Using Baking Soda for Lice

You've heard that baking soda can help with lice, is it true?

Question:

I've treated with lice kits TONS of time and lice keeps coming back! I've heard that baking soda can help with lice. What do I do?

woman shaking baking soda out of her hair, presumably using baking soda as a lice treatment

Answer from a Lice Expert:

If you have tried other treatments that have failed, you are not alone, and it’s not your fault. The latest stats say that most parents that use over-the-counter kits still have lice even after multiple treatments! 

 

Perhaps you’ve already discovered this for yourself. 

 

After no success with lice kits, some turn to home remedies. Baking soda is one that I see some people turn to in desperation, but before going down the baking soda route there are a few things you should know. 

 

So, in this article, let's talk about what baking soda can and cannot do when it comes to helping with head lice. 

Let me introduce myself...

Lice nurse helping others

Hi there! I'm Theresa, I'm a lice expert, lice coach, and Registered Nurse. I help people with lice every day! You can get rid of lice in ONE DAY at home by using the same proven professional technique that I use in my lice center.

Just follow the step-by-step videos and be done with lice by the end of the day.

Baking Soda for Lice

jar of baking soda open with spoon full of baking soda, presumably to be used for lice
 
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Why Is It So Hard to Get Rid of Lice?

Now that you know what you're looking for I want to talk briefly about your biggest worry (that your child actually has lice) and the question I get asked by parents around the world that have been battling lice….

picture of lice bug under a magnifying glass

Parents around the world are all asking me the same question…. "Why is it so much harder to get rid of lice now?"

Lice have become immune to everything that used to work in the past. Perhaps you remember your mom using a typical lice treatment or mayonnaise and that doing the trick. The new strain of head lice is no longer killed by those treatments, that’s why lice today are termed by people, “super lice,” because they are immune to those treatments. 

I’ve cured thousands of people of lice in my lice center and let me tell you, I don't do it with over-the-counter lice treatments. 

magnifying glass looking at lice eggs and nits in brown hair

Most people struggle with lice because they focus all of their attention on killing lice bugs and not enough attention on GETTING RID OF LICE!

If you want to get rid of lice you have to address all 3 of the problems of lice:

  1. Lice Bugs
  2. Lice Eggs
  3. Getting Lice Back

The best way to get rid of lice is to tackle all 3 of these problems at the same time, which is what I teach in my step-by-step video system.

So, if you discover your child HAS lice, don't panic. Just head over to the video system. Follow along with the videos and you'll be done with lice by the end of the day.

lice bug under a magnifying glass

First, meet your enemy...Super Lice!

A super lice bug at high magnification.

If you have head lice, it is super lice. Studies show that about 99% of lice in the United States today are super lice, and other countries around the world have similar results.

Today’s super lice are different than the lice of 20 years ago. They get their name, “super lice,” because they have genetic mutations that make them immune to lice treatments, and they are VERY difficult to kill.

The super lice today look the same as they did 20 years ago. They still are tiny, wingless insects that range from nearly invisible as babies to the size of sesame seeds when fully grown. They still feed on human blood and lay eggs in human hair that hatch about 7-10 days later.

Graph showing the rise of super lice acoss the United States

But lice today have two essential qualities that make them “super lice”:

  1. Lice today are immune to pesticide lice treatments that worked in the past.
  2. Lice eggs today are immune to treatments and toxins, so pesticide lice treatments and home remedies can’t kill them or prevent them from hatching!

And, each time you use a lousy treatment, the lice and lice eggs on your head get stronger and become even more immune to treatments. It doesn’t matter how many times you use these lice treatments or how long you leave them on; you will not get rid of head lice, it’ll only get worse.

Studies show that almost all lice today are resistant to treatments that worked in the past! And that even the most potent pesticide treatments only “cure” a small percentage of fortunate people.

Does Baking Soda Kill Lice?

man with powdered substance like baking soda in his face

Now that you know that over the counter treatments don’t work, the big question is ...what does work?!

There are treatments and home remedies that kill lice, but baking soda is not one of them. Those claiming that baking soda makes it so lice and eggs can’t breath have no idea what they are talking about.

First off, baking soda doesn’t even affect lice’s ability to breathe. Second, lice have no problems holding their breath for very long periods.

The latest study shows that most head lice can hold their breath for more than 24 hours! Putting baking soda in your hair for a few hours isn’t going to do anything...at least not to the lice.

Your child might inhale baking soda themselves, which will cause some respiratory issues for your child, but there is no chance that it will hurt lice.

Can Baking Soda Kill Lice Eggs?

jar of baking soda, presumably to be used for head lice

If you’re new to head lice: Lice eggs and nits are the same things. I use the words interchangeably.

