One of the biggest reasons for reinfestation, or difficulty getting rid of head lice is not taking all of the steps required to get rid of them. Most people concentrate on the head and hair of the infested person, not realizing they also need to treat the entire household. Lice can live for brief periods in carpets, pillows, stuffed animals, bedclothing, and even in the upolstery of your car. So treat the infested head and hair first, then be sure to take the final steps to make sure there isn’t a recurring lice problem in another week or two.

There are a variety of excellent ways to get rid of lice in someone’s hair. A previous article covers some of the oldest tried and true home remedies, but here are three more popular ones as well:

1. Good quality, fine tooth comb plus time, patience, love and laughter. Often when a head lice problem crops up with children, the problem doesn’t get resolved well because the kids just aren’t overly experienced at cleaning and brushing their own hair. A bit of love and attention from Mom usually does just the trick. Wash your child’s hair for them daily to be sure it’s fully cleaned. Also comb the hair at least once each day with a fine toothed comb so the head lice and nits will be pulled out. If the infestation is bad, you’ll want to use a nit comb several times each day. Do this for at least 10 days, because the nits will hatch in 7-10 days, and can start the infestation all over again.

2. Hair coloring or perms. We don’t particularly feel the chemicals in these hair treatments are any better than the harsh ones used in lice shampoos, but for many young girls with beautiful hair, it’s a popular option. The combination of harsh chemicals and strong smells from hair coloring and perms will usually drive the lice out of the head. And since the smell can stay around for a week or more, this may be effective to drive out any new lice that hatch from the nits. Combing well each day for at least 7-10 days after getting the salon treatment is usually best though.

3. Flowery scented shampoos. Lice thrive on the human body. And almost anything that masks or alters the normal human smell will often make the lice leave. This is why lice don’t live on dogs and cats: These animals do not have the human smell. Because of this, you can sometimes get rid of lice successfully – plus keep them from coming back – by using shampoos which have a heavy flower scent.

One other way to alter the standard human smell is to simply eat some fresh garlic or onions. Eating garlic or onions in large amounts, or over several days, will cause your body sweat to have a different smell. This will drive the lice away, along with any that hatch from the nits in a week or so.

Some statements in this article may not be approved by the FDA, and should not be taken as professional medical advice.

Head lice is caught more often by people with long hair, because the live lice are able to cling tightly with claw-like legs. Anyone with any hair lice can contract them though, and they can seem quite difficult to get rid of. Lice can be gotten rid of in a variety of simple ways, but there is usually a lot of work involved.

If there are live lice in your or your children’s hair, you’ll often see evidence of this by looking at the base of the neck and behind the ears. The areas will be a little red and irritated looking, and if the infestation is bad you’ll often see a fast glimpse of something running away from the light when you move the hair.

Lice infested hair also has “nits” in it. These are tiny little round or egg-shaped objects which are attached to individual strands of hair about a half inch from the scalp. These nits are the lice eggs, and they hatch about every 7-10 days.

There are a variety of over the counter and prescription shampoos and medicines which can be bought to deal with head lice, but they contain chemicals which are extremely harsh and can be dangerous to use on your skin. These shampoos usually just kill live lice too, they don’t actually kill the eggs. Alternative home remedies abound thankfully, and there are reported levels of success and failure with each one. Here are the ones that have been the most successful for most people:

1. Listerine mouth wash. Saturate the infested hair with regular old fashioned listerine, and leave it on for at least 10 minutes. Then wash it out and comb the hair with a nit comb.

2. Vinegar. Saturating the hair with vinegar will loosen the glue which keeps the nits attached to the hair shafts. Leave this in for 10 minutes to 1 hour, then wash, rinse and comb with a nit comb.

3. Tea Tree and other oils. Many believe the nits and lice cannot survive when covered in oil, because it blocks their breathing passages. Tea tree oil is especially useful, because the lice are repelled by the smell. Another excellent remedy is to use Skin So Soft by Avon. This is also a well known bug repellant, and is said to kill lice.

Tea tree oil or skin so soft are quite useful as preventatives for recurring head lice problems too. Using shampoos which have tea tree oil in them doesn’t always work though, because there’s not enough tea tree. Many people simply add a few drops of pure tea tree oil to their shampoo bottles. Alternatively you can do a tea tree or skin so soft application once a week to keep lice away.

4. Mayonnaise. Old fashioned cheap mayonnaise has both vinegar and oil in it. The vinegar helps loosen the glue which holds nits to the hair strands, and the oil is thought to smother the nits and live lice so they’re unable to breathe. Coat the hair and scalp fully, then wrap it in a plastic bag or shower cap. Press out excess air from beneath the bag, then point a blow dryer at the head for at least 10 minutes. Lice and nits are unable to survive above certain temperatures, so the blow dryer creates a warmer environment they can’t survive in. Leave the bag in place for 3-4 hours, then remove, wash, and rinse the hair, then comb with a nit comb.

Once you’ve removed a head lice infestation in your family, be sure to treat all other family members too. Then wash all bed clothing, pillows, stuffed toys, and everything else washable. Spray down your carpets, furniture and car upholstery with Lysol, and run the sweeper on the carpets every other day for at least two weeks to be sure there are no residual lice or eggs that can be picked back up by the hair.

Some statements in this article may not be approved by the FDA, and should not be taken as professional medical advice.