One of the most common problems in children at a preschool age, is lice. These dreaded little critters take advantage of our kids’ heads and do not leave them in any second. Additionally, there is the problem of infecting other kids in the kindergarten. Fortunately, there is one solution that perhaps you have not tried and that, hopefully, it will bring you the best results. This solution involves using a natural ingredient commonly known as vinegar.
This treatment is environment-friendly and very economical. It also constitutes one of the greatest weapons at a very short reach to fight lice and nits.
Lice are parasitic insects that feed off of the human blood in our scalp to survive. In order to secure their infestation and propagation of life, they lay their eggs and attach them close to the root of the hair. That is why it is so hard to eliminate them completely, couple to the fact that they are almost microscopic. You might get the lice but not the eggs.
Vinegar will help you eliminating this head-living infestation. The vinegar itself will not kill the lice and nits. However, they are powerful weapon that will make the task of removing much easier than before. Vinegar is composed by acetic acid, and is this acid that will detach the nits from your scalp to eliminate any possible propagation of the lice.
Vinegar is also great for bacterial elimination since it contains an excellent germ killing property due to the acid concentration. On this regard, experts recommend employing any kind of household vinegar. White vinegar, white wine or red vinegar are good options for this treatment.
Method of Blasting out Lice with Vinegar
Apple vinegar is an excellent choice as well due to the concentration of acid it holds. Although it does not actually kill the lice, any of these vinegars are perfect because they have a 5% or 7% concentration of acetic acid. Any higher concentration will be harmful for the scalp.
Step 1: soaking the scalp with the vinegar
Take the vinegar and apply onto your child’s hair, and soak it completely. Make sure the vinegar reaches the scalp, since that is where most of the lice and nits are. After applying the vinegar, wait at least 20 minutes for the acid to take effect on the minuscule critters. An advisable move is to let your child use a snorkeling mask. The vinegar has a very pungent smell, that way they will not breathe it in, and the eyes will be untouched as well.
Step 2: comb them out
Use a special nit comb or a very fine comb, works even better it is made of metal, to take out all the lice and nits out of the hair, take special attention to ousting the eggs as well. This step is crucial to the whole process and it requires certain amount of time and dedication.
Step 3: Rinse them all out
Use your conditioner of choice (preferably, one destined to kill on lice and nits) to rinse the vinegar.
This process shall be repeated until there is no trace of any eggs in the scalp of your child, or any other member of the household.