Why Natural Remedies For Lice Removal Don’t Work

Dealing with head lice can be very stressful, especially if the person with head lice is your child. It is very common for children attending school to come into contact with head lice and bring it home with them, and it is just as common for parents to explore, or invent, a home remedy to serve as an alternative to professional treatment. Does peppermint oil kill lice? What about olive oil, or mayonnaise, or even Listerine? We will discuss a few of these tactics in detail and why they don’t work as a permanent solution to head lice.

Oils & Jellies

The common myth behind using affordable, at-home items such as olive oil or peppermint oil is that if you apply enough of it to a person’s hair, the head lice will either suffocate, or the oil will make their hair slick enough for the lice to be easily combed out. This is the same mindset behind the old mayonnaise or petroleum jelly tricks. Lay it on thick, and the lice won’t be able to breathe. Then, you could simply go in afterwards with a comb and get them all out. While the idea behind these methods is genuine, and can be used to kill some head lice, it will not be a permanent solution to your problem. The reason it won’t work is because lice eggs do not need to breathe. Sure, you will kill several, if not all, of the adult lice living in their hair, but the eggs that are left behind will hatch shortly after, and you’ll be back to square one.

Mouthwash & Harsh Chemicals

Mouthwash products such as Listerine contain ingredients like menthol, eucalyptol, and alcohol, which can absolutely be effective in killing some of the head lice in your hair. These killer ingredients are also used in many of the over-the-counter shampoos you can buy at a local pharmacy to kill lice, and actually used to be among the preferred methods of treatment in the past. However, while these chemicals can be effective against adult lice, just like with the oils and jellies, they will have little to no effect on lice eggs. To make matters worse, applying these harsh chemicals directly to a person’s scalp can cause chemical burns, excessive dryness, or other dermatitis-like problems with the skin, especially if they’ve been scratching their scalp for several days. Not only would you only be applying a temporary solution to the lice, but you could also cause harm to the person being treated.

Lice Removal In Charlotte, NC

To this day, the only method of head lice treatment with guaranteed results is physical removal by a professional. So if you are wondering “Is there lice treatment near me?” Remember at Lice Clinics Charlotte, we specialize in safe, effective lice removal without the use of any harsh chemicals. If you are in need of professional lice removal in Charlotte, NC, please visit our website and schedule your first appointment today.