram.

The most effective method of application was using a high concentration of essential oil in alcohol (alcohol makes the insect skins more permeable to the insecticide properties of the essential oil solution).

E.g.: 50 mls alcohol (vodka) to 10 drops essential oil rubbed into the scalp/hair, then left overnight.

The solution can then be washed off with shampoo, after which 2 mls of the original mix is added to a rinse solution of 50 ml vinegar and 50 ml water. The treatment should be repeated after 7 days and fine combing between treatments is essential.

CAUTION: oils high in ketones need to be used with care in pregnancy and aldehydes used in excess may irritate the skin (Price 1999, p31-32). There are other specific cautions associated with high concentrated use of some of these oils so they should only be used under the supervision of a trained practitioner.

Hi T.,
You sure did get a ton of responses but I had to add my two cents. I highly recommend trying Melaleuca products which someone already mentioned with sol-u-mel and renew lotion and oil. This wellness company offers over 300 products that are safer for your home and environment and REALLY work, they are very reasonably priced also!! They have a naturals shampoo called Melaleuca shampoo that contains the highest percentage of pure tea tree oil that kills lice and prevents them from coming back. You can check out their visitor tour on www.melaleuca.com
If interested in setting up a wholesale account, send me a note, I would love to help you.
Good luck!!
V.

I am surprised that there were only 2 responses that mentioned the Robi Comb. After spending hundreds of dollars on OTC lice treatments and countless hours combing through my daughter's (now 12) hair I realized that I should have just coughed up the $25 for the Robi Comb.

Since then whenever she comes home from school or a friends house with lice we just run the comb through her hair and then do it every 2 days for about a week or so. The lice hatch from the eggs and cannot lay eggs for 7 days so as long as you get them all before they can lay eggs you'll get rid of them. After the first time I wash all her bedding and spray her mattress carpet and pretty much everything in her room with the lice spray.

It only takes about 10 - 15 minutes to get her whole head done with the Robi Comb as opposed to the 30 - 45 minutes it takes to do any kind of "shampoo" treatment.

I hope this helps and seeing as your daughter is only 3 1/2 years old I would recommend getting the Comb for any future outbreaks.

Sorry to chime in so late but my daughter recently had headlice. I went to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website and they had some great advice. Such as washing fabrics in water temp of at least 130 degrees and to vacuume mattresses (don't forget the side stitching)couches, floors and rugs. Since headlice are human parasites they will not attach to animals.

It took a few weeks to rid my daughter of the headlice and two treatments of NIX (approximately 7 days apart), but it worked for me. We did however spend every night for over 3 weeks picking nits/lice. It took about two hours each night and towards the end it was only taking about 45 mins to an hour to pick. She had hair down to her shoulder-blades...so it wasn't too long.

My daughter has eczema and sensitive skin so the NIX broke out her skin the first time but the second application I used vasiline on her skin well past the hair line and it helped. Have you heard from any other parents about the use of teatree oil and sensitive skin?

I have a shampoo that'll work and then you can bathe in Solumel and renew bath oil. You can wash clothing with the solumel and melapower. You can then spray the house (carpet, furniture, etc.) with solumel. Yes, I did say solumel for 3 things. The great news - not only does it work, but it is safe, non-toxic!!!

It'll take a few days, but it'll work great!!!

Good luck!!

For great shampoo go to www.fairytaleshaircare.com & for the best comb go to www.headlice.org. The comb is called the "Licemeister"!! This website even has a store locator so you could go to a local store to buy it if you didn't want to shop online. The shampoo at fairytales is organic so no harsh chemicals on your babies head.
Both of these websites have wonderful products that work. I used both items on my daughters hair & it always worked. Good luck, I feel your pain!

Hi, I have one word
VASELINE!
That is all you need. When we had lice I thought I would lose my mind! Someone said to me well if your desperate...... (who isn't??!!) you can use vaseline. Well I immediately went home covered my daughters hair in vaseline and put a shower cap on her. she kept that on for the entire day. Then that night we washed atleast twice ... hair was very shiny and manageable it took a week or two before it was back to a normal texture but that was fine I just put it braids and buns etc. the main thing is NO MORE LICE!!
Of course as every one has said you have to treat your home completely with the washing and drying in a hot dryer and the sprays.

Avon Skin So Soft Bath Oil will get them out. If you "wash" the hair in the Skin So Soft and then use the garden hose to rinse her hair completely you should be rid of the lice. Of course, you will need to wash her hair a few times with shampoo to get the Skin So Soft out. It really does work. It also loosens the "glue" that the nits adhere to the hair with, so you can get rid of those as well.

