Did you know that in certain parts of the world, including parts of the Americas, head lice are becoming resistant to commercial lice products? This is kind of a double whammy because many commercial over-the-counter and prescription lice medications are harmful pharmaceuticals, so you could be left with the possibility that the treatment won’t work and is harmful. Excellent!

So what are the alternatives?

Well, in our house we have never used commercial medications and yet we are still lice free. A few weeks ago our son came home from school scratching his head. On inspection it was found that he had nits (lice eggs) and there may be one or two nymphs (baby lice) on his head. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish them, since they are very small.

What was our home remedy for head lice? Well, we’ve got a high-quality lice comb and some tea tree oil spray. The morning and evening routine consisted of diligently combing the hair with close visual examination of both the hair and the teeth of the comb after each pass through the hair. If nits or lice were found, they were removed and crushed and then washed down the sink. Remember that the hairstyle was done twice a day and lasted up to 15 minutes each time.

In the mornings, before going to school, we sprayed our son’s hair and head with tea tree oil. The dosage was quite generous and we ensured complete coverage of the oil. The purpose behind this was to kill existing nymphs and ensure hatching eggs would be met with a deterrent upon their introduction into the world.

After about a week of treatment, the nits and nymphs disappeared and adult lice were never allowed to develop.

There are a number of natural remedies for head lice including mayonnaise, tea tree oil, olive oil, and petroleum jelly.