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Originally Posted by Demonskid

I never had lice... when ever mom heard about a lice outbreak she would rinse my hair out with apple cider vinegar every night.

It's a good preventative, and it also helps kill off the lice if they already started an infestation.

I still do vinegar rinses as an adult.. never hurts to be careful.

It doesn't actually kill the lice -- if they're chewing on your skin, it's too late for vinegar to be helpful and you'll need something stronger. And it doesn't prevent the eggs from getting there in the first place, because once your hair has dried it doesn't do anything anymore.

But it does WORK: The acetic acid in the vinegar dissolves the substance that makes the eggs stick to your hair, so they don't get a chance to hatch. So doing vinegar rinses after a risk of exposure will prevent the infestation. It's a good strategy when you have kids going to school, especially in poorer areas.