How to treat head lice naturally and stop them from coming back

Head lice is never a pleasant experience, and can even be a traumatic one for the child who arrives home with it. So the treatment of lice shouldn’t add to the stress. With these easy natural solutions, you can eliminate lice gently AND effectively… without exposing your little one to the pesticides in chemical-laden mainstream treatments.

How to treat lice naturally 

If the lice have already set-in, the first thing to know is that an infestation is not a reflection of hygiene. Lice isn’t picky when it comes to looking for a home, and clean scalps are fair game.

Next step is to decide your plan of attack. Would you like to take the one-treatment, comb-free approach? Or do you want to manually remove the living lice, eggs, and nits (empty egg casings) the old-fashioned way with a special lice comb?

Single application lice treatments (no combing) 

A lice shampoo or solution can be helpful if you have multiple family members to treat. Just saturate everyone’s scalp and hair (be aware that anyone with long hair may require an entire treatment bottle to themselves), let the treatment soak in, rinse out really well, and you’re good to go.

These non-toxic treatments use natural ingredients that suffocate living lice and destroy eggs by poking holes in their shells to cut off their oxygen supply (which essentially suffocates them as well). 

Licener Natural Single Treatment Anti-Lice Shampoo

Natural neem extract is the major player in this lice shampoo. Once it’s massaged into the scalp and covers all the hair from root to tip, you only have to leave it to soak for 10 minutes before rinsing out. To date, we've never had a customer come back and say it didn't work.   

Delacet Herbal Head Lice Solution 

Natural larkspur and acetic acid are the lice-killing ingredients in this herbal tincture. Once applied, it takes about 2-3 hours of soaking to eliminate the lice and nits. It has the consistency of water, so it easily penetrates even the thickest of hair. 

Manual removal of lice, eggs, and nits with a comb

The nice thing about owning a lice comb is that you’ll have everything you need to deal with a lice infestation at a moment’s notice.

To use a lice comb, you simply saturate the scalp and hair with conditioner (any kind of conditioner will do), smooth out the hair with a normal fine-toothed comb, then use the lice comb on small sections of the scalp and hair at a time. (It’s worth having a look for ‘lice combing techniques’ on YouTube to get the hang of effectively using a comb.) 

A lice comb is also a handy tool for conducting periodic ‘lice checks’ at bathtime to catch and eliminate an outbreak in its earliest stages. 

The Nitty Gritty Nit Free Comb 

This award-winning comb enables you to manually remove lice, filled eggs, and nits. It’s designed by mums and especially made to be kind to kids. 

Killing lice that’s spread around the room 

Once you’ve treated your child’s head lice, it’s time to take stock of every surface their head has come into contact with over the last two days. All sheets, pillows, cuddly toys, hoods on clothing, and towels are prime real estate for lice infestations. 

To kill the lice that have spread, run the items through a hot wash cycle then dry them on the highest setting possible. 

If washing isn’t an option, you can also seal items in a plastic bag for two weeks to suffocate the lice. 

Finally, all the floors and furniture your child sits or plays on will need a good hoovering. Once finished, bin that hoover bag (outside the house) immediately.       

How to naturally prevent recurring lice 

So your efforts paid off and you got rid of the lice infestation! Now, how do you prevent lice from moving in again? 

As we said above, periodic scalp checks with a lice comb can catch an outbreak early, or help you spot any lingering eggs following an infestation.

But for daily lice defense and prevention, look no further than the world of essential oils. Thankfully for us, some of the loveliest, freshest smelling essential oils are detested by lice. 

Nitty Gritty Head Lice Defence Spray

This daily spray contains a blend of oils, including lavender, tea tree, grapefruit, and neem, that repels lice. Before your child leaves for school or any group activity, spritz it onto their hair, the hoods and collars of their clothing, and their backpack to put up a shield against lice infestation.  

Faith In Nature Tea Tree Shampoo and Conditioner 

This is a normal shampoo and conditioner, not a lice treatment, so it’s perfect for regular use by the entire family. It’s the strong presence of tea tree oil that wards off lice by making your family’s scalps smell unappealing to them. 

If your child keeps getting repeated lice attacks  

If you’ve tried all the above and you’re finding it hard to shift the lice, or your child still gets repeated attacks, it might be time to take a look at your little one’s immune health. 

In many of our conversations with customers about lice, we've noticed a pattern: the kids who tend to get repeated lice attacks are also the kids who tend to come down with frequent colds.

To support your child's immune system and overall health, turn to a kids' multivitamin such as Nature's Plus Animal Parade GOLD Liquid - Children's Multi or Floradix Kindervital for Children. 

We’ve also outlined lots of good ideas for raising healthy, happy kids in our post 5 ways to support kids’ health before winter brings on its colds and sniffles.

While these supplements and health tips won’t work as lice treatments on their own, what they will do is help strengthen your child’s immune system so their body can devote more energy to the fight against the lice.  

You will win, not the lice

We know that when you’re in the middle of a lice infestation or you’re dealing with repeated attacks it can feel like it’s never going to end. Don’t give up. It may take a few different tactics, even a combination of what we’ve gone over above, but you will overpower the lice.

At any point, if you want extra support or you have questions pop up about these lice products, get in touch with us ([email protected]) and we’ll be happy to chat with you.