How to Kill Head Lice With Mayonnaise

A lice infestation

It can be quite embarrassing for you or your child if one of you contracts lice. Although children are far more likely to catch lice from other youngsters at school, adults are not immune to them. If you find lice on yourself or your child, you should deal with the infestation immediately. Lice not only feed on blood, they carry certain diseases and lay eggs or "nits," which worsens the infestation.
There are plenty of over-the-counter and prescription products on the market to choose from, but many are expensive, and many also contain toxic chemicals. There is an old-fashioned way to combat lice without using chemicals, and it will be less stressful on your wallet too!

Things You'll Need

• Louse comb
• Mayonnaise
• Shower cap

Instructions

Using Mayonnaise to Treat Head Lice

1. Slather a large amount of mayonnaise on the head of the infected person. You may want to drape a towel around her shoulders in case any mayonnaise runs off the side of her head too quickly.

2. Massage the mayonnaise throughout the hair, making sure to work it deep down into the scalp. Lice usually feed around the scalp and hairline, so you want to make sure you saturate this particular area very well. Don't be afraid to use a lot of pressure, you really want to work the mayonnaise in to the scalp and all the way down to the hair roots.

3. Put on a shower cap to cover the mayonnaise. This works best right before bed; that way, the mayonnaise will have all night to seep into all the hair and skin areas.

4. Wash and shampoo thoroughly in the morning. You can repeat this step, but generally you won't get all the lice the first time around.

5. Comb the hair with a louse comb. Louse combs are similar to flea combs. They have very fine teeth, small enough so that none of the lice will get through. You will comb out both dead and live lice after the treatment, as well as some eggs. Louse combs can be found at any local drugstore.

6. Repeat the mayonnaise treatment in one week. Very rarely will you get rid of all the lice after only one treatment, so repeating it is necessary. You should get all of them by the second or third time, remembering to always use the louse comb after washing the hair.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a generous amount of mayonnaise--you don't want to skimp! Apply the mayo before bed; that way, you'll have several hours for it to soak in and do its job. Always use a louse comb after treatment; the mayo alone won't eradicate all of the lice.