Natural options — with honest limits

Tea tree, other essential oils, vinegar, mayonnaise and similar home remedies have mixed, often weak evidence. Some irritate skin or eyes. They are not a substitute for wet combing or a TGA-registered product when live lice are present.

Safety

• Essential oils can burn or sensitise skin, especially on children. Never apply undiluted oils to the scalp.
• Do not put oils near eyes or on broken skin.
• “Natural” is not the same as “assessed”. Look for AUST R / AUST L if a product claims to treat lice.
• Wet combing is itself a physical, non-insecticide method with a clear protocol — it is the evidence-based “natural” option.

How to use this lane

• If you want to avoid insecticides, choose wet combing (and ask a pharmacist about dimeticone, which acts physically).
• Do not delay an effective method while trying unproven ones — the life cycle keeps moving.
• Tell your pharmacist everything you have already put on the scalp.

RCH: mixed evidence for natural remedies; TGA product claims.