There are many easy ways to get rid of head lice, including using olive oil. Using olive oil can help trap head lice, making them easier to pick up.
Thanks to its diverse nutritional content, olive oil is one type of oil that is good for consumption for the health of the body. However, in addition to general health, olive oil can also be used to maintain healthy skin and hair, including to help eradicate head lice.
How to get rid of head lice with olive oil
Here's how to get rid of head lice with olive oil that you can try at home:
Use a comb with olive oil
The razor comb is commonly used to get rid of head lice. To support this method, you can try adding olive oil which functions to inhibit the movement of lice and helps release nits from the hair shaft so that it is easier for the comb to filter out.
Here are the steps to using olive oil to help get rid of head lice:
- Coat the comb or hair with olive oil. You can also mix olive oil with hair conditioner.
- Separate your hair into sections and use bobby pins to make it easier to comb through.
- Comb the hair from the scalp and hair roots to the ends of the hair. After each brushing your hair, clean the comb immediately with warm water.
- After combing all of your hair and scalp, you can immediately wash your hair and dry your hair as usual.
- Repeat all of the above steps every 3-4 times for a few weeks until there are no more lice left in the comb.
Mix olive oil with essential oil
To get rid of head lice, you can also use a mixture of olive oil with several kinds of essential oils, such as eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, as well as oils containing lavender, clove, eucalyptus, ylang, fennel, peppermint, or nutmeg.
You can apply this oil mixture to your scalp and hair before combing it with a fine comb.
If you want to use this method to get rid of head lice, you can follow these steps:
- Mix about 50–60 ml of olive or coconut oil with 15–20 drops of essential oil.
- Apply to scalp and hair using a cotton ball.
- Leave it overnight or at least for 12 hours.
- After that, comb the hair with a comb, shampoo, then rinse the hair until clean.
- Repeat this method for a few weeks until the lice are completely gone.
However, before you use essential oils to get rid of head lice, you should try applying the oil first on your hands and see if there is an allergic reaction in the form of rashes, bumps, or itching. If not, you can continue using it.
However, if an allergic reaction occurs, you should use another type of essential oil or clean your hair only with olive oil to avoid an allergic reaction.
Tips to prevent head lice and their spread
It's not enough to just rely on the use of olive oil, you also need to take various ways to prevent the appearance of head lice again and stop their spread. This is important because head lice can be easily transmitted to other people.
To prevent transmission of head lice and reduce your risk of getting lice again, there are several tips you can do, including:
- Clean or wash personal items that come into contact with hair and scalp, such as hats, headscarves, pillowcases, blankets, and clothing. Then, dry in the hot sun.
- Vacuum out the dust on floors, carpets, sofas, and other furniture that might be a place for fleas to fall.
- Soak various hair styling and grooming tools, such as combs, hair ties, and bobby pins, in hot water for 5-10 minutes.
- Avoid using insecticidal sprays to get rid of head lice at home because it can cause poisoning.
If you or a family member at home is exposed to head lice, the various ways above you can do to get rid of these parasites. It is important to remember, not only people who are affected by head lice, the people around them also need to clean their hair properly to prevent the transmission of head lice.
Although the methods above are relatively easy to do and quite effective, until now there has been no research that can confirm the effectiveness of how to get rid of head lice with olive oil. So, if that doesn't work, you still need to use a head lice repellent.
Therefore, if you or your family at home are still experiencing head lice after applying how to get rid of head lice with olive oil, you should consult a doctor to get the right treatment.
