Many people are thinking of using shampoos for head lice prevention.
But there are some do’s and don’ts, and here are some shampoos to use to prevent head lice, as well as some shampoos that you should avoid when it comes to preventing head lice.
Head lice spread through direct head-to-head contact. The first head lice prevention measure is to avoid those contacts.
It is easy for adults but more difficult for children, who have games that involve head-to-head contacts quite often. In this case you can use some shampoos.
Head lice are attracted to us by our human smell. If this smell is masked by another that has a repelling effect on head lice, then it will keep them away.
This is exactly what essential oils based shampoos can do. You can use a tea tree oil shampoo, a lavender oil shampoo, or a coconut oil shampoo.
Coconut shampoo to prevent head lice
You can use a coconut-scented shampoo or conditioner or you can add a few drops of coconut oil to your regular soft shampoo.
Coconut oil is antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial. It has been used in many countries as a home remedy against head lice.
Pros: this is a good shampoo to prevent head lice.
Cons: no cons, as there are no side-effects and coconut appears to be safe to use.
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Tea tree oil shampoo to prevent head lice
You can either buy one of these ready-made shampoos or you can add a few drops of tea tree oil to your regular soft shampoo.
Tea tree oil contains terpenoids, which have antiseptic and antifungal properties, and have thus the property to kill adult head lice and nymphs.
Pros: it works at preventing head lice because even if you catch a louse it will be killed by the tea tree oil.
Cons: tea tree oil is better as a home remedy when you have an infestation already, than to prevent head lice, because it can have side-effects and be harmful to your health.
Sometimes people may have allergic reactions to tea tree oil, and pure tea tree oil applied to the skin may cause skin irritation, blistering, and itching.
Then, it is not a recommended substance for children and pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Lavender oil shampoo to prevent head lice
You can either buy a ready-made shampoo that contains lavender or you can add a few drops of lavender essential oil to your regular soft shampoo.
Just like tea tree oil, lavender oil contains terpenoids but much less than tea tree oil: the component terpinen-4-ol has a concentration of 30% to 50% in tea tree oil, but only 4% in lavender oil.
Pros: lavender can work well at preventing head lice and is safer as tea tree oil. It is not toxic and provokes very few skin irritations. It doesn’t have the side-effects of tea tree oil and is safer to use.
Cons: lavender oil shampoos should be used with care anyway, only to prevent head lice but not as an everyday remedy.
Commercial lice killing shampoos
These are shampoos which active ingredients are permethrin like in Nix, pyrethrum like in RID, or malathion.
They should NEVER be used to prevent head lice, as they have no prevention effect. Moreover, they can have side-effects that range from light to severe and should only be used to treat an existing head lice infestation.
Does head & shoulders shampoo prevent you from getting lice?
This is a common question, maybe because some people saw the movie Evolution (2001) where the shampoo was used as a weapon to destroy the alien menace…
Officially, Head & Shoulders shampoo cannot prevent anyone from getting head lice and has no repelling power. This is an anti-dandruff shampoo, nothing more.
However, it is true that many parents have reported some effectiveness of this shampoo to prevent head lice.
Head and Shoulders also contains dimethicone, which is the active ingredient in a lot of newer, one application, head lice treatments.
Dimethicone is a silicone product with a lower viscosity which the lice and eggs aspirate through their pores (which is how they breathe).
Although the dimethicone concentration is lower, repeated use of Head and Shoulders may provide continued head lice protection.
Just a little info I’m a hairdresser and Paul Mitchell has two great shampoos I swear by and also use on my children. There is your awpuai which is cocoanut and my fav the tea tree with lavander you can’t beat that and I use these on my children daily they are great and make there hair pretty and shiny too!
There are known scents that lice do not like. You mentioned coconut, lavender, tea tree; mint is also a scent that they do not like. It has been proven that they tend to walk in another direction when coming into contact with these scents. But, if its the only head available, they will go regardless of what scent you have on your hair. In my experience a lot of the repellant shampoos and sprays give people a false sense of security. I get a lot of customers who say “I don’t understand why my kid got lice, I use the repellant shampoo everyday”. The best thing to do is more of “early detection”. Use a good nit comb (a metal one with microgrooving is the best) once a week on your children. This way if they end up getting lice, you will catch it right away. You can still use the repellants everyday but incorporate combing into your schedule.
