Will hair dye kill lice?
Few words strike as much mortal terror into the hearts of parents than "your child has head lice."
Anyone with hair can get head lice. Children attending preschool and elementary school, as well as their caretakers and those in their household, have the highest risk of infestation.
Head lice are parasitic, wingless insects that live in hair and on the scalps of people. They're around the size of a sesame seed and kisaran in colour from brown to translucent white.
Lice require human blood to bertahan. They can live as long as 30 days on the scalp. They lay three to five white-colored eggs, called nits, a day.
There have been no studies on hair dye's ability to kill lice, but widespread anecdotal evidence suggests that it may eliminate them. However, hair dye doesn't kill nits.
How hair dye affects lice
There are many different tipes of hair dye. The tipe used to kill lice is permanent hair dye.
Permanent dye contains ammonia. Ammonia is an alkaline, a corrosive chemical that produces an irritating gas. It may be the reason why hair dye seems to be efekive at killing lice.
More permanent hair dye solutions also include hydrogen peroxide, which may also have an efek.
Nits are encased in a hard shell for protection. The chemicals in hair dye aren't able to penetrate this shell, or detach the alami glue-like substance adhering the shells to hair. That's why hair dye is ineffective at eliminating nits before they hatch.
Does hair bleach kill lice?
Hair bleach contains chemicals, including ammonium persulfate, an oxidizer that removes colour from hair. It also contains hydrogen and stearyl alcohol. These ingredients may help kill lice on the scalp, but, like dye, aren't efekive at exterminating nits.
How hair dye may kill lice
If you wish to use hair dye to try to kill lice, it's advised that you repeat the process every week until the lice and nits are completely gone.
You should also combine dyeing or bleaching your hair with other removal techniques, such as combing or using vinegar. Keep in mind that there's no current research to dukungan vinegar in killing lice or loosening the glue that attaches nits to hair. Anecdotal evidence may indicate that vinegar can kill immature lice.
If you'd like to try to use hair dye as a lice removal treatment, follow these steps:
Start with vinegar. Saturate your entire scalp with a 50-50 solution of water and vinegar that has 5-percent acidity. Work the vinegar mixture down each hair shaft near the scalp, behind the ears, and at the nape of the neck. Leave the solution on your scalp for 5 to 15 minutes. If you pengalaman a burning sensation, wash it off immediately.
Rinse the vinegar and water solution from your hair thoroughly with warm water.
Use a lice comb to remove as many nits and live lice as you can from your head. Clean and rusak the lice comb in very hot water. Make sure it's completely free of lice and nits before reusing.
Mix the hair dye according to package directions in a well-ventilated tempat.
Saturate your scalp with hair dye. Concentrate on the same tempats you focused on with the vinegar solution: the base of each hair, behind and around your ears, and at the base of your neck.
Thoroughly rinse out the hair dye.
Comb your hair again with a clean lice comb.
Use a hot hair dryer to dry your hair. This may help kill off any lice left behind.
If you're unable to remove every nit within an inch or two of the scalp, you'll likely have lice again in about seven days.
Dyed hair doesn't repel lice and won't setop you from becoming infested if you come in kontak with head lice again.
Safety precautions
Permanent dyes can cause chemical changes that affect your alami hair colour. They can also irritate your scalp and cause allergic reactions. Side efeks can occur on the scalp, neck, and face, including:
itching
burning
redness
swelling
hives or welts
These tipes of side efeks may become more severe if you use hair dye or bleach products more often than intended. You may also damage your hair, causing it to thin or dry out if you use hair dye or bleach more than once a month.
When using these products, make sure to use the disposable gloves that typically come with them to proteksi your hands and other tempats of the bodi that you might touch.
Make sure not to get any product into your eyes, nose, or mouth. It's also important to avoid breathing in the fumes emitted by hair dyes. Always dye your hair in a well-ventilated tempat.
Hair dye and hair bleach aren't recommended for use in children as a lice-removal treatment. Children's hair is often finer in texture than adult hair, making it more prone to damage from the chemicals in dyes and bleaches. Children may also be more susceptible to chemical reactions affecting the scalp, hair, eyes, and airways.