If you do not have an Avon Rep already, you can go to the following website to find one close to you. http://shop.avon.com/shop/find_a_rep.asp

Hi T.-

I know this happened awhile back, but when I saw the problem, Ihad to give some advice. this is more of a preventative. My daughter had lice last year and it was a pain. One of my sons also got it and I was not happy. A friend of mine hooked me up with great products. When the outbreak happened this year in school, my little one was fine. the product is Fairy Tales Hair Care for children. It's rosemary repel hair care. They have shampoo, conditioner, detangler and a spray for when you go to gymnastics, dancing, etc. They have a website and you can order straight through them. I love the stuff. It smells good (the rosemary). I use it all the time and this way, don't have to worry. Hope this helps you out. And, I hope you are lice free.

OH My! Been there! I bought a procuct off the internet. I believe it was licekiller.com It was a shampoo & then an oil treatment. My daughter has hair down to her waist. I was so desperate & did not want to cut her hair! This product cost about 50.00 but it was well worth it. I must say that it is absolutely neccessary to comb your childs hair EVERY night. You have to get every last hair fairy (what we told our daughter) out. Each lice can reproduce hundreds. So if you leave one or 2, they come back. I would buy my daughter a new DVD or color book so that she would have something to do while I was combing all that hair. Good luck & know that this will end, you just have to stick with the treatment.

go to walmart and get teatree oil. add a little to your shampoo. it helps to moisturize the scalp as well as keep the lice from taking hold. that is what our school nurse recommended and it worked for my daughter.

Hey T.! I am so sorry that you are dealing with that nightmare. We went through it with our daughters about 2 years ago and I thought I was going to go insane. We found a product called Hair Clean 1-2-3 and used that on the girls - it is amazing how well and how quickly it worked. Just follow directions and then comb comb comb. We also washed all bedding (including pillows) and stuffed animals in HOT water. The stuffed animals that could not be washed were put in a black trash bag and put out in the sun. We bought bedding spray (specifically for lice) and sprayed our mattresses, and every other surface in the house. I am sure we went a bit overboard in the end, but we had been fighting them for a couple of months and I was a bit crazy at that point. The Hair Clean 1-2-3 works great, but we also cut both daughter's hair to shoulder length to make the process easier. Good luck and let me know how it goes!!

K.
____@____.com

Hi there,
My heart goes out to you. We had this problem during the summer - Put all bed clothing including pillows in a black trash bag and tape shut for 3-4 days. Wash hair with store brought product on first night, make sure you use the comb. 2nd night wash hair using Vinegar rinse, (eggs stick to hair with some sort of stuff that only vinegar rinse off), comb with comb that comes with the store brought stuff. Third night repeat second evening steps - repeat this for two weeks even if itching stops.
Good luck! By the way-find the source of where they come from and eliminate it -- even if you don't see her friends for a month or so.

Lice cannot live in heat. That is why it is suggested to put stuffed animals and pillows etc. in the dryer.
This will be a perfect time for her to play beautyshop. AND get rid of her lice without it being a greasy, smelly, painful experience for her
Go to Sally's because I don't know if Walmart has them...and get a tabletop hair dryer. The ones like back in the 50's and 60's. It has a little hose that goes to a showercap like device.
Wash her hair, then roll her hair, then place the showercap dryer over her hair for about 30 minutes.
We did this with my niece for a few days...One day we did manicures, the next pedicures and the next read magazines and books...by the 2nd or 3rd day, there will be no more lice or nits. What she will have is curly boucy hair each you time you do this...just like in a real salon.

Sadly, cutting her hair isn't a horrible idea. You need to get rid of the lice but....I use suave coconut shampoo and conditioner on my kids. It is proven that lice avoid coconut oil for whatever reason. Our kids never get lice from school and I believe it is the coconut shampoo and conditioner. Also, blow dry her hair. They hate heat. Good luck to you.
-------------------------
after reading all the other responses.....I am shocked that no one uses the cheapest and easiest preventative measure available. I promise that suave coconut shampoo and conditoner works (or any coconut shampoo/conditioner)

Well having 2 girls I went through this a few times. One time REALLY bad. Old wives tale, but it worked. Put mayo on her head...really cover it good. Place shower cap over it and then bandana. Let her sleep on it. Depending on how bad they are- we left it for the whole next day and night too. Then you wash it out and pick them out. I would get daughter ready for bed, the put a bright light in a room on the floor and she would lay down in my lap while I picked them out. I eventually would pull the hair out and put in glass of hot water. Daughter would fall asleep so I could finish the process. And it is a long proces.
The mayo thing really did work. They cant breathe and die.
You can put her pillows and animals in dryer on HIGH heat for 30-45 min. to help too.
There is also a spray from RID that you need to spray the couch, your car anywhere she would go/be.
Good luck!

Head lice like a clean hair shaft, this is why adults do not get them as often. We use hairspray,gel, and mouse in our hair. My 4 yr old has long blond hair too, I lightly spray her hair with hairspray every day before going off to MDO. You can use Kendra hair spray (you can buy it at Trad Secret or some of the better hair salons). My hairdresser told me about it. This hairspray can be washed out with the next shampoo so that there is not a "buildup" on her hair.

