Lice Advice From a Mother of 12

Lice are in the news again, especially as children head back to school and parents brace for outbreaks that can spread quickly through classrooms and carpools. Stories about lice that are resistant to common treatments and kids picking them up through close contact—sometimes even while taking selfies—have parents understandably on edge. If you’re wondering what causes lice, how to spot lice symptoms early, or which treatments actually work, you’re not alone.

Over the years, parents have heard plenty of conflicting lice advice, from medicated shampoos to home remedies involving oils for lice treatment. Questions like does olive oil kill lice, or whether essential oils for lice treatment are effective, come up again and again. As a mother of twelve who has dealt with lice for decades, I’ve learned—often the hard way—what works, what doesn’t, and what’s simply a waste of time. What follows is the practical, experience-tested advice I wish I’d had when I first started checking heads and picking nits.

Now, I could have written this article as I usually do, by doing research and citing reputable sources, but then I thought, “Heck. If anyone knows about lice, it’s ME.”

After all, I raised 12 children. I’ve been dealing with lice for over 30, backbreaking years of checking heads, nitpicking, and laundering the bedding whenever I found evidence of an infestation. In my area, lice are rather common, so I’ve had to be vigilant and proactive.

What Causes Lice?

Head lice are caused by one thing only: close, head-to-head contact with another person who already has lice. Lice do not jump or fly, but they crawl quickly from one head to another when children stand close together. This is why lice spread so easily in schools, camps, carpools, and sleepovers.

Common situations that cause lice include children lining up at school, leaning close together while playing, sharing space on couches or beds, and even crowding together for selfies. Lice can also spread through shared items that touch the head, such as hats, helmets, scarves, or hair accessories, though this is less common than direct contact.

Lice are not caused by poor hygiene. In fact, lice are often found in clean, healthy hair, which is easier for them to grip. Anyone can get lice, regardless of how often they wash their hair or how clean their home is.

What Are the Most Common Lice Symptoms?

The most common lice symptoms are itching and irritation of the scalp, especially behind the ears and at the nape of the neck. Some children complain that their head feels “tickly” or uncomfortable before parents notice anything unusual.

Other signs of lice include redness or small sores on the scalp caused by scratching, and the presence of nits, which are lice eggs attached firmly to individual hair strands. Nits can look like dandruff at first, but unlike flakes, they do not brush off easily.

Not all children with lice scratch right away. Some have very mild reactions and may not show obvious symptoms at first, which is why regular head checks are important, especially during the school year or after a known exposure.

Lice Advice

Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about lice the hard way, so I thought I’d share my accumulated wisdom with you, dear Reader (don’t thank me, I’m a giver—but not of lice!). So here goes:

Don’t use lice shampoos if you’re the allergic type: Anyone who is allergic to chrysanthemums and chamomile tea (like me, for instance, and my kids), should not use lice preparations containing pyrethrins or you’ll break out in uncomfortable little red bumps all over your head. Like ridding your home of rats with hand grenades, or perhaps swatting flies with a sledge hammer.

Don’t use lice shampoo on a regular basis: So let’s say you and your kids aren’t allergic to lice shampoos or preparations—you still don’t want to use them on a regular basis. I did not need a study to tell me that lice become resistant to the shampoos. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Use it once (meaning: use it, wait two weeks, repeat, as is usually recommended), but then wait until half a year or so has passed before using it again.

Why? Because it simply doesn’t work the second time. The lice get used to it, and it doesn’t kill them anymore. That is what parents in 25 states are now seeing.

Alternate lice preparations: If you don’t want to deal with the lice on your own without shampoos, try a shampoo with a different active ingredient and alternate it with the more usual, more effective pyrethrin-based preparations. This way, the lice won’t become so easily resistant.

Not all lice shampoos are created equal: In theory, it’s a great idea to alternate the types of lice preparations you use, to avoid the issue of lice becoming resistant to the treatments. Unfortunately, the lice preparations that don’t contain pyrethrins aren’t really as effective. In fact, some of them just don’t work and you’ll find you’ve simply thrown away money and wasted time better spent on something else.

Many parents, however, still want to know whether there are gentler or more natural options for dealing with lice, especially when chemical treatments fail or cause irritation.

Essential Oils for Treating Lice

Many parents ask about essential oils for lice treatment, especially those hoping to avoid chemical shampoos. Tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, lavender oil, peppermint oil, and rosemary oil are often discussed online, and you’ll find claims that they work in different ways.

Some sources suggest that certain essential oils may repel lice, others that they may kill live lice under specific conditions, and still others that they help soothe itching or prevent reinfestation. In real-world use, however, these distinctions matter far less than people expect. Essential oils do not reliably solve a lice problem on their own and should never be treated as a substitute for careful, repeated combing.

In my experience, where essential oils can be useful is in prevention rather than treatment. Rosemary oil, in particular, is helpful as a repellent. Lice do not like it, and applying a properly diluted rosemary oil mixture to a child’s hair in the morning can help discourage lice from settling in the first place. This should only be done when a child does not have lice, as part of a preventive routine during outbreaks or at the start of the school year.

If families choose to use essential oils at all, they should be used with caution, properly diluted, and with realistic expectations. Essential oils can irritate sensitive skin, and “natural” does not automatically mean safe or effective.

Does Olive Oil Kill Lice?

Olive oil does not kill lice outright, but using olive oil in the hair for lice is one of the most effective natural methods for dealing with an active infestation.The oil slows the lice down and helps loosen the glue that holds nits to the hair, making thorough combing far more effective. This is the method that has worked best for us over the years:

1) Apply a liberal amount of olive oil to dry hair (you don’t need your finest extra virgin olive oil for this!) and then comb, comb, comb, going all the way to the end of the hair strands.

