From the young to the old, everyone is afraid of small bugs that are called lice. These parasites have tiny size, and live in hair and scalp to feed on our blood. If you have never companioned with these insects, you never know how uncomfortable and annoying they are. They live up to 30 days and lay 3-5 eggs a day which will hatch within 7 days.
Even in modern life, many people get trouble with lice no matter where they are, no matter who they are. About 10 million people in US are recorded to have lice every year. Thus, we are all looking for effective ways to reject these monsters. A question arises nearly about this problem. Does hair dye kill lice? Let’s make it clear together in this post.
Does hair dye kill lice?
As far as we know, permanent hair dye contains a lot of chemicals that are strong and harmful. Thus, many people believe it can fight lice completely. We also receive reports that hair dye works well on eliminating lice. However, no scientific evidence has been claimed.
Let’s take a look in hair dye’s ingredients to know what really happens. Permanent dye includes ammonia – a corrosive chemicals and hydrogen peroxide – an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic. These strong chemicals attack to the neurological system of lice. Consequently, lice are repelled.
Will it get rid of lice forever?
Absolutely a no.
First of all, we cannot make sure hair dye can kill all the lice in 1 time. Though, we are pretty sure that you shouldn’t color your hair many times in short period.
Besides, we recognize hair dye as an anti-lice method, but we don’t know if it can eliminate the eggs or not. In some cases, hair dye removes both of them. However, much more people tell us that they still get nits after coloring their hair. As we mention above, hair dye affects the neurological system of lice to repel them. Whilst, nits under 3-day-old don’t have it. Additionally, these eggs have hard shells that chemicals in hair dye cannot penetrate to kill them. As a result, lice are back.
Last but not least, in your timeline, we never know what will happen to you, and lice included. You can get lice easily by contacting people who are carrying them. Just a hug, close contact with clothes, scarf, pillow, etc, lice can transfer from one to another.
Cautions with hair dye
Hair dye kill lice. No need to say, it is harmful to natural tresses and scalp. Especially, you shouldn’t apply it to children who are more sensitive to strong substances in hair dye. There are some common problems when using these chemicals such as itching, burning, redness, swelling, hives or welts. These side effects can ruin your hair and pain your skin harshly. Thus, you need to aware of them before deciding should you use this method or not.
Some safe ways to eliminate lice at home
Instead of using harmful hair dye, we prefer to use organic method with natural ingredients. Hereby, we will show you some easy and friendly tips to do at home.
Wine
Apply wine to the hair from roots to hair ends because lice usually stay near scalp to take blood while nits are adhesive to the hair until they hatch. Leave it in 15 minutes and rinse with warm water. After that, use a lice comb to remove both lice and nits. Repeat this washing method in 4-5 days, there are no bug as well as eggs at all.
Vinegar
Vinegar includes acid acetic which can kill lice and nits incredibly. Dilute 100ml of vinegar in water with ratio 1:1 and apply this mixture to your hair and scalp, leave it in 15 minutes and rinse out. As other method, you need to use lice comb to get rid of the parasites and its eggs. Keep using it in next few days. If you find vinegar annoying with its smell, you can use lime or lemon instead. These fruits also contains acid acetic to beat the lice.
By the way, you can combine vinegar with hair dye process for better result (if you really want use hair dye kill lice as well as color your hair at the same time).
Essential oils
This is an anecdotal method that hasn’t been scientifically proven. However, it is believed to be effective. After applying these oils (olive oil, rosemary oil, coconut oil, etc) to your hair and scalp, wrap it with a shower cap and leave in for 24 to 48 hours. Then, shampooing your hair to remove the extra oils. Don’t forget to comb the lice and nits out. Once again, let’s comb the lice and nits out. You can continuously use this remedy day-to-day because it not only repel the annoying dwellers in your hair but also supplies moisture and nutrients to your natural tresses.
Now you know does hair dye kill lice and some effective ways instead to eliminate these parasites. If you find this post informative, please give it a thumb and leave a comment. Don’t forget to follow us for more guidelines, hair tips and hare care.