Making my kids use hair products was a trick that my hairdresser gave me about 11 yrs ago. I have three kids: 16, 17, and 4. My middle child is a boy and he uses hair gel or mouse every day and has since he was in the 3rd grade.

D.

A little about me: WAHM of three. Married to a wonderful man for the past 11 yrs. I work from home as an independent sales rep. for Valpak of Southwest Dallas and a distributer for MAXgxl the Glutathione Accelerator http://maxgxl.com/D.

Hello T.,

I wish you luck!

~~~preventive:~~~
neem shampoo & conditioner (sprouts & wholefoods)

add a few drops rosemary oil to your regular shampoo/conditioner.

~~~treatment~~~
http://www.licepreventionnews.com/Treatment.asp

http://www.homemakingcottage.com/health/lice.html
Herbal Lice Treatment

12 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
25 drops Rosemary essential oil
13 drops Geranium essential oil
25 drops Lavender essential oil
5 drops Tea tree oil essential oil
5 drops Cypress essential oil
5 drops Citrus essential oil
3 oz. vegetable oil

Shake ingredients in a shaker i.e.: cruet. Let sit on hair for 2-3 hours. Wrap hair in saran wrap or put a plastic shower cap over the hair. This should do 2 treatments. This is a very effective method of getting rid of these bugs (At least it worked well for my family). Put this treatment on dry hair for best results and then cover with a shower cap.

The most important thing to do to get rid of the lice is to make sure that you get ALL of the nits out. They are the eggs and will hatch. This is the one thing that is not killed by any treatments, even the store treatments. You must pull them out by hand. When my children had lice, I spent hours and hours pulling the nits and the bugs out by hand. We used the beer and the essential oil treatments.

other comments I found:
I spoke to a Herbalist after having untold problem with nits. She said that if you're lacking vitamin B it can make it harder to get rid of nits. And, also, get into garlic! Evidently nits can't stand garlic in the blood! I certainly found this helped me.

-T Jones

I use to have the worst time with lice at the school my daughter attended. My sister looked in her herbal book and it said anise oil worked so we tried it. Mind you, my daughter has past the waist thick Indian hair. It was such a hassle doing her hair when we needed to, but not this time! We rubbed the anise oil in till she said it was starting to heat up. We then put her in to the shower, washed it out, dried her off, and put some leave-in conditioner in her hair and used the new long tooth combs to comb thru her hair. We only found dead nits. Now we use anise oil in our conditioner to keep them away.

- J Studivent

*Note- Anise Oil is an essential oil that can be found at your local holistic/herbal store.

----------------
I use to have the worst time with lice at the school my daughter attended. My sister looked in her herbal book and it said anise oil worked so we tried it. Mind you, my daughter has past the waist thick Indian hair. It was such a hassle doing her hair when we needed to, but not this time! We rubbed the anise oil in till she said it was starting to heat up. We then put her in to the shower, washed it out, dried her off, and put some leave-in conditioner in her hair and used the new long tooth combs to comb thru her hair. We only found dead nits. Now we use anise oil in our conditioner to keep them away.

- Joy Studivent

*Note- Anise Oil is an essential oil that can be found at your local holistic/herbal store.

I bought conditioner from Whole Foods with Neem tree oil it. It shuts down their central nervous system and keeps them from laying eggs and breaks the cycle. Keep using it for several months until they are all gone.

Good luck!

When my nieces were younger they got lice all the time. What finally worked was this: get some Seabreeze (facial astruingent) and totally saturate the hair, wrap it in a towel and have her sleep like that. Maybe a shower cap would work better for her age. Come out the next morning & they should all be gone. You can repet this after about 10-14 D.. After trying all of the over the counter products this was the only thing that worked on them Good luck!

My boys and I had a long battle with lice. I finally got rid of them with olive oil and plastic bags. Soak her head to the scalp with olive oil and wrap in plastic. For my long hair I used a plastic grocery bag and tied it tight around the hairline. For my boys we used plastic wrap. Leave it on overnight. Wash out the next morning. Dawn seems to work the best to get the oil out. I sprayed everything in the house with the lice spray. Don't forget the car upholstery, especially her carseat. Good luck!

Go to the store and buy real mayonaise and a bottle of whit vinigar. Smother her head in the real mayo and then put a shower cap on for 4hours. After 4 hour rinse hair with luke warm water and then pour vinigar on hair and comb her hair with a fine tooth comb repeat until eggs are gone. Should only take 1 application and is very affordable.

PS. You will probably never eat mayo again....

T.,

I have 4 kids. 4, 6, 7 and 12. My oldest brought home headlice from a friends house and I wasn't aware of it until they got sent home from school. I found the best product in the world! I had tried everything and nothing seemed to work. It is called Quit Nits and it is only available at CVS pharmacy. It is $20, but it was the best money I'd ever spent. You put the tube of stuff on their hair and comb it through until it is on every piece, then cover it in a shower cap for them to sleep (all of this is in the box). After they wake up, you rinse it out, wash with any shampoo and use one of the metal combs (seperate...the plastic ones break easy) and everything just combs out! ALL of it...no pulling nits from their hair...it was amazing!

