We believe that informed consumers, in collaboration with their health care providers, are fully capable of deciding which treatment approach is best for themselves and their families. So, here is the information we feel you need to make an informed decision in the face of conflicting recommendations.

Controversial Issues: continued

1. Can suffocating agents like olive oil eliminate head lice infestations?

Lice Ladies: We were introduced to the concept of using olive oil to smother head lice by a group of entomologists in Israel who were concerned about over-using pesticides on their own young children. In Israel, resistance to permethrin developed ten years before it developed in the US because Nix was introduced to Israel a decade before it was introduced here.

Intrigued with the idea of developing an effective, safe, non-pesticide protocol for eliminating head lice, we asked Dr. Richard Pollack at the Harvard School of Public Health to conduct laboratory tests using olive oil to smother head lice. As a preliminary test, we provided the Harvard School of Public Health with live lice and asked them to test whether head lice could be smothered by olive oil. The following is a letter from Dr. Pollack regarding the results of this experiment:

Harvard School of Public Health

Department of Tropical Public Health

Laboratory of Public Health Entomology

6 June 1997

Dear Joan,

I commend your efforts to identify treatments for head lice that are effective, safe and provide an alternative to traditional methods. As you know, reports from earlier in this century occasionally made reference to olive oil as one component of a more complex formulation for treating infested patients. Olive oil itself has recently been touted by numerous people who attest to its value as one facet in a program designed to eliminate the lice. You convinced us to measure the effect of olive oil on live adult and nymphal head lice. Accordingly, we removed one dozen active lice from the hair of one child and completely submerged six in olive oil. Lice in oil ceased moving within five minutes. Of three lice that were removed from the oil after one hour, two recovered and regained normal activity. None of the three lice treated for two hours recovered. The remaining six non-treated lice remained fully active well beyond the duration of this test. Any insect will undoubtedly succumb to anoxia (lack of oxygen) if submerged in oil for a prolonged period. Olive oil (or other similar product), if applied in copious amounts to the scalp and maintained for a prolonged period, may offer a means of reducing or eliminating the active stages. We have not tested the effect of oil on the eggs (nits).

Your video, "Head Lice to Dead Lice" was informative and amusing. I wish you well in your efforts to identify alternative treatments.

Best wishes,

Richard J. Pollack, Ph.D.

Dr. Pollack on the Harvard web page: "It would be an error to extrapolate from data of such an informal test; therefore, we do not recommend the use of olive oil (or other such substances) as a treatment for head lice."

Lice Ladies: The entomologists at the Harvard School of Public Health offered to conduct further tests in Ethiopia for a fee of $10,000. For Harvard to test the protocol on children in the U.S. would have been prohibitively expensive due to Harvard’s complicated testing procedures when working with children in this country.

Dr. Pollack explained that we would not be able to publish any results from such a study until it had been formally published and there was a good chance it would never be published because it is already common knowledge that oil smothers insects.

As such, we elected to conduct further testing on our own, with children in the United States, using our olive oil protocol, administered by the children’s own parents and under the supervision of a professional nit-picker. This approach allowed us to adjust the olive oil protocol until it worked consistently for normal parents who were inexperienced in removing head lice.

While this would not be considered "a formal study" in the scientific community, we felt it was the best way for us to develop a realistic protocol that worked on real North American kids in real North American homes. It also allowed us to publicize our findings immediately.

Mary Ward, a professional nit picker, worked with dozens of families in their own homes to develop the Five-Step Battle Plan. Our standard for success was the complete elimination of the infestation-- the entire family had to be nit and louse-free for ten full days following completion of the 21-day protocol.

The result is our Five Step Battle Plan as taught in the book and video entitled, "Head Lice to Dead Lice."

Harvard web page warns:

"Olive oil (or any similar food-grade product) would seem intrinsically safe, but may have associated hazards, nonetheless. Oil may cause accidents (slips), and would be difficult to remove from the hair and scalp (detergents can cause irritation). Do not use motor or machine oils, as these materials can be harmful."

