What helps against head lice?

The most important points in brief

• Head lice are one of the nightmares of parents with children who go to school or daycare, even in the 21st century.
• When the head itches, parents sometimes panic.
• If it really is a question of lice, then there is only one option: The annoying beasts and their eggs, the nits, have to go as quickly as possible.
• In addition to a few home remedies, you will need a nit comb in particular.

Parents who have had bad experiences with lice as children themselves panic at the news from kindergarten or school: lice in a child in the group or class! If your own children are also affected, this reaction is not entirely unjustified, because once the lice have arrived in the family or at home, they must be eliminated immediately. But what really helps against head lice?

First: get a nit comb

First of all, you should buy a lice comb or nit comb at the pharmacy or drugstore. Because the remedies that we will list later are all of no use if you do not manage to remove the lice and the eggs that may already have been deposited in your hair - the so-called nits - as quickly as possible.

But what distinguishes the nit comb from a conventional comb or an ordinary brush that you can buy at every corner? The very closely lined up teeth of the comb are very important. This is the only way to guarantee that you will actually catch the little lice and their even smaller eggs. The hair must be carefully combed out, strand by strand, starting from the scalp in the direction of the tips. The comb should be wiped off after each comb stroke on a paper tissue, which you then examine carefully for nits and lice.

Without chemicals against the insects

Before we get to the home remedies that help against head lice: Regardless of which remedy you use, the Robert Koch Institute recommends repeating this combing procedure every four days. This is important in order to catch any lice that may have hatched. That means: after combing on day one, comb again on day five, on day nine and on day thirteen. On the 17th day you should definitely check your head again.

Perhaps the oldest known and fairly effective remedy is ragwort. This should be poured in the picked form with boiling water. After cooling, wash your hair with the tincture and then comb out the nits and lice. Essential oils are also good; lice don't like the scent of rosemary, citronella or lavender at all. Mix two or three drops of it with coconut oil and rub it into your hair; then pull a shower cap over your head for about an hour and wash the tincture carefully after 60 minutes.

Two more good home remedies

Olive oil is also great for fighting lice if you have eight hours to spare. Simply soak the hair with oil and distribute it evenly before you put on a shower cap in this case as well - for the said eight hours. Then wash off the olive oil. You may have to wash your hair several times until the last bit of oil is gone.

Vinegar is also effective. To do this, you have to mix the vinegar 1: 1 with lukewarm water and rinse your hair thoroughly a few times so that the mixture can still take effect. In particular, the vinegar loosens the nits from the scalp. Now comb out the eggs and then wash your hair meticulously with a mild shampoo.