When my kids were in elem school we fought lice also, especially with my daughter. The otc stuff just didn't work. Our daycare worker suggested baby oil. It worked great. We saturated her hair in the baby oil and let her sleep in a shower cap. It not only killed the lice, but combing them out was easy. It left her hair so soft that she used it off and on for years after that.
Good luck
C.

When my daughter first started kindergarten, she came home one day with it. I used a mixture of olive oil and mineral oil, and it certainly made picking the nits out easier, and smothered anything that was left. I am one who does not like using chemicals, especially on my kids, so did some research and saw this remedy. I only had to do this one time, and have thankfully not had to do it again since; she is now in 5th grade. Since my daughter had long hair then and is thick enough for at least 4 or 5 people, combing small strands at a time to pick it out is not fun. You will have to wash the oil out with either Prell (if you can still find it) or something for oily hair to get rid of the oil, but it is worth it to get rid of the lice and their eggs. If you do not get rid of the eggs (nits) then they will continue to hatch and be a problem. Good luck and hope this helps!

What my mom used to do, and I rembember it working wonders, was soak my hair in alchohol (just regular first aid kit alcohol) and then wrap a towel around my head for half an hour... it got rid of everything, apparently the heat from the alcohol kills them all.
Good luck!

Hi T.!

I feel for you! My granddaughter has been fighting head lice for about 2 years. We have cut her hair so short that it was almost a buzz job twice. That doesn't really help.

Have you cleaned your car upholstry? Your physician can prescribe a very strong shampoo but it is very expensive. If you have good health insurance, that may cover it.

Even if you have leather furniture and wood floors, you still need to vacumn and clean thoroughly. My suggestion is to google on head lice. Here's some sites I came up with:
http://www.licemd.com/?OfferID=1549&LompID=26841&... and
http://www.licekiller.com/?gclid=CPfJz4z3zpICFRUYsgodXAK-Hg. I hope these help you!

Good luck!
T.

Hi,

You may have already gotten this advise, but I used mayo, the real stuff, and put a shower cap over it for about 45 mins and wash with regular shampoo, may take a couple of handfuls to get all the mayo out. It worked. Also seemed to make the hair really soft (slick) and the eggs came off easier. Hope this helps.

Tammy......try plain old vaseline.......it WORKS!!!! Then use Dawn dish soap to wash her hair a few times to get it out. Good Luck

First of all BLESS YOUR HEART! This is a difficult thing for anyone to go through. So stressful. I have 6 daughters with lots of hair. When we went through the head lice thing it was awful! It seemed to take weeks to get rid of it. Maybe months! I finally did some extensive research on the web to find out HOW TO GET RID OF IT FOR GOOD! I was led to this site... http://fairytaleshaircare.com/ . I have to tell you it really worked for us. I use it on my kids at least once a week and we have not had a recurrence in years. So it might be a little costly but if you think about it you will end up spending so much more on lice treatments that dont work. And the products last FOREVER since you only use a tiny bit each shampoo. And best of all it is all natural!! So no worries about the harsh chemicals. No I am not a distributor or anything like that. Just a happy consumer!! Good luck!!

Often we overloook one or two places where the lil buggers can hide and keeping jumping back into our lives! You may be getting everything IN the house, but did you treat the car and carseat too? Do you have towels or a fabric shower curtain in the bathroom where they can hide out? Call the doctor and ask for an Rx for head lice and then go on a quarantine mission! Anything fabric can be sprayed, put into large heavy-duty plastic garbage bags and then washed in hot water after several days (our bedding stayed out a week!). Good luck!

PS - if you have pets, you'll have to do the same for all their bedding and resting spots.

We went thru this with a grandaughter. After trying everything that we could possibly try (she had very thick hair), we ended up cutting her hair and putting like a clear color on it. Like dying her hair but it was just what people use to give it shine. Hope this helps.

Hey T.,
I have 4 kiddos in public school and we have battled lice this year! The stuff we bought didn't work for us either so a friend suggested Cetaphyl pump soap. Coat her hair and dry it on. I did my 3 girls and my son every other day and it worked!!! Hope that helps! -C.

another tip to keep from getting it again is to use conditioning mousse after a shower, make sure to put it at the nape of the neck and by the ears. Lice don't like "dirty" hair, they like nice clean squeaky clean hair, the mousse makes them jump off because their eggs won't stick to it. Good Luck, I would also put your daughter's hair in a tight braid for about 3 weeks, until the outbreak it cleared.