2) Each time you pull the comb through the hair, you then pull the comb through a tissue, and then fold the tissue to trap the lice and eggs.

3) When the tissue can’t be folded anymore to hold more lice, throw the folded tissue with its lice and eggs, into a bag.

4) Immediately twist the top of the bag, and fold it under, so the little guys can’t escape.

5) Take a new tissue, and continue.

6) Go around the child’s head, combing from top to bottom until you reach the other side of the child’s head, and then begin again.

7) When you get three clean passes (nothing on the comb or tissue)around the child’s head, you can stop.

8) Rub a liberal amount of shampoo into the child’s oily hair until every part of the hair and scalp is coated with shampoo.

9) Use a little bit of water to begin to make a lather, use just enough water to work up some lather on every part of the head.

10) Rinse clean. The oil comes off easily like this, and the bonus is your child’s hair will be beautifully conditioned.

NOTE: Do not use baby oil, which is not water soluble. I know someone who did this and had oily hair for weeks. Olive oil is the way to go. Trust me on this.

The olive oil method works and it doesn’t expose your child to chemicals. It slows down the lice and helps break the “glue” that connects the unhatched eggs to the hair strands. It is, however, kind of messy. Have your child wear an undershirt and you wear something you don’t care about. Do this in a place such as your bathroom, where the oil won’t get on carpets or upholstered furniture.

Other Household Items for Treating Lice

Parents often ask about other household products for treating lice, especially when they are desperate for a quick fix. Over the years, I’ve seen plenty of suggestions come and go, but most of them are far less effective than people hope.

Some families wonder whether using vegetable oil in the hair will work the same way as olive oil. Neither oil kills lice, but olive oil is easier to wash out and works better as an aid to removal because it helps loosen nits and slows lice down during combing. Vegetable oil can have a similar effect during combing, but it tends to leave hair greasy for longer. Using olive oil for nits makes combing more effective, which is what ultimately matters.

Dish soap, including brands like Dawn, occasionally comes up as a lice remedy. While dish soap may kill some lice on contact, it is very harsh on the scalp and does nothing to address nits. Using it can irritate the skin and still leave you with a lice problem days later.

There is also a common belief that lice prefer dirty hair or that greasy hair will prevent lice. In my experience, lice actually like clean, healthy hair, which is easier for them to cling to. Greasy hair alone does not solve a lice problem and should not be relied on as a preventive measure.

Once an active lice infestation is under control, the focus shifts from treatment to prevention and ongoing maintenance:

Comb often: Lice eggs won’t hatch if you break the seal that connects the eggs to the hair strands. Get yourself a good lice comb. The combs that come with lice shampoos aren’t worth anything. Thrown them out. Invest in a sturdy metal comb with a plastic top. Find a comb that has narrower spaces and wider spaces between the teeth, so you have two combs in one. I like the A-200 Innomed lice comb. Comb every other day, three times a week and you’ll never have a serious lice infestation.

Combing with conditioner: When combing for maintenance purposes—not when your child has an infestation, but just to prevent infestation—try combing after your child has shampooed, and applied conditioner to her wet hair. The conditioner helps you move the comb through the hair without any ouchies.

Teach kids to keep their heads far from other kids’ heads: In my day, there were no selfies. Instead, kids would get lice standing in line for things, like lining up for the school bus or to get food at the school cafeteria.  Children often don’t understand the concept of personal space. They may stand too close to the child in front and this is how they get lice. The lice can crawl from one head to another. So teach your child to maintain a distance from other kids’ heads. It’s that simple.

Lice hate dirty hair: Somehow, people have the idea that lice are a sign of being dirty. But in my experience, lice avoid dirty hair and are attracted to clean, shiny, healthy hair. Now, that’s not a reason to eschew shampoo and water. It’s just something to know.

No way around the bedding issue: Lice can’t stay alive too long without hair. But they can stay alive for at least a day with no head in sight. That’s why you have to worry about your child’s bedding, after you’ve cleaned out those lice from her head.  You can hang things outside in the sunshine while your child is at school, and this will probably do the trick. But a good washing and a stint in the drier is best. Some parents put blankets and pillows in a tightly closed bag for a day or so, which should kill the lice, since they have no access to a head of hair.

Long hair is easier than short hair for getting rid of lice: Sometimes moms see lice and their first reaction is, HAIRCUT. This is not a good idea. It’s much harder to pull lice off a short strand of hair than off of a long strand of hair. That said, if the hair is very long, that could be difficult for nitpicking, too. Shoulder length is probably best for keeping hair lice-free.

Lice egg colors and what they mean: In my experience, dead lice eggs are whitish, flatter, and dry looking. Technically, you don’t have to worry about them and could leave them in, since they won’t hatch. Lice eggs that can hatch live lice are darker and rounder, and kind of shiny. But the color of both the lice and their eggs seem to adapt a bit to match a child’s hair color. After awhile, you’ll learn to spot them, but it takes some practice.

Always repeat the shampoo treatments: It’s easy to forget to repeat the lice treatments 10 days later. But there’s not much point in using the treatments if you forget the follow-up. The follow-up kills any baby lice that hatch from any remaining eggs after the first treatment and a combing. If you neglect to follow up, you’ll be right back where you started, plus your kid may develop a resistance to the treatment for next time. Kinda pointless, you know?

I believe this is the sum total of what I know about lice to share with you. But if I think of anything, I’ll add an update.

Here’s to lice-free, happy children and a great school year!

Do you have any tips to add? Please leave a comment below. If I like it, I’ll add it and credit you.

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