Nits have a strong impenetrable shell on them. This shell protects them from any chemicals or toxins, including chemicals like Lysol, ammonia, and bleach. Do you think that baking soda is going to harm them?

Baking soda has zero effect on lice eggs. It does not suffocate them, kill them, or prevent them from hatching.

Don’t Use Vinegar or Baking Soda and Vinegar for Lice

jar of vinegar and baking soda lemon and lime presumably to be used for treating lice

If you’re looking to get lice eggs out of your hair, don’t use vinegar, baking soda, and vinegar, or lemon juice to try to “loosen” them. It doesn’t work, and it can make head lice worse! I’ve tested soaking lice eggs in vinegar for 12 hours, and the nits were no easier to remove than before. 

Studies indicate that lice eggs immersed in vinegar are MORE likely to hatch than your average lice eggs, which means MORE lice, not less. 

Baking Soda & The Never-Ending Cycle

Most people that use lice kits and home remedies get caught in the horrible "Never-Ending Cycle of Lice"

Three arrows pointing down

First- You Have Lice

lice eggs, baby lice, and adult lice with arrows labeling them

When you first discover lice you have adult lice bugs, baby lice bugs, and lice eggs (also known as nits)

You Think You've Gotten Rid of It.
But...

arrows pointing to lice eggs left in hair

After using an over-the-counter treatment or a home remedy, people think they've taken care of the problem because they aren't finding lice bugs for a while.

But the bigger problem is the lice eggs that are left in the hair. Lice kits and home remedies don't kill eggs, and each of those little lice eggs has a bug inside just waiting to hatch and re-infest your child again.

Then- Those Eggs HATCH!

baby lice bugs with arrows labeling them

Just like lice eggs are tiny, when lice first hatch they are teeny-tiny. In fact, they are almost invisible to the naked eye! So, it typically takes a few weeks for them to grow big enough for you to see them.

And by the time you notice your head is infested all over again!

And Lice Is Back Again!

full lice infestation representation with lice eggs, baby lice bugs, and adult lice bugs

How to Avoid the Never-Ending Cycle

If you want to avoid this never-ending cycle and get rid of lice fast then check out my Step-by-Step Video System. Follow along with the videos and you can be completely done with lice in ONE DAY, no retreatments necessary.

Does Baking Soda Help With Lice?

the word no

No, baking soda does not help kill lice, suffocate lice, remove lice, kill lice eggs, remove lice eggs, etc.

Does applying baking soda make lice and eggs easier to see?

the word no

No, putting baking soda on your head will make lice and eggs impossible to see. When you put baking soda on your head, you’ve made an already difficult task of seeing lice and eggs impossible.

What about mixing baking soda with a conditioner to help with combing?

bowl of baking soda, presumably to be used for lice

The two main claims here are that baking soda can make your comb grip the hair better. That’s not true. 

Mixing baking soda into conditioner makes things clumpy and more difficult, whereas lice combing with an oil or conditioner makes combing smoother.

If you choose to the baking soda route...

discouraged mother dealing with head lice

Lice is horrible, and no one should have to endure it for months on end. And I hope you don't.

Many people go from lice kit to lice kit and then from home remedy to home remedy. They think it's gone for a week or two, and then it comes back again.

I created the My Lice Advice Video System so you can avoid struggling with lice for months, instead, just follow along with the videos and be done with lice by the end of the day!

How to be lice-free by the end of the day...

#1

GET THE VIDEO SYSTEM

Get rid of lice the same way the experts do. Your personal lice coach walks you through each step of doing a professional lice treatment at home in a series of videos.

#2

FOLLOW ALONG

Follow along with the videos on your child in your home. No lice kits or toxic chemicals involved!

#3

BE DONE WITH LICE!

When you're done with the videos, you're done with lice. And it's gone permanently!

Summing It Up…

Using baking soda on head lice is entirely useless and a waste of your time. Baking soda does not harm lice or lice eggs in any way. Baking soda can not suffocate head lice; most head lice can hold their breath longer than 24 hours.

Lice have grown immune to typical over-the-counter lice kits, but there is no home remedy or treatment out there that kills all lice bugs or lice eggs, so it’s going to take you several weeks or months, or even years to get rid of lice using a method like that. If you want to get rid of lice quickly then follow along with my Step-by-Step Video System and get rid of it in ONE DAY.

 

All the best,

lice expert

Theresa is a Registered Nurse and lice expert with years of experience curing children of lice. She owns a lice treatment center in the US which is where she perfected the Step-by-Step Video System proven to get rid of lice. She also works with government agencies and schools helping those with the worst head lice cases in America.

Her greatest passion is empowering parents by teaching parents online how to do a professional lice treatment on their child at home. She is the Lice Coach for the My Lice Advice Step-by-Step Video System.

woman with baking soda in her hair, presumably treating for head lice
 
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