Hey, I have a couple of suggestions.... first of all, make sure you are washing and cleaning everything ALL over the house, not just in her room... it is such a pain but necessary to wash and clean EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE.... second, combing and picking her hair for 30 minutes... 30 minutes will not cut it... it takes much longer to get all of it out of her hair.. and continuing to do it over and over for a few days to make sure ALL gone... 3rd of all, Melaleuca has products that are not harmful to her or her hair, but get rid of the lice (if everything above is done)...I have the "regime" to use with the Melaleuca products if you want to email me and I can talk to you on the phone about it... or you can call me...good luck... lice is no fun....

For goodness sake T., don't use chemicals on a 3 yr old. Best thing you can do to treat her hair is baby oil or olive oil which will swell the hair shafts so you can comb them out easier but also smothers them. Get some RC spray and foggers and spray her room. These things will bed up in linens, pillows, stuffed animals etc.
wrap her hair in a towel or a cotton cap of sorts so as not to get oil all over the place. Let the oil stay in for 2 days, during which you can comb as she will let you. Shampoo and repaeat if necessary.
This has been home remedy for 100 years and I know it works.
Good luck

Hello there Tammy, I know dealing with head lice is a pain, and sometime trying, but you will get through this. although I have not personal gone through this with my children I have had my scares. In fact my seven year old came home with a note from school saying that someone in the class had head lice, well being that i had boys i took both and got their hair cut real short. However while I was there they this product called Fairy Tales. it's an all natural organic hair care product here's their website www.fairytaleshaircare.com also here's their number 1-888-244-1990 they are based out of New Jersey. hope this helps and good luck

You also have to treat your car & anything else in your house that lice could live on...your bedroom, bathrooms, towels, shower curtains, etc. Talk to her teachers at school & her pediatrician.

I have 3 kids. Two of them are step kids ad every time they went to see their mom we would get lice. I alsways started with the store brand lice shampoo. Then I put a few drops of tea tree oil in the shampoo bottle. We use this ALL the time. Then we blow dry their hair every day. Lice like moist areas and if you blow dry it they will not stay around. Also be sure to wash the sheets and pillows in HOT water and ALL stuffed animals and items that are soft in their room need to be put in garbage bags and sealed for atleast 1 week. This will make sure they are dead.

I went through this last year and you can not forget anything. My grand daughter was reinfected 3x and I had to do my house and my daughters house. We got the stuff over the counter at walmart RID and then the 3RD time I got a perscription from the DR everyone in both houses were treated weather they had it or not.....however I forgot about the back packs I did not throw anything out as we could not really afford to do that so I sprayed the mattress and box springs with Rid and the pillows and stuffed animals I put into the dryer for 10 min.....the last time around I did the dryer thing and then put everything into garbage bags and put it in the attic or the trunk of my car for 3 months (just to be sure as I lost a nites sleep with each infestation....it was just the thought of them being in the house). I understand your frustration and wish you lots of luck. Oh, I was also told to help keep my grandaughter from getting them I was to use a dryer on her hair after washing as the heat kills them and then after I put her hair up in a pony tail holder I should use a little gel to go over the hair so then the lice can not attach themselves

Hi T., When our kids get head lice we go to the supermarket and buy the cheapest brand of hair conditioner that we can find and put this on the hair very thick until all the hair is covered and leave it like this for around 15 minutes and comb out the lice and then wash hair to get conditioner out of hair and this kills the lice as the conditioner is so thick that the lice can't breathe and this kills them and you don't have to use the smelly chemicals that are recommended and the conditioner doesn't do any harm to the hair.

I have 2 children 10 and 11 years old. We have had lice many times in the past three years. I really believe that part of the problem is other people. When I reported to the school that my kids got lice, they never sent home notes to the parents. They said at least 3 kids must announce having lice before a note is sent home to the classroom. CMS policy? Also, my daughter's friend all stay at one home for day care. I could get rid of the lice and quaranteen her from them for a month. As soon at she played with them, she got lice. And, friends are very important to kids. Good Luck.

I am told that mayonnaise will work. I think the key though is that you have to use the nit comb over every square centimeter of her hair and scalp and remove every nit. Cutting her hair to a manageable length may not be a bad idea. Good luck to you, this sounds like a very frustrating and uncomfortable situation.

Kudos to the lady who mentioned Tea Tree Oil. We had a case of these two years ago with three girls - all with long hair. It wasn't until we were told about the TT oil that we finally were able to rid our home of them.

We did all the remedies that the stores had to offer to no avail.

We did trim the girls hair to their shoulders just to help with the combing out.

I don't think there is a need to buy the hair dryer etc.

We wrapped the girls head in a plastic bag for the 5-10 minute time frame. We did this faithfully to get past the incubation period.

Be thankful you only have to work with one child! <smile>

My girlfriend had it so bad. Someone told her to try Kerosene. She did and all she said was that it stank really bad and that it burned a little but it was worth getting rid of the bugs! And it worked! I've heard of it before but never thought to actually do it but I've seen with my own eyes that it did work! I was the one picking the bugs and eggs out after she shampooed it in the medicine (which didn't work on her) and after the kerosene it was one last look through to get out some eggs, that were already dead, but still attached. She hasn't had a problem with it since and its been 6 years. I know it sounds inhumane but I've seen it work! Seems like Kerosene works for everything! LOL Good Luck on this situation!

