How to Use Dawn to Kill Lice

Mayonnaise Treatment
Olive Oil Treatment

Written by Gerri Blanc

27 July, 2017

Head lice are small sesame-sized insects that live on human scalps and feed on human blood. Though they can usually live for only 24 hours on a human head, getting rid of lice can be a difficult task, as female lice continuously produce eggs (also called nits), which can hatch within a seven-to-10-day period. To kill the lice, as well as their eggs, it is important to suffocate them and pull out any eggs left in the hair. Dawn dishwashing soap can be a component of the lice-removal treatment you choose 2.

Mayonnaise Treatment

Cover the head completely with mayonnaise to suffocate the lice. To make sure that none of the lice escape, place a shower cap or plastic bag over the scalp.

How to Treat Head Lice During Pregnancy

Learn More

Leave the mayonnaise in the hair for at least an hour or up to eight hours.

Rinse the hair with very warm water, using a comb to help remove the mayonnaise. The lice will have risen to the top of the hair by this point, and the nits should be easy to remove.

How to Apply Hempseed Oil to Hair

Learn More

Apply Dawn dishwashing soap to the hair, getting rid of the oils left by the mayonnaise.

Repeat the process in 10 days, making sure to remove as many nits as possible every day.

Cover the head completely with mayonnaise to suffocate the lice.

Olive Oil Treatment

Apply olive oil all over the scalp. Cover the head with a plastic cap or bag.

Leave the oil in for several hours or overnight. If keeping the oil in overnight, cover your pillows with towels to prevent oil stains.

Go through hair with nit comb to remove lice. Because the oil will leak down, you should probably lean the head back into a sink.

Use Dawn dishwashing soap and warm water to rinse the oils out of the hair.

Repeat this treatment every two to four days for at least a week.

Tips

When treating the hair with mayonnaise, some suggest using vinegar and then removing nits with a nit comb after applying the Dawn. In other treatments, the olive oil can be applied for only 30 minutes. Afterward, just lean the head back into the sink, and go through the hair with a nit comb. Apply the Dawn as you would with the treatments explained in this article. Wash all materials that could be harboring lice, including bedding, stuffed animals and clothing, using hot water. Dry the materials for 20 minutes in a hot dryer.