Method 2: (Drown ’em) | Head Lice Removal for the masses

Allowing for the treatment to spread out over a day or two, this method is great for busy schedules and is a flexible alternative to Method 1.

If you haven’t already, please read the article ‘Head lice treatment‘ to see if this method is the one for you.

Assuming you have the items from the ‘things to buy‘ page on hand, you may finally begin the procedure!

METHOD 2 item list:

Treatment suggestion:

A suggested timeline for this treatment is applying the mineral oil soak before bedtime and continuing the de-lousing treatment the next morning. Be sure to wrap a towel over the persons pillow in order to catch any oil which may potentially escape from the shower cap barrier.

Step 1: Drown lice with Baby/mineral oil

Step 1 aims to kill all living lice (but not the nits).

You will want to set up your work-space in a garage or another area where you don’t mind oil falling to the floor.

Drape a towel over the persons back you are treating and over and across the shoulders to protect their body from oil splatter. It helps to put a towel over the persons lap to protect pants from getting oil on it as well.
Starting with the center of the head, apply a line of mineral oil** from middle of the forehead hairline to top middle of the head. Next, comb over that line of oil with untreated hair, laying the untreated hair over the oil and towards the opposite side you are working towards. For example, if you are standing behind the individual you would make a line of oil from the middle the forehead hairline to the top-middle of their head. You would then take a combs-length amount of hair immediately adjacent to that line of oil on the left and overlap the oil line with untreated hair extending it over to the right side. This creates another hairline to the left which you can then continue applying a line of oil and combing over each oil line with untreated hair.
Once the left or right side is completed, repeat for the opposite side.
Once the left and right side of the head is saturated, have the person look down towards the ground so the back of their head is exposed. Flip the hair from the back over to the front towards their face and begin to saturate and comb the hair starting from the back of the neck hairline towards the top middle of their head. Keep combing and adding oil till the hair is evenly saturated.
After the back of the head is saturated, have the person look level and forward, and begin combing the entire length of their hair from the scalp to the tips, and add oil to dry spots if necessary.
When done, the hair should be fully and completely saturated. It should be slick and weighty, but not overly dripping with oil.
If long, place hair into a high bun using a hair tie/band.
Cover exposed hair with a shower cap
Let covered hair soak in mineral oil for 8 hours.

**By applying lines of oil in an orderly fashion you keep things clean and waste as little oil as possible.

Step 2: physically remove as many lice and nits from the hair by using the nit comb

Step 2 aims to physically remove lice and nits.

Prerequisite: Step 1: You’ve just finished soaking the lice infested hair in mineral oil for at least 8 hours.

You will want to set up your work-space in a garage or another area where you don’t mind oil, nits, and lice falling to the floor.

Section the hair of the person receiving lice treatment as shown below using clips or hair ties:

You may feel that sectioning hair during this part of the de-lousing treatment is a waste of time. However by doing so, it greatly increases thoroughness and allows for a better nit combing technique over the course of the treatment.

Just do it, you wont regret it. Really.

Since the hair being treated should should already be slick with mineral oil, use a comb to rid the hair of any knots or tangles to ensure the nit comb does not catch.
Use the nit comb and begin to comb out each section by running it through a .5 to 1 inch diameter portion of hair. You will want to start as close to the scalp as possible while running the comb all the way out and past the tips of the hair (remember viable nits are within 1/4″ from the scalp!). Periodically clean the nit comb by wiping it on a paper towel.
I found that it was helpful to vary the sides from which I inserted the comb to remove nits. By varying the approach, the nit is more likely to hit the sides of the nit comb pins and be removed during the process.
Repeat for each section of hair.

Step 3: Shampoo Hair and live life somewhat normally till you receive the dimethicone oil (follow these rules).

Step 3 aims to clean oil and any other stuff left behind in the hair.

After the tedious task of nit combing, shampoo hair and towel dry.

I am assuming you placed the order for Dimethicone oil on Amazon the day before and are impatiently waiting for another day before you receive it. In this case, be assured that all the live lice and hopefully the majority of the nits have been physically removed from the hair that’s being treated. You really shouldn’t see any live lice crawling around after steps 1-3.

Unfortunately, there’s really nothing else to do but wait till the Dimethicone comes in. But rest assured that the only thing you should need to worry about at this point of the lice treatment is the viability of nits. But even if the nit hatches it will take several days before the nymph becomes an adult capable of laying eggs and continuing the life cycle.

As long as step 4 is completed before any live lice can develop into an egg laying adult, you won’t have to worry about new nits being created.

Step 4: Saturate the hair with Dimethicone and soak for 1 hour

Step 4 aims to kill nits and render them non-viable, will also kill any lice that may have hatched or been left alive since the mineral oil soak.

What a glorious day! The eagle has landed and Dimethicone is now in your possession. It’s time to apply it!

You will want to set up your work-space in a garage or another area where you don’t mind oil falling to the floor. You really should be a pro at this by now…

Drape a towel over the persons back you are treating and over and across the shoulders to protect their body from oil splatter. It helps to put a towel over the persons lap to protect pants from getting oil on it as well.
Starting with the center of the head, apply a line of Dimethicone oil** from middle of the forehead hairline to top middle of the head. Next, comb over that line of oil with untreated hair, laying the untreated hair over the oil and towards the opposite side you are working towards. For example, if you are standing behind the individual you would make a line of oil from the middle the forehead hairline to the top-middle of their head. You would then take a combs-length amount of hair immediately adjacent to that line of oil (on the left) and overlap the oil line with untreated hair extending it over to the right side. This creates another hairline to the left which you can then continue applying a line of oil and combing over each oil line with untreated hair.
Once the left or right side is completed, repeat for the opposite side.
Once the left and right side of the head is saturated, have the person look down towards the ground so the back of their head is exposed. Flip the hair from the back over to the front towards their face and begin to saturate and comb the hair starting from the back of the neck hairline towards the top middle of their head. Keep combing and adding oil till the hair is evenly saturated.
After the back of the head is saturated, have the person look level and forward, and begin combing the entire length of their hair from the scalp to the tips, and add oil to dry spots if necessary.
When done, the hair should be fully and completely saturated. It should be slick and weighty, but not overly dripping with oil.
If long, place hair into a high bun using a hair tie/band.
Cover exposed hair with a shower cap
Let covered hair soak in Dimethicone for 1 hour.

**By applying lines of oil in an orderly fashion you keep things clean and waste as little oil as possible.

Step 5: Shampoo Hair and move on with life.

Step 5 aims to clean oil and any stuff left behind from the hair.

After the hour-long Dimethicone soak, remove shower cap and shampoo hair.

You or the person is now able to live life as normal while adhering to the rules outlined in the ‘learn about lice’ section for the next few days or until all members of the household are treated and in the clear from head lice infestation.

Professional lice removal clinics recommend using a nit comb every day over the next 10 days to remove any dead nits and lice that may not have been removed during the treatment.

Keep any eye out: Re-apply Dimethicone 9 days after initial treatment (for 1 hour)

Its advisable to do another 1 hour-long Dimethicone hair soak 9 days after the initial application of Dimethicone oil.

This step is STRONGLY recommended as this treatment method (as opposed to method 1) foregoes the heat treatment to kill viable nits. If a nit happens to hatch and live long enough to become an egg laying female adult, it can lead to re-infestation. It’s extremely unlikely, but its better to be safe than sorry.

The reapplication of Dimethicone oil will destroy any remaining lice and ensure you are completely de-loused.