Borax
Natural Remedies

Borax: Unlocking the Health Benefits of a Natural Compound

Borax Soaks

Posted by Uncertain (La.) on 08/24/2019

Borax results? Can you get the same results soaking your feet and hands in borax as taking it orally? How long would it take to move into your system? How large would the dose be to be effective?

Replied by Art
(California)
08/26/2019
1964 posts

Uncertain from La.,

Borax is poorly absorbed through the skin. It can possibly help arthritis of the hands by soaking the hands, but the feet are harder to penetrate the skin layers. The little that be absorbed through the hands and feet is not likely to be enough to affect other areas of the body such as the hips or spine. I use the oral route and dose as Ted recommended and it has been nothing short of a miracle for me!

Art

Uncertain
(LA)
08/26/2019

Thank you so much Art for your reply.

I took a “maintenance” dose of borax just to try it out. I thought it made my upper gums turn white which made me nervous. I did just have some dental work done so that may have contributed also but was not sure. Otherwise I had no issues. Not prepared yet to take Ted's complete dose yet. I will be doing it in small doses. I think I might have had a few hot flashes also.


Borax Soap Recipe

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Posted by Mackenzie (Australia) on 04/09/2022

Hi. Just wanting to know how to use the borax as a soap are you just wetting your body and then scrubbing the dry powder on? And do you use daily? I can't use any soaps or body washes I just tried the borax as a body scrub for one day and then wasn't sure if I was using correctly or if I should use everyday as it's exfoliating? Any recommendations?

Replied by Art
(California)
04/09/2022
1964 posts
★★★★★

Mackenzie,

That post was over 3 years ago and you may not get a reply from that poster. A saturated solution of Borax would be one level full measuring tablespoon of borax dissolved in a cup of water, but that may be too strong for people with sensitive skin. It may be better to first see how you tolerate one tablespoon dissolved in a quart or liter of water. You probably already know this, but borax water does not have the slimy feel of liquid bath soaps. It basically feels very similar to plain water so it may take some getting used to.

If you tolerate that mix and want to make it stronger, you can try a tablespoon of borax dissolved in a pint or 500 ml of water. You can use a 1 quart spray bottle as a dispenser, but this can feel cold to some people when spraying the skin. What I have found useful are bottles around the size of 16 ounces or 500 ml that have a flip top that when open has a small hole for dispensing the borax water into your free hand or wash cloth and rubbing that on the skin. Some 16 0unce bottles of rubbing alcohol have a flip top lid with a small hole. You can also use an old bath soap bottle that has a pump, but these tend to dispense to much borax water in one pump and so you waste more.

A little trial and error and you will quickly figure out the best dispenser for you. Use it as a regular shower soap when you shower. Keep an eye out for any negative skin reactions because borax has a fairly high pH at just over 9 while human skin has a significantly lower pH in the 5 to 6 range. Good luck and please update us on how it works for you.

Art


Borax Taste Tips

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Posted by Amanda (Braham) on 07/10/2017
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I always add freshly squeezed lemon juice to my borax water mixture for taste and just to be sure I don't neutralize my stomach acid.


Borax Tips

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Posted by Bill (San Fernando, La Union) on 07/19/2011
★★★★★

Borax is also called Sodium Borate or Sodium Tetraborate-- sold as a white powder or hydrate. You can buy it as "20 Mule Team Borax"(from the washing isle of supermarkets) and use this to create a liter of water with a little borax in it to drink. To do this, take a liter of water and just add 1/8 tspn to it. Then drink a liter of this for four days only, then stop and take 3 days off(no borax water). Then start again. So, four days drinking borax water, then 3 days off -- no borax water.

See this link: https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/borax.html

Or you can just buy Boron tablets (whose ingredients will also be listed as sodium borate or tetraborate) and take at least 6 mgs per day.

Borax helps to cure arthritis, helps to modulate the body's hormones, removes body fluoride and is perhaps the ultimate fungal killer.


Borax Toothpaste

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Posted by bilja (canada) on 12/28/2021
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Borax works great for not just bad breath, but in a toothpaste too. I make it with approx 1tsp coconut oil organic, 1tsp borax, mix till all blend nicely, ok maybe still feel some grainy texture here and there. also add drops of teatree oil at first, but actually prefer adding a drop or two when putting on a toothbrush, right before brushing. Once all brushed nicely, I then pull the oily content as in “oil pulling”, then spit out after 2mins.