H&S works for removing dandruff that lice can hide under- I get outbreaks occasionally because I work with sm. children so I am constantly getting rid of lice. sometimes I wonder if its worth it they do no harm and nothing really is 100%. when it gets too much i do a treatment with evoo and comb with the nit comb and it lasts quite awhile…i just get tired of doing it..i am losing enough hair with out pulling out more with that comb..thanks for letting me vent because this is such a sensitive subject w/parents there really aren’t too many places to talk about it.
The nits are the biggest problem because they are so hard to comb out. I found that white vinegar in a spray bottle will help loosen the strong adhesive that these parasitic eggs are attached with, helping them be combed out easier. I did it yesterday, my girls have long hair, I had to section off each part of the hair with a clip to be thorough. I came here to read about tea tree oil as it was recommended by a friend. I will probably go with the coconut oil shampoo as a preventive measure because it seems safest.
I’ve started adding tea tree oil to our shampoo. My oldest daughter has really thick frizzy hair and even when you brush it it looks really messy. After I started using the tea tree oil her hair is really soft and smooth and not frizzy at all. I use a 100% natural oil, I don’t sea how it will hurt if it’s diluted to the proper concentration
Even though my grandchildren and I are nit and lice free. I still go over our hair with a fine tooth comb almost every night. After a 3 year battle and lots of school time lost we are finally winning.
I have been battling head lice with my youngest daughter for almost 4 months now. I have tried all the otc lice treatments and a prescription treatment. I’m washing the bedding and clothes, spraying the mattresses and vacuuming the carpets. She is 7 and this is my first experience with lice and I’m exhausted with all this! But I have found that the metal comb works better and I’m using that every other day since her last treatment 5 days ago and I think that could be the key to getting rid of them I hope.
Thanx for this site. My 8 year old granddaughter has suffered with lice for over a year now. It’s a constant thing and we’re so sick of it. Thick blond hair. We’ll try some Young Living essential oil in her shampoo if I can ever get all the nits out. It takes so long!
My son is in 3rd grade and my daughter started kindergarten this year. My daughter’s hair is down to her butt and i’m petrified of lice. Thankfully I’ve never dealt with it. During the summer before school started I began using tea tree oil on my daughter and myself because i heard it can help keep lice away. I am a single mother and my kids tend to sleep in my bed occasionally. That being said, my son caught lice at school and neither myself or my daughter caught it! I swear by tea tree oil shampoo/ conditioner. I buy it already made at the store and we use it daily. No bad reactions and the kids hair smell great.
I had head lice until I was in 2nd year of high school. Tried every wash and lotion there was. Combed hair and conditioner too. Nothing seemed to work. It was horrible especially as soon as you got treated because your hair would stink and be that horrible greasy texture. Seems like the stigma attached to head lice makes it a million times worse than to have it. I haven’t had them since though despite working with children. I read somewhere that as I have oily skin and hair that nits and lice aren’t attracted to it. Don’t know if thats true but seems to add up if other have used oil as a cleaner.
My daughter had lice a couple of times, the first time I took her to head lice troopers, it is a little pricey but they will work with you on the price if you ask, the second time I removed them at home myself with a ready mix formula with tea tree oil from cvs that works great. Since than I have put that on her hair every day and she hasn’t gotten them again.
Tea tree oil! I add a few drops once i have squeezed shampoo into my hand before washing my daughters hair..and for mine. It works! No irritations or rashes either!
Wow – Lice is really a problem everywhere! We moved to Mérida, México and are fortunate to have a nearby place that removes lice for $30 bucks ($600 pesos) with a free follow up after a week. That said – still, each year, almost like clockwork, we have to do the same steps again!
Hopefully, using the coconut shampoo will work to prevent! Thanks for the article & comments!
I’m a teacher and it’s a constant problem. I’m currently combing out my 3rd Infestation caught from the kids. I find a white plastic comb best. I comb every day and you have to scrape the scalp with every comb. Keep going. It’s not something you clear out overnight. I wet comb with every wash and dry comb daily too. Forget potions. Your best friend in this battle is a good nit comb.