Alternative medicine

A number of home or natural remedies, such as mayonnaise or olive oil, are used to treat head lice infestations, but there's little to no evidence of their effectiveness.

A special machine that uses hot air to dehydrate head lice and their eggs is another alternative treatment method. The machine requires special training and is currently available only at professional lice treatment centers.

A regular hair dryer can't be used to do this at home as it's too hot and could burn the scalp. The machine at the clinics uses air that is cooler than most hair dryers but at a much higher flow rate to kill the lice by drying them out.