Adding borax makes substantial difference in how my gums feel afterwards.


Borax Toxicity

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Posted by Miriam (Nyc, Ny / Usa) on 03/28/2012
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A quick Google check reveals that a teaspoon of borax is equivalent to 5 ml. At 1/4 tsp a day for men, that means ingestion of only 1.25 ml per day. For women, the recommended usage is half that amount.

This is in the order of 1% of the theoretical toxic dose - hardly threatening.

Colleen, if you are fact checking, then you should check all relevant facts.

Replied by Aussiesteve
(Port Macquarie, Australia)
06/13/2012
★★★★★

I think it is worth highlighting that the dosages mentioned by that study I. E. 0.1mg/ml - 0.6mg/ml refers to concentrations of borax in BLOOD not WATER. Given that borax is very poorly absorbed and we have approx 4200ml of blood in our bodies, it would need huge quantities of borax ingested to approach anywhere near the concentrations suggested by that experiment.


Boric Acid for Infections

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Posted by Susan (Utica, Ny) on 07/25/2015
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I buy boric acid powder at the pharmacy and mix a small portion with boiled water. (You can find amounts online). You can soak gauze in it then apply it.

In the old days, and I mean in the 1920s-1950s - my grandmother always kept a warm pan of boric acid water on the back of the stove. It was that important to have on hand when raising six kids. They didn't have antibiotics for most of those years - so infections were drawn out with compresses and wounds were sterilized this way.


Boric Acid Ingestion

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Posted by Amanda (California) on 09/21/2017
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I accidentally swallowed a gel cap of boric acid which is slightly different than borax ( I think a little more acidic). It was supposed to be a vaginal suppository but I swallowed it by mistake. I was terrified because of what I read on the internet. It said I should get my stomach pumped and run to a poison control center. I stayed calm and waited for symptoms before I took action. The only symptoms I experienced was clarity of mind, clarity in my gut, total disappearance of cravings for chocolate and sugar and meat. Weight loss, glowing skin, more flexibility in my body and less tightness in my hips. :-) I swallowed one capsule only and it's been 2 months and I've continued to look and feel amazing. People comment all the time on how I look better than ever. It's now been about 10 weeks and I'm starting to have some sugar cravings for the first time. I dreamt about chocolate chip cookies last night :-0 I feel like it's time to do another cleanse and try borax instead of boric acid. And trying to decide if I should drink the diluted version or try doing a capsule again. My experience was that one capsule which probably contained about half a teaspoon of boric acid lasted me for 2 months. It seems like it might be a lot to do that daily unless you have really severe symptoms. Any thoughts anyone?

Replied by Dave
(Fountain Innc)
09/21/2017

Yes, Amanda; I have a thought on the Boric acid "event"... some of the most amazing scientific discoveries have been made by accident. If you did try the Boric acid again, I'd try a very small amount to see if it produced a bit of the same good effect without having a bad reaction. You might have just been lucky the first time.

Replied by john
(london)
11/01/2021

Hi @Amanda, did you try the borax in capsule?

Did it have the same effect as the boric acid in capsule?

Can you remember when did you take the boric acid capsule? Was it in the morning on empty stomach or before sleep?

Thank you


Boric Acid Vs Borax

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Posted by Lu (Tripoli, Libya) on 06/18/2023
★★★★★

I have just recently stumbled accross many videos about Borox having healing affects on arthritis and many other ailments. My only problem is I live in a country where Borox isn't available but I can manage to get Boric Acid. Is it possible to substitute Boric Acid and have the same benefits?

EC: Hello,

I know someone who takes boric acid in capsules with his wife for the past few years. He said borax turns into boric acid in the stomach so he thinks it's more efficient to take boric acid. They are in their seventies. They measure out the boric acid using a scale and put it in capsules... a bit time-consuming, he said.

I will email him to find how many mg per capsule and what size capsules they use and reply to your post when I hear back.

