Illustration by Rick & Brenda Beerhorst

Getting rid of lice is a difficult problem. The products sold in stores have become less effective because lice have built up resistance to the chemicals (and who wants pesticides or neurotoxins, which kill lice by attacking their central nervous system, on your loved one’s skin?). It’s also very difficult to find all the eggs so even if just a few are missed, the cycle starts all over again.

A few years ago one of my kids had lice that we couldn’t rid of. I tried every brand of lice treatment, and went through her hair with a magnifying glass (literally), yet the lice kept coming back. Finally, out of desperation, I decided to try my own at-home treatment, and was greatly relieved when it worked the first time! And so was my daughter who hated sitting with chemicals on her head and having lice eggs pulled out. It didn’t matter how gentle I was, after hours of pulling, it became an ordeal.

Here’s how I got rid of my daughter’s lice the first time without having to comb for lice eggs:

1. Buy a small bottle of Australian Tea Tree oil (make sure it contains Melaleuca). You can easily buy this online and at some drug stores and Walmart.
2. Combine the Australian Tea Tree oil with hair conditioner. I used a ratio of 2 parts conditioner with 1 part oil. I was mixing small batches in my hands so that’s a rough estimate.
3. Slather a thick coat of the mixture onto the hair of the infected person. Gently rub it around (not too much or you’ll irritate the scalp). Make sure there are no air bubbles or gaps for the lice to hide in. Go past the edge of the hairline. **Be careful NOT to get it in their eyes, eyelashes or eyebrows.**
4. If you have a shower cap, put it over their head. Drape a towel around their shoulders to catch drips and wait 30 minutes. If the oil begins to burn the scalp, rinse immediately. **When using on small children, do NOT leave them unattended to ensure they do not touch their hair or the drips, and then accidently rub the Australian Tea Tree oil into their eyes or put in their mouths.**
5. To double check if enough time has passed for the treatment to work, search for an egg. When you find one, try to remove it. If it dissolves between your fingers, it’s time to rinse the hair.
6. After rinsing, shampoo as you normally would, then rinse again.

That’s it! The lice will be dead and the eggs dissolved so there will be no need to spend hours pulling them out. I hope it works as well for you as it did for my family.