Recently my 2 granddaughters got head lice from school. After using a Rid kit and 3 trips to the doctor they finally told me to use Listerine mouthwash and vinegar.
Using a spray bottle so you don't get it in their eyes, saturate the hair with mouthwash, you can use generic and mint flavored if you want. Cover the head with a shower cap to keep the heat in and leave on overnight or all day until hair dries. Rinse out mouthwash, towel dry, and spray hair with vinegar, cover with shower cap and leave on overnight or all day until hair dries. Shampoo and condition then comb with a nit comb.
This might take a few treatments, but it worked and was much safer than the chemicals you can only use once every 10 days, and it is much cheaper. I know this sounds crazy I thought so too, but it does work.
By Tonya from Cushing, OK
This page contains the following solutions.
My husband and I discovered head lice in our teenagers' long hair. It has been a few years since our last outbreak so I did some quick research online to make sure I was treating the infestation correctly.
This is a lice treatment I learned about today on my trip to Walgreens, from a dear friend who I go to church with who works there. Combine 6 oz. Dawn dish detergent, 2 oz. white vinegar, and 2 tablespoons tea tree oil. Put on hair for ten minutes.
I came across this tip about removing lice. In a nutshell, it says that by putting conditioner in damp hair and then dipping a metal (not plastic) comb in the baking soda and combing through hair, it gets them out a lot faster.
I was going to buy a bottle of Rid, which would have been 40 bucks. The pharmacist told me to buy green Scope, which was only $3.00.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Does baking soda really kill lice eggs?
By Mandy Brittingham from Wilmington, DE
I am sure that baking soda doesn't work. If it did, people would have used it in pioneer times. My mother said that they used kerosene! Don't fool around with home remedies.
I am a huge fan of Dawn soap. You can let it sit on stained clothing and it takes the stuff right out. But the best thing for the use of this soap other than it's cleaning ability is for lice. The junk they sell at the stores is expensive and can seep into the person's head. It damages the hair.
I used Dawn soap on my granddaughter's head, bagged it for about 15 minutes and combed them suckers right out. Dead, dead, dead. Then I used a good conditioner like Pantene. Now we have no hair damage, a huge savings in the cost of treatment, and a child who is not feeling bad about the situation.
I took her back to school within the hour and they said that she could not be 'clean' but after they looked, they knew it worked!
By Dorene Boydstun from Galesburg, IL
I can't wait to tell my daughter about this one! What a nightmare. My sweet granddaughter has lived this nightmare over and over. She has the silkiest hair and the doctors tell us that lice loves this stuff and that we keep her hair too clean (another thing they love). We have spent hours combing and washing everything in the house. Not to mention how expensive (even doctor visits). Nothing like I have ever experienced before - we all get a sick feeling if we see her innocently scratch now. Now maybe we can let her hair grow and she can wear pig tails instead of keeping it in a short bob.
This page is about using mayonnaise for head lice. Finding a natural way to get rid of these persistent human parasites can be a challenge.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Is there an economical way to rid children of head lice? (This was originally posted 10-01-2001)
Once you get rid of head lice you should put 10 drops of tea tree oil in your shampoo and conditioner bottle, and you will never get it again.
If you are like most parents, you want a safe and effective treatment for head lice.
I would like a home remedy for head lice on children.
My daughter has problems with one of her children with head lice. She hates using the chemical cure once a month for this. Would normal cooking oil work and smother them?
To get rid of head lice, just buy a cheap bottle of mouth wash (the kind that contains alcohol).