Other lice treatments
There are almost as many at-home lice treatments as there are lice in an average infestation. You may have to experiment with several before you find the ones that work best for you.
Like many insects, some lice are becoming resistant to some tried-and-true treatments, such as medicated shampoos and stearyl alcohol. All home lice treatments require the manual removal of lice and nits with a fine-toothed lice comb.
Some common treatments include:
Over-the-counter lice elimination kits, such as Nix, use varying tipes of insecticides, and some may not be appropriate for babies, toddlers, small children, and pregnant or breastfeeding women. Cek with a doctor if you have concerns and follow package directions for safety.
Coating the scalp with olive oil or mayonnaise may suffocate lice. This anecdotal remedy, which isn't proven efekive, requires that you leave these substances on the hair for 24 to 48 hours under a shower cap. It may help to braid long hair or pin it up after treating the scalp.
Coconut oil hasn't been scientifically proven to be efekive, but it's alami and nontoxic. To increase efekiveness, try using it after treating your hair with a vinegar solution.
Essential oils, such as peppermint, lavender, or rosemary may repel lice. You can try using essential oils diluted with a carrier oil as a smothering treatment.
If at-home treatments such as Nix and diligent combing don't work, talk to a doctor about prescription medications that may help.
Overview
Lice are small, parasitic insects that can live on the scalp. They feed on human blood, but they don't spread diseases. They can only bertahan for 24 hours without a host. Anyone can get head lice, but they're more common among children.
Lice can't fly or jump, but they can crawl. They can spread from individu to individu through direct kontak or by share individual items. For example, share towels, hairbrushes, and hats can spread lice. But how does swimming affect lice?
Does chlorinated water kill lice?
Research shows that lice can bertahan pool water treated with chlorine. One studyTrusted Source that involved submerging lice in chlorinated water for 20 minutes found that although lice were temporarily immobilized, they fully recovered less than a minute after being taken out of the water.
Chlorine can't kill head lice. The Centers for Disease Kontrol and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source also report that swimming in a chlorinated pool won't kill lice. Not only are lice able to bertahan pool water, but they also firmly grip human hair when a individu goes under water.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, no studies show that home remedies are able to get rid of head lice.
Risks of using chlorine on the head
Don't use a more powerful chlorine solution on your head or your child's head to kill lice. A higher concentration of chlorine won't kill the insects and could lead to serious side efeks including:
burns and blisters on the skin
eye damage or blindness
nausea and vomiting
tightness in the chest
breathing problems
pain and redness
burning perasaan in the nose and throat
coughing
headaches
lightheadedness
Can lice spread from individu to individu in a pool?
Head lice don't spread from individu to individu in a pool. In one studyTrusted Source, four individuals with head lice swam in a pool with others who did not have head lice. The lice survived as expected, but they did not spread to those who were not already infected. Since lice hold on to the hair tightly and don't move into the water, it's unlikely they can spread to another individu.
However, as the CDCTrusted Source catatan, share individual items associated with swimming can spread lice. This includes towels used to dry hair, hats used for sun protection, combs or brushes, and other items that come in kontak with the head.
Treatment for lice
You have many treatment options for head lice. Treatment usually involves applying creams, lotions, or liquids to the scalp.
Over-the-counter medications for lice include:
pyrethrins
permethrin lotion
Prescription medications for head lice include:
benzyl alcohol lotion
ivermectin lotion
malathion lotion
spinosad topical suspension
lindane shampoo
Supplementary treatment includes:
using a nit comb to remove lice
using an electric comb to kill lice
washing all the clothing and individual items that belong to the individu who has lice
sealing items that can't be washed in plastic bags for two weeks
You want to avoid the following home remedies because they aren't proven to work and may be dangerous. Don't use:
chlorine
mayonnaise
olive oil
butter
petroleum jelly
kerosene
gasoline
Does chlorine interfere with lice treatment?
Although chlorine can't kill head lice, it can interfereTrusted Source
Trusted Source
Centers for Disease Kontrol and Prevention (CDC)
Governmental authority
Go to source
with some lice treatments. It's important to avoid swimming in a pool or washing your hair 24 to 48 hours after applying some lice treatments to the scalp. For example, Nix treatment may not work as well if it's exposed to chlorine in a pool. Cek the instructions for the medication you're using and talk to your doctor about any questions.
