Lice (head lice) can only be removed by combing with a lice comb.
However, lice combing alone is not enough to effectively control lice and you should use one of the following products:
- Lice shampoo (before combing)
- Lice balm (during combing)
In this article, we go through the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods. We also show you how to remove lice from your hair and scalp in practice.
How do you remove lice?
As mentioned, lice can be removed in two ways, both of which require a loop comb:
1. Lice shampoo
Using lice shampoo is usually the most effective way to treat lice because it kills both the lice and the eggs (however, this only applies to the most effective lice shampoos - like the one seen here).
When using lice shampoo, a little bit of combing is also necessary - but nowhere near as much as when combing with conditioner.
These products are recommended for shampoo treatment
2. Lice combing with conditioner
Combing with conditioner is also effective, but much more labor and time consuming than using shampoo. With children who don't have much patience, lice control can be difficult.
Whether you prefer lice shampoo or combing with conditioner, you should choose a good lice comb, otherwise it is extremely difficult to remove lice and their eggs.
These products are recommended for combing with conditioner
Below you can watch a video explaining lice combing. Several lice removal techniques are shown:
How do you remove lice eggs?
Lice eggs can be killed with certain lice shampoosbut must be removed manually by combing. Be aware that most home remedies and older treatment methods (such as using oil, alcohol, vinegar, etc.) do not kill lice eggs. Read more about this in our article on lice cures.
When removing eggs, it's important to comb from the scalp because lice lay their eggs at the roots of the hair. The eggs can be further up the hair (if they've been there for a long time and the hair has grown a bit), but to get all the eggs, combing should always start from the scalp.
It is also important to use a good lice comb, otherwise it is very difficult to remove all eggs and lice. The problem is often that the hair is too thick to effectively comb through with a lice comb. That's why we recommend the lice comb set shown below. It contains 5 different combs, which ensures that you have at least 1 comb that suits the hair type to be treated:
We recommend this lice comb set because it contains a minimum of 1 comb that matches the hair type you need to comb
Shampoo and conditioner
There are a number of different lice removal products on the Danish market and it can be difficult to choose the right product without prior experience. That's why we have prepared a Comparison of different lice repellents. To summarize the comparison, we recommend the lice shampoo and lice conditioner shown below:
We recommend the shampoo and conditioner above because we know from experience that they are the most effective products on the market