Ordinary conditioners are just as effective at removing head lice eggs, or nits, as special products, according to a recent study.

Although there are shampoos and conditioners that contain chemicals or special oils marketed as nit-removal products, scientists from Belgium found that ordinary conditioners are just as effective, according to a press release.

Nits are incredibly difficult to move as female lice lay eggs directly onto strands of hair, and they cement them in place with a glue-like substance, making them hard to get rid of. In fact, the eggs are glued down so strongly that they will stay in place even after hair has been treated with pediculicides - substances used to kill lice.

"There were no significant differences in measured forces between the ordinary conditioner and the commercial nit removal product," researchers wrote in their study. "The commercial nit removal products tested in the current study do not seem to have an additional effect."

For their study, scientists gathered 605 hairs from six different children. Each hair has a single nit attached to it. Approximately 14 percent of the eggshells contained a dead egg, whereas the rest were empty, according to a press release.

They then tried to remove the eggs "and tested the amount of force needed to do so," researchers said in a statement. 

They found that nits on the hairs that were left completely untreated were the most difficult to remove. Eggs on hairs that had been soaked in deionized water were much easier to remove, as were the eggs on hairs that had been treated with ordinary hair conditioner and with products specifically marketed for the purpose of nit removal.

More surprisingly, researchers also found the effectiveness of ordinary conditioners and special nit-removal products were essentially the same.

The new findings were published in the Journal of Medical Entomology.