Natural Remedies for Lice - Ted's Q&A

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I Can Loosen, How Do I Eliminate Head Lice?

Posted by Elle (Ventura, CA) on 11/27/2006

For LICE, I have used Miracle Whip to loosen the bugs for my young one. It seems to help given the dressing sits for 15 min. It loosened but did not eliminate the Head Lice. Do you have any suggestions for home remedies for the elimination of head lice? We have been dealing with this for 6 months now. The OTC Lice shampoos don't seem to work at all (why they're even sold, I don't know). Thank you in advance. Also, I am so blessed to have found earthclinic.com! What a wonderful site! In the few days upon discovering it, I have learned so much! Thank you, thank you!

Replied by Ted
Bangkok, Thailand
391 posts

Dear Elle: Try shampooing in just a saturated solution of borax with 1% hydrogen peroxide solution. Apply tea tree oil plus lavender oil generously overnight. The eggs should die quite easily in presence of these penetrating oils as it goes right through the lice eggs. Usually if done well, one single application will do it. But here is the secret: you must remove laundry, hot wash them and bleached all pillows, bed spreads, clothes to prevent REINFECTION. If not sure then just spray a liquid solution of borax on the bed.

You don't need a lice shampoo. The reason why these are not effective is that they generate better sales. If it is cured in one bottle, they can only sell one bottle. If it takes about 10 bottles to cure it, they can sell 10 bottles, but you need plenty of promotion and advertising to keep the sales up. One funny story running around decades ago was a company that wanted to try to make a lice shampoo that only kill the lice, but not the eggs. Of course they want to find a way to make sure the eggs get delayed hatching! Whether that story was true or not, the researcher I talked to was getting well paid to find the solution! I was very stupid guy and cannot do that except just kill it, which by company standards I think is child's play.

I remember talking to one owner who makes a lot of money on furniture and he mentioned to maximize profit, he made sure that these furniture were engineered to breakdown right after the warranty period.

It is not just furniture we are now talking about, but one light bulb company made a light bulb that lasts almost forever. The company went out of business for nearly a century. One light bulb, last I heard was still shining after 80 years!

Apparently those who do buy them, will never come and buy another one, and since they were happy with that, they didn't tell their friends to buy them either. So the company was closed and now we are stuck with light bulbs that you keep buying them over and over again.

Replied by Lois
Fayetteville, Arkansas
05/10/2013

Ted, when shampooing in just a saturated solution of borax with 1% hydrogen peroxide solution. HOW MUCH of both products??

Replied by Mary
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
05/12/2013

this question is for Ted or anyone who knows the answer. Could I use alcohol as a penetrant instead of hydrogen peroxide. Or what could I use instead of HP? I have thought of using DMSO. I think my pup gave me something gross, like his mange!!!!!!!!!!!! My hair is itchy and my eyebrows are getting thinner and so itchy. The hairs are breaking near the bottom and the follicles are inflamed and the skin looks thicker. He had has ongoing mange issues and I use Teds treatment and it works. I guess I need to do it more often as I see it comeback slightly.

Anyhoo, sorry about the run on but I cannot use peroxide on my hair as it bleaches it and I am a brunnett. Sigh!

Thanks for any input!!

Replied by Joy
Battleground, Wash
05/12/2013

I have picked a lot of nits in my day and my friends recently... You can buy a nit comb and after using a topical of some oil, coconut, olive, mayonaise, nightly until gone? Then comb out what you can and retreat with oil. Find someone to look in the sun and pick out any nits on hair shafts or one may remain and relay those eggs into critters.... My friend had 200 the first time I picked and about 20 next time and then I didn't find any.

Replied by Susan
USA
03/16/2022

Try neem oil.


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