First you really need to find out why your child continues to get lice. Second you will probably have to cut her hair as it seems the lice are staying in her hair. Lice will make bald spots in the hair especially using chemicals over and over. During my time of working in an emergency shelter for children, I encountered many heads of lice. We used mayonaise, kerosene(i did not agree with this usage), and over the counter. I found that with the over counter treatment if i let the child sit with a plastic bag over the head and then combed the hair and repeated for overnight, the lice released easier. Be mindful of your nails and make sure you wash your hands throughout treatment or wear gloves. You might have to go and get a prescription medication if you have tried all of the over counter methods.

Please find the reason for the lice. Don't forget to treat your home especially pillows, stuffed animals, couches, and any other rooms. Most people forget to also treat their cars and car seats. (steam cleaning works great for cars)

T.,

My 11 year old had this problem at the end of last year. We ended up doing two treatments on her(Walgreens version of NIX). I guess the eggs hatch every 7-10 days, so make sure you check her again after that time. I guess the main thing is to stay on top of it. Another thing we did was soak her hair with coconut oil (totally natural and good for the hair too) and it helped to suffocate them and made it easier to get the eggs out too! We put a shower cap over it to protect her pillow. We also had to spray everything w/ the lice spray that came in the kit, we took all stuffed animals put them in a bag in the deep freeze, made sure we dried all her bedding and clothes on a high heat, and I did dry her hair from head to tip w/ a hair dryer. Hope your rid of the lil buggers soon!

My advice would be don't waste your money on the treatments, just buy the yellow comb at Walgreens, and keep combing every single day, until you get all the eggs, that is what worked for us. We combed three times a day, the kids hated it but it worked. Also, wash everything like stated before in warm water so you get rid of the eggs that may have fallen. They can't live in the carpets and all that, but I cleaned all the sheets, vacuumed well and kept combing daily.

I have tried different combs but the teeth were not close enough together so they didn't catch everything, just spend the extra money and buy the yellow one. It's a dark yellow.
I know it's such a pain, but it works.

Also, I'd be concerned about the chemicals in a child so young. Once after I treated my son with the nix shampoo he got sick. So I wouldn't use any chemical just keep combing and shampooing.

Take care,
K.

T.,
I can see that you don't need any more help, so how about a funny story to ease your pain:
When my dad was a little boy, (he was born in 1914), some kids at school were talking about their head lice. So Daddy and his younger brother (one room schoolhouses back then) thought, "Wow! I never heard of that! If they have it, we want it too!" They had no idea what head lice were. Sooooo- they rubbed their heads together with the little kids who had them to share!!!! I understand my Grandma was NOT impressed! She was known for her hot temper, and I guess they really got her steamed! When Dad told us the story, he would laugh and say, "Boy, was she mad!"
There, don't you feel better now?
Blessings,
S.
A little about me: I am an Independent Contractor with several companies, working from home, and a substitute teacher with our local Head Start program. I will probably have to go full time soon to clear off some debts so hubby can retire some day. :o) In November we've been married 40 years. Three children, six incredible grandchildren who make life worth living. Inconvenienced with some physical stuff, so a walking pill bottle, lol. And glad to be alive and serving God.

Are you making sure that you are treating with the actual lice Killer twice. When your child has lice, you need to get the lice killing shampoo from your drug store and treat her with it, including combing out the eggs with the little comb provided in the kit. Then in 10 days you need to do another treatment the same way you did the first. If you only use the lice killing shampoo once, you will never get rid of the lice. Is she in a daycare situation with other kids? It could be that there is another child with the lice and she keeps getting them back because someone else isn't treating their child properly. In fact, EVERYONE in your home needs to be treated that way if anyone else is infected, you get them all. I know its a pain, but its better in the long run to treat everyone and know you got them all then have them keep coming back.

I'm sure there are lots of products to help get rid of the lice but if it keeps coming back, there is something in your house. Throw out her pillow and get a new one (they can crawl into the pillow itself, not just the case and if your water temp is not hot enough, even washing won't help). Same goes with stuffed animals, throw pillows on the couch... anything with fabric. My daughters had lice for months just like you've said, and I finally had to throw out pillows and animals and start fresh. Finally it was over and they haven't had it again! Good luck honey, I know its frustrating.

My grandmother used olive oil on my head. I had waist length white blonde hair, and I remember her covering my head and hair in olive oil every night (with a shower cap to keep it off my pillow), then after lunch she would comb it. We washed it, maybe, twice that week. Then she did it every Friday night for a couple of months and left it over the weekend. It got rid of them.

Don't forget to treat the stuffed animals, mattress & pillows. Keep after it. My oldest had it in grade school and I figured out that she actually kept getting reinfected from the car seat. I actually considered shaving her head (jk) but instead took a long weekend and completely disinfected the entire house. The dr can give you prescription stuff if you've tried all the OTC stuff first.