Lice Lady:

We have yet to hear of anyone "slipping" on olive oil, but we suppose it could happen. Common sense would dictate that you not pour olive oil onto the floor or bottom of your tub or shower. (If you are prone to do that sort of thing, please don’t tell us why.) Washing hair in the sink would seem to solve the problem, in any case.

Olive oil is not difficult to remove from the hair and does not require the use of harsh detergents. Simply shampoo with any clarifying shampoo for oily hair like Prell or Herbal Essence Clarifying Shampoo for Oily Hair. Massage the shampoo onto the oily hair without wetting it first. Work up a lather, then add water, rinse and lather again. It’s easy! (Gee, we would have thought scientists would know this.)

3.

There is a warning on another head lice website stating: "Oils may enhance absorption, therefore, avoid using oil treatments, or oil based hair dressings or conditioners immediately before and after applying pesticidal shampoos." Should I not use oil after using a pediculicide?


Yes, we saw that one, too. So, we did some research and all we could find to support that statement was a study in which rats were fed Lindane with and without oil. The rats that injested the Lindane along with oil absorbed more Lindane.

Please don't use Lindane with or without oil. And definitely don't drink it. But if you're still worried, skip the pediculicide altogether. As the years go by they're becoming less and less effective anyway. You will eliminate the head lice if you use the olive oil protocol properly, whether or not you use a pediculicide first. We don't know why the other website would choose to alarm health care professionals and consumers with so little supporting information. But we do have our suspicions. More and more health and educational organizations are linking to our videos so their communities can watch them free of charge.

Click here to learn more about our history with the NPA.

The NPA suggests having two or more people combing at the same time to "catch" the live lice. They also suggest using scotch tape to catch live lice.

Lice Ladies: Most families we know have a difficult time finding one adult with enough time to treat infestations, never mind several. There’s no harm in this method if nit combing is a passtime your family enjoys, but for those of us with other obligations, we feel that shutting down the lice with the olive oil and having one person assigned to combing is more realistic. And it is probably less intimidating to the child to have only one adult hovering over them. Of course, this would depend on your own family culture.

2. Will nit combing and manual nit picking alone eliminate head lice?

The NPA (National Pediculosis Association) promotes nit combing (with their trademarked nit comb) and manual nit removal alone as the best choice for eliminating head lice infestations.

Lice Ladies: Nit combing with a good metal nit comb is essential as one step in a head lice treatment protocol. However, combing alone is akin to shoveling snow during a blizzard. It may work eventually, but it would be unnecessarily difficult and time consuming. Our experience has shown that no comb alone will remove every single louse and nit. It is simply too easy for a louse to avoid the nit comb unless it’s system is first shut down by the olive oil.

Most comb manufacturers claim that their combs are 100% effective in removing nits. However, these combs are generally tested in laboratories on body lice eggs which are larger than head lice eggs.

3. Combing techniques

The NPA suggests having two or more people combing at the same time to "catch" the live lice. They also suggest using scotch tape to catch live lice.

Lice Ladies: Most families we know have a difficult time finding one adult with enough time to treat infestations, never mind several. There’s no harm in this method if nit combing is a passtime your family enjoys, but for those of us with other obligations, we feel that shutting down the lice with the olive oil and having one person assigned to combing is more realistic. And it is probably less intimidating to the child to have only one adult hovering over them. Of course, this would depend on your own family culture.

We found the Scotch Tape technique a little tricky to accomplish without also catching hairs on the tape, which pulled the hair. When we tried this, mobile children were quickly up and out of the chair long before any additional lice could be spotted.

3. Is nit removal necessary?

Lice Lady: The only way to be absolutely sure there are no live lice on the head is to remove all the nits, then see if any new nits appear on the head. If new nits do appear, you can be sure there is a louse on the head laying them. You are not clear of head lice until you have had absolutely no new nits on the head for ten consecutive days.

Harvard web page: Because most eggs will be non-viable, their removal is often impractical and unjustified.

4. Techniques for nit removal:

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