Many parents are treating head lice with well-known shampoos and chemical products, often without significant results. They don’t know that a simple home remedy like head lice vinegar can do miracles when it comes to getting rid of these parasites.
There has been a resurgence of head lice over the past decade and every year hundreds of thousands of children worldwide are scratching their heads with both hands. But these insects have indeed become resistant to most chemical products in many western countries. This is why more and more parents are looking for effective home remedies,
as traditional head lice shampoos are every day less effective to kill lice. Vinegar is the perfect natural remedy and has proven to work very well. It is also very economical and can be found everywhere.
Why vinegar is effective against head lice
The word vinegar derives from the Old French vin aigre, meaning sour wine. Vinegar is a truly natural product. Any alcoholic beverage, whether it is made from apples, grapes, rice or plain white sugar, once exposed to air, will turn naturally to vinegar. It is the ever-present bacteria in the air that converts the alcohol in cider, wine, and beer, into acetic acid, which gives vinegar its characteristic sour taste.
Vinegar is the product of two biochemical processes: first is alcoholic fermentation, which converts natural sugars into alcohol, and then is acid fermentation, in which microorganisms present in the air we breathe, convert the alcohol into acid.
And this acid imparts the sour taste to vinegar along with its antiseptic or germ killing properties. It can be prepared in varying concentrations. In pure form, it is extremely corrosive and can be hazardous to work with, requiring special precautions. Vinegar, by contrast, usually has an acetic acid concentration of around five percent.
Acetic acid is used as a solvent, a reagent, a catalyst, and a pesticide. It will dissolve the cement that make the nits stick to the hair, and it will asphyxiate the louse. This is why it is effective to kill head lice.
How to use vinegar to remove head lice
Using vinegar in humans is recommended for the treatment of lice infestation and also to prevent them to come back. After shampooing with a regular shampoo, not a head lice shampoo, rinse the infested area thoroughly with warm white vinegar. The vinegar should be as warm as possible, as it will be more effective.
To get rid of all nits you must use a head lice comb and comb the entire hair section by section. Take your time and do it well.
Repeat this treatment with regular shampoo and warm vinegar seven to ten days after the first treatment. If you still find nits, rinse again with vinegar and comb the hair thoroughly.
To prevent re-infestation, wash and dry your clothes in the hottest temperature possible. Indeed, it is heat rather than water and soap, that kills lice. You should also soak combs and hairbrushes in boiling water for at least five minutes.
Treating head lice with vinegar is effective and enables you to avoid the sometimes dangerous side effects of anti-lice products. If you don’t want to be infested again, just put a few drops of lavender essential oil behind the ears and in the neck, head lice hate this smell and this will keep them away.