BTW... I'm 41 and have a 20 y/o in college, a 7 y/o boy and a 3 y/o girl.. how funny! I thought I was the only one sending kids off to college and kindergarten in the same year :)

Bless your heart!!!

I have not used this particular product but if this ever happens to us, I know this is what I will use. It is on the www.circle-of-friends.com website. I already use their shampoos and conditioners because my dtr has extrememely curly hair and their products are great. And not that expensive. Right when you pull up the website, the lice products are right there. It looks like it is a preventative product, but I bet you could use whatever you are using to treat it, and then use this product to keep it from coming back!

Also, I've heard you should always french braid or keep her hair in a braided ponytail to keep her hair tight and together, especially at school. And put hair spray on it. Lice do not like hair products, I've heard.

Be diligent! I bet you can beat it without cutting off her beautiful hair!

Blessings~

Yes, my stepdaughter had this problem with her daughter and we tried everything too until we used dawn dishsoap. Only need a little and does the trick immediately. Lice likes to live in oily hair and this seemed to work. I will use it once a week just for precaution. C. M.

We have a mission team that goes to Serria Madre mountains every summer and they fight this problem there. They take tea tree shampoo with them so they don't contract the critters. I find if you will just buy some tea tree oil and add 20 -30 drops to it it works just as well. There is also some stuff at the health food stores for getting rid of this problem.
Good Luck and God Bless.
Char

Good advice... I just have one thing to add. Lice likes clean hair so if you put gel or hairspray in your childs hair and your own, you have less chance of getting lice. We dealt with head lice when my niece brought it home from camp years ago. I also worked at a day care center and had a child come there with it. Things I have learned was that you need to also clean your carseats, put all the stuffed animals and pillows in a plastic bag tied up tight for no less then 10 days.

Supposedly mayo will smother the little critters.

Ask the pharmacy about a product called RID. If that doesn't work, contact your dr. She is too young to have to itch. She can irritate her scalp and get an infection if she scratches all of the time. Good luck.

try dawn dishwashing liquid any stuff animals in room bag them and hang in garage. keep combing rinse with vingar and water.

Dear Tammy,sometimes headlice can be tough to eradicate.The dog shampoo should work,though,even on the toughest cases.Just make sure it has an egg killer,and you're leaving it in long enough.Sometimes cheap is not a good thing.Get a good one!
She is picking them up from someone close to her.Odds are,close family.Either, someone else in the family,or someone who is coming to your house on a regular basis. You may have to do ,or have someone do, a head check of everyone who lives or visits in the house!
You did not say whether she goes to a daycare,or stays with anyone at times during the day.Daycares, are notorious,as is school,if in pre-school.
If,you can't get them under control,it will do no good to cut off her hair,because they can drop off to lay eggs,although they do prefer hair for that job.They also are not good at picking just one person,or critter! If you have other pets make sure you treat them too!
You may have to do as my sister did and put everyone on aevery other day shampoo treatment for a month,or so.She has 3 girls and 2 of them were in the same boat ,always getting headlice!
For some reason one of them rarely got them!I guess the bugs didn't like her for some reason.Anyway,that worked! Then she just kept a real close eye and checked daily for the critters and if she saw signs she'd put them back on the shampoo for a week or 2.She finally got rid of them permanetly!
Eventually,they found out that it was the youngest ones best friend who was sharing her "pets"! So,my sister just started "tossing" her in when she did treatments!And,sent shampoo home with her.Since her Mom insisted they could not afford the shampoo!It took a bit,but she did,finally get them gone!
Good luck! Sometimes you have to tick off a few good friends,and family to get rid of the bugs,when they are in denial that thier children could even have bugs!Stick to your guns and show everone what the nits look like,IF, you find them,or you may be fighting them forever!
Good Luck'
M.

Swallow the pride and embarrasement and take her to see the doctor. He will presribe a shampoo that will work miracles! (My mom took me once when I was a kid, then my sister several years later!) Luck!

The best thing that works instantly is a prescription shampoo that you put on your (dry) hair and leave on for 10 mins. We had tried just about everything listed and this was the absolute best thing ever. I just called my doctor and they prescribed a whole bottle just in case the rest of us needed it. We only used it one time and have never had a problem. It's fast & easy and doesn't leave a greasy mess to deal with like vaseline. Best of luck to you!

I feel your pain. When my daughter was about 7 or 8 she too came home with head lice. She also had longblonde hair. I remember going thru strand for strand picking out the nits.I guess my advice is just to make sure you are washing in HOT water. Also,put her stuffed animals and such in plastic bags,airtight, for about a week. My sister,my daughter passed it to my niece!,swore by this special comb. But can't remember what it was called.(Its been 10 yrs!) I would cut her hair to make it more manageable. Shes young and prob won't care. And it will grow back! Good Luck

One of my friends had the same problem with her daughter. She had to buy new brushes, combs, pillows, etc. anything that comes in contact with the head/hair. I would also try looking up on the internet and see if there's something you are missing and that's why it continues to come back/remain. Good luck.