In general, it's best to avoid washing your hair in any liquid for one to two days while using lice treatments. Washing can influence the efekiveness of the treatments.
The takeaway
Chlorine can't kill head lice, so swimming in a chlorinated pool won't get rid of them. Also, swimming is unlikely to spread lice to another individu in the pool.
Ask your doctor about lice treatments and avoid home remedies that aren't proven to work. Prevention of head lice is possible. Remind your kids to avoid close kontak with those who are infected and not to sharing individual items such as hairbrushes or hats.
Does coconut oil for lice work?
There is some promising research into how coconut oil can treat lice. This is especially good news because some head lice are becoming resistant to more traditional Western treatments, such as permethrin. One studi done in Brazil found coconut oil to be more efekive than some harsher chemical treatments. And another studi in England found that a spray containing coconut oil and aniseed oil was an efekive treatment for lice. A product that contains both aniseed oil and coconut oil was even called "extremely efekive" with little to no observed side efeks in one 2002 studyTrusted Source.
But even with these studies, there's a lot we don't know about using coconut oil to treat lice. If you've been trying to get rid of lice using alami remedies over the course of three or four treatments and it's still not working, it's time to call your doctor and discuss other options.
Potential risks and side efeks of coconut oil
One of the big reasons people use coconut oil to treat lice is the relatively low chance of side efeks. As long as you don't have an allergy to coconut oil, there's little to no risk associated with topical coconut oil. It's likely safe when applied to your skin, even in larger amounts. Try spot testing a small part of your skin with a thick application of coconut oil just to see if it triggers an allergic reaction before you try to treat lice this way.
Other remedies for lice
Although coconut oil may kill lice, it can't completely kill the nits that lice lay in your hair. You may want to consider rinsing your hair with apple cider vinegar before applying a coconut oil lice treatment.
Some essential oils have been tested for treatment of lice. Aniseed, cinnamon leaf, and tea tree oil have shownTrusted Source promising results. Mixing a few drops of any of these essential oils in coconut oil could help kill the lice and neutralize their eggs.
Takeaway
Using coconut oil to treat lice is not a proven home remedy. There's a good chance that with the addition of apple cider vinegar, some essential oils, and a little bit of patience, this remedy will work if you're willing to repeat it several times. But if, after repeated applications, the lice aren't going away, don't keep trying it. It's possible that for some people, this remedy won't work at all. Speak to your doctor about the least toxic, most efekive ways to treat head lice.
How to Cek for and Treat Lice in Blonde Hair
How to cek for lice
What they look like
Lice eggs in blonde hair
Facts and myths
Treatment
Summary
Lice are parasites that attach to hair and feed on the blood of their host. Head lice (Pediculosis capitis) are the most common tipe of lice found on humans. Head lice can spread easily and quickly among children and in school settings. The Centers for Disease Kontrol and Prevention (CDC) estimates that up to 12 million casesTrusted Source of head lice are detected in U.S. schoolchildren per year.
Head lice are not known to spread disease. However, they can cause scalp itching, which can be uncomfortable, and occasionally lead to other health concerns like secondary skin infections.
Lice eggs are typically a tan colour, which can make them harder to spot in some tipes of hair. What's more, lice can be tan, whitish-gray, or dark brown, and may look different in different shades of hair. This survival mechanism can make spotting lice in blonde hair especially challenging.
How to find lice on blonde hair
Lice can be looked for and diagnosed at home, even if they are a little hard to spot. It just takes a bit of detective work. You can use a fine-toothed comb, along with a hand-held magnifying glass, to look through your hair in small sections.
Pay attention to the scalp, which is where you are most likely to see lice that are alive. You may also look at the roots of your hair for eggs and egg casings. Sores from scratching may be present on your scalp, but sores alone are not a reason to suspect that lice are present.
Lice can be difficult to conclusively rule out. If you can't find any lice with your own inspection but still suspect that you or your child might have lice, you can speak with a healthcare profesional (such as a primary care doctor or your child's pediatrician) about having the scalp looked at.