Many different chemical products are available both over-the-counter and by prescription for treating lice but some alternative remedies may also be effective. You can use certain herbal shampoos or oils to eradicate lice, particularly head lice in children. As with any alternative treatment, you should consult your health care provider before using it to learn about any potential side effects, dangers or allergies.
Essential Oils
The essential oils of some herbs may help to treat lice. If you apply the essential oils of rosemary, pennyroyal, eucalyptus and marjoram to the infested areas, you may see that the oils kill the lice. These herbs' essential oils have killed head lice and the eggs in test tube trials, says the University of Michigan Health System. Shampoo products containing thyme oil and tea tree oil along with paw paw extract have also killed head lice in test tubes. All 37 participants with head lice in an uncontrolled study were lice-free after repeatedly washing their hair with this herbal shampoo three times over the course of 16 days, the University of Michigan notes. Tea tree oil is also found in other lice shampoos, which you can use once or twice a week followed by manually removing the lice with a nit comb, says the Shiawassee County Health Department. Citronella volatile oil may help to treat lice infestations, particularly for head lice in children. A double-blind, four-month-long clinical trial of children with head lice found that spraying a lotion made from 3.7 percent citronella oil once each morning six days out of every week treated the head lice completely in most of the children, says the University of Michigan.
Food Grade Oils
Certain food grade oils, such as olive oil, may also be effective in getting rid of lice. Mineral oil may also work. The drawback to using food-grade oils in treating lice is that the oils must remain on the lice for several hours, covered by a plastic shower cap. You must use this alternative lice treatment with caution on small children, because the shower cap poses the risk of suffocation, warns the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
Quassia & Sugar Apple
Herbal tinctures made from quassia may help to get rid of head lice when you apply it to your scalp. An uncontrolled study of 454 people with head lice found that all the study participants except for three were lice-free after spraying the quassia bark tincture to their scalp twice, notes the University of Michigan Health System. Quassia's effectiveness in killing lice is likely due to its insect and microbe killing constituents. Like quassia, sugar apple is a tree containing important constituents that have the potential to kill lice. In a controlled clinical trial, applying a cream that contained 20 percent sugar apple seed was extremely effective in treating head lice in a group of female students, the University of Michigan notes. The sugar apple seed cream eradicated 95 percent of the lice after remaining in the girls' hair for just three hours.
Anise, Ylang Ylang & Coconut
Products containing coconut, anise and ylang ylang oils can help to kill head lice. A preliminary report found that this combination along with isopropyl alcohol is 98 percent effective in getting rid of lice when you apply it to your hair and rinse it out once each week, says the University of Michigan Health System. The report recommended leaving the herbal product in your hair for about 15 minutes, then rinsing, shampooing and combing your hair. Coconut oil used alone or combined with olive oil may also help to smother and kill head lice when you apply it to your hair and scalp, says the Shiawassee County Health Department.