Deirdre

Replied by Art
(California)
06/18/2023
1964 posts

Lu,

Yes, boric acid(BA) can be used in place of borax. A little less may be required because the boron content of boric acid is a bit more than borax. Borax has approximately 11.34% boron and boric acid has approximately 17.48% boron.

So that would be about 300mg of BA (52 mg of boron)for a woman and about 600mg of BA (104 mg of boron) for a man.

By comparison it would be about 480 mg of borax for a woman and about 960 mg for a man to reach similar boron levels.

Art


Boric Acid Vs Borax
Posted by Mark (Breda, Nl) on 04/13/2016
★★★★★

Borax turns into boric acid depending on pH. If the pH is low (acid) like in your stomach, borax turns to boric acid, if the pH turns high again (alkaline) like in your intestines, most of it will be borax again.

Boric acid and borax are about equally effective.

I got this info straight from Walter Last, who wrote the article on borax.


Boric Acid Vs Borax
Posted by G. T. (A. P. India) on 01/14/2014

Hi. I'm just sooo gratefuld for EARTH CLINIC.

I couldnt find any Borax in my town, but only Boric Powder. There is no other informations on the box other than Bhavi Chemicals Bangalore, and; not for medical use. 100 Gms (TECH), tha'ts all. Can I use it as the Borax remedy in Earth Clinic pages? Much love and light to all.

Replied by Ashok
(Australia)
01/27/2014

Hi you can buy it from any pansari shop or shops which sell herbs etc under name "suhaga". It's available eveywhere.

Replied by Baldev
(Maharashtra, India)
01/28/2014
190 posts

Hi Ashok,

Are you sure Borax is Suhaga ? G.T from AP, you can ask any chemist in your place and he can get you. In Mumbai there is an area where number of shops are there who deal in chemicals and medicinal drugs in bulk, the name is princes street and one can get Borax there. Boric acid is completely different, a lot is written about it on this site and I won't suggest to use Boric acid in place of Borax.

Baldev


Boric Acid Vs Borax
Posted by Blenderlady (Satellite Beach, Fl) on 01/08/2013

Hello, I see the many warnings to use Borax and NOT Boric Acid - but I can't find any rational for this warning.

From another website on this topic it says, "Boric acid, if available, may be used at about 2/3 the dose of borax" http://www.health-science-spirit.com/borax.htm

I have Boric Acid, and am very eager to get this cleared up... Thanks in advance!

Replied by Francisanne
(Los Angeles, Ca, Usa)
02/27/2013

These warnings are unfounded. In other earthclinic pages where Boric Acid is discussed, extremist warnings post too. But also listed are links to informed books/sites. I give this: borax and boric acid are in all my antique and vintage Early Amer and German cookbooks as health remedies, food preservatives, other non-bug kill home uses. For fastest research: go to googlebooks, search 'household __', 'health and __', 'agricultural __', 'veteranary __', and 'medical __'. For 'boric acid and health' the quick hilites and 3 minutes told me volumes. I include 2010 in searches as govt info often takes 5-10 years to publish anyway. See pg 390 of Nat'l Institute of Health Issue 53-57 about boric acid facts for example. DO NOT listen to random shouts by warning bloggers. FIRST do your OWN research, just like earthclinic also advises top of each page. Boric acid is used heavily in mfg/food/agri to cover/fix tainted foods. But in tiny, sparse amounts, yes, many govt/med reports report doctors teaching patients how to make their own very small amounts med capsules. Borax and boric acid are potent, but can and do heal.

Replied by Dori
(Santa Ana, Ca, Usa)
02/27/2013

For your reference, book titled 'Integrative Womens Health',

Best fastest easiest most informative book I ever read on Womens womens healthiness including vaginal was - Integrative Women's Health, 2010, by Victoria Maizes Executive Director & Associate Professor of Medici Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, Tieraona Low Dog Director of the Fellowship Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. It still costs usd40 or so. But its online free too (probably like a post said at googlebooks.

I saw the Warnings about boric acid for vaginal issues, so I'm suggesting all the women read this and teach the book to their girls too. At page 192 it says:

''In a double blinded RCT of 108 women with yeast, the boric acid cure rate was 92% at 7 to 10 days post-treatment and 72% at 30 days and that was significantly more effective than nystatin (Van Slyke 1981).... Specific diabetic women have