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Effective Lice Removal: A Guide to Treatment and Prevention

Use a nit comb to remove lice and nits from your hair.

Head lice are tiny, wingless insects that live among human hair and feed off blood that they draw from the scalp. They spread from person to person by direct contact. You might first be alerted to the fact that you have lice if you have an itchy scalp. Have someone look carefully through your hair, especially the hair that is close to the scalp, for lice or for nits (lice eggs). You can purchase medication from the drugstore to kill the lice and nits, or you can prepare home remedies yourself.

Step 1

Apply a thick coat of mayonnaise to your hair. Make sure your entire scalp and all your hair is completely saturated. The greasy, oily substance will suffocate the lice.

Step 2

Place a shower cap over your hair, and leave the mayonnaise in your hair for at least eight hours or overnight.

Step 3

Remove your shower cap, and shampoo your hair until the mayo is all gone from your hair.

Step 4

Part your hair into small sections. Beginning at the base of the scalp, thoroughly comb your hair with a nit comb. Check the nit comb every time you run it through your hair, and remove nits and lice as they appear.

Step 5

Wash all your clothes and bead linens in hot water with detergent. Put all pillowcases in a hot dryer for at least 20 minutes. Boil all hair brushes and combs.

Step 6

Apply more mayonnaise to your hair after seven days to kill any new lice that have hatched.

Step 7

Repeat combing for nits every day for at least 10 days. Stop the combing only when you no longer find any nits or lice on your head.

Tip

Prevent lice by avoiding sharing hair brushes, combs, hats, clothing, bedding or towels with others.

Your scalp might remain itchy for several days after all the lice are dead because it is the lice bites that are causing you to itch, not the lice themselves.