Kill Head Lice With An Olive Oil Treatment

Before starting to treat head lice you should first make sure that you don’t have another infection and that you are actually dealing with lice. The louse is a tiny insect with no wings, which only feeds on human blood. Lice spread mainly through direct contact with hair, and to a lesser extent, through hair accessories.

If you think you have head lice, first scrutinize the hair, especially in the neck area and behind the ears, as this is where the nits are. Those can be confused with dandruff, but the difference is that dandruff will fall if you shake your head, but the nits stick to the hair less than one centimetre away from the hair’s root.

We can find many products that remove head lice, whether chemical or natural. Chemical products such as lice shampoos are less effective than they used to be because lice have developed more resistance to the components of these chemical products. On the contrary, traditional methods to get rid of lice are still very effective.

Olive oil is one of them and works very well thanks to its properties. The main useful property is olive oil’s viscosity, which deprives lice of oxygen. As they can no longer breathe lice and nymphs die asphyxiated. Don’t listen to those who tell you that this doesn’t work, because it has actually been proven scientifically in a study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health. The study proved that lice submerged in olive oil for two hours die asphyxiated. Moreover, this home remedy is safe and has no side effects as it is unlikely to cause allergic reactions.

Of course you should apply the olive oil treatment correctly if you want it to be effective. The method is to coat the hair of your child with olive oil and leave it for several. The real secret to having success with this olive oil treatment is to coat all the hair very well with the oil; divide the hair into small sections and coat each one of them by brushing your child's hair with the olive oil, then put a plastic wrap around the head without letting air come in. Leave for a minimum of two hours, preferably three, to make sure all head lice die. Then you should make a soft shampoo and comb the hair to remove dead lice and nits, who will not be killed by the treatment. You might have to make several shampoos to remove all the olive oil.

In case of infestation, you should repeat this treatment regularly until complete removal of head lice. As far as head lice eggs, or nits, are concerned, they will not be killed by the olive oil. You should remove them manually with a nit comb, or apply a vinegar lice treatment before doing so.