Wow. I'm sorry to hear that. I know from experience that it is exhausting trying to get rid of that stuff. The one thing that worked really well for me is something the kids' Dr. prescribed. I would say call their Dr and tell them what's going on. And make sure you have also put all of her stuffed/furry animals and toys in a tightly concealed bag and put them away for a while. Good Luck!

I'm so glad to hear the tea tree oil worked! There are a lot of good ideas in the responses here. When my daughters got it last summer at day care - twice! - we tried many things. I think the thing that solved it long term though was the suggestion the school nurse gave us. Every night for 14 days we slathered her hair in cheap hair gel before dinner. After dinner we combed it out and washed. The first few nights we were VERY thorough since the real trick is to get ALL the eggs out. After the eggs were gone we continued with the hair gel for the full 14 days. It seemed endless, but the gel was cheap and it was a long enough period to make sure the buggers were all gone. I quarantined every pillow, blanket, hat, dress up costume and anything else that might possibly have an egg laying in wait. We still check every week, because the earlier you catch a case, the easier it will be to clean up. Oh yeah - and this was way worse than any poopy diaper I ever dealt with!!

Head lice in long hair is very hard to get rid of with over the counter boxes. i would recommend takin gher to your pediatrician and getting them to give you a prescription for it. We had it go through our elementary school and that is what we had to get for our girls.

Actually, T., that is exactly what you need to do-- cut her hair! I am a mom of elementary aged girls, and anytime someone gets lice at school, that is exactly what they are told to do so as not to spread it to other kids! It may seem drastic to her at first, but since it is recurring, drastic measures are necessary. It is just hair and will grow back! Flip through some magazines with her and find some short haircuts that she likes.
There was a little boy with long hair that got it last year, and he came back the next day with a shaved head! You don't need to go that far...
After her hair is cut, do another full treatment of the medicine. Also, clean everything yet again-- you can vac the hardwood floors. Then, wash her hair every single day for a few weeks b/c lice prefer oily hair.
My hubby is (was) a nurse and has been asked for advice on this from time to time. Good luck!

if she is not in day care or other public place, is there friends that come over? people usually carry these and if answer is no to all above it may not be her room could be another one that has them or possibly somewhere in your yard. i would spray entire house wood floors and all and yard. then when has had enough time to work clean entire house, might call bug specialist to see what to use or hire one. good luck

I know this is going to sound really weird but try to find some old transmission fluid. Put it in her hair starting at the roots and work to ends.. leave it in her hair for a few hours. Then comb thru...I had a neice with the same problem. Use flea killer on her bed linens and every thing she has come in contact with..even the floor and couch. Let her play out side while defleaing the house, with the transmission fluid in her hair...also do the other kids as well.it really works. those little buggers can get anywhere. You will have to do your room as well. When you wash it out use just regular baby shampoo, her hair will still have some oil in it but the lice die and your not using pesticides on your child.The exposure is minamial if you are wondering about that...

I've read that you can rinse their hair in Listerine, cover with a shower cap for 2 hours, then rinse and wash & rinse again, then put vinegar on wet hair let set a bit, and then come with the nit comb, and of course rinse it out every little bit. Does she ever go to a day care or somewhere that she could keep getting it, since you said you washed her bedding etc. or could there be a pillow on the sofa she lays on etc. good luck,

Hi I feel you pain. When my daughter got head lice her beautyful her was close to her bottom I tried every you named nothing worked until I called kaiser advised line I think god put this nurse to answer my called because she had the same problem I did she told me to put vaseline in the whole head and cover it and wash her hair the next morning thank god she said that because I was about to shave my princess hair I also advise you to wash EVERYTHING blanket clothes and even shampoo her carpet yu will surprised all the places lice will stay good luck don't worry she will be better god bless you family. Carol

Went through that about 15 years ago, I had to finally give her the pixie cut to get rid of it.....hope you get some better advice....but I feel your pain!

We were going round and round with this problem! The stuff we bought at the drug store didn't work - the comb is not that great - with a little research online I saw a great clip of Courtney Cox talking about how her daughter got it and then SHE got it and their lifesavers were The Hair Fairies. Good news is they sell a great all natural product you can take home and treat yourself and they were awesome at explaining exactly how to use it and to be diligent and not only was it less irritating to daughter's scalp, it smelled nice and the comb was a metal comb that was far more effective at getting the nits out. We'd probably still be fighting this problem if it were not for them as we had tried a vinegar solution and I did not want to give my daughter an oral medication with all kinds of chemicals in it. They have a great video tutorial on their website as well - you don't have to go into their salon and pay the very high prices and they know not all families can afford this option so getting their products online is a cinch! Thank you www.hairfairies.com!

There is a special shampoo at the drug stores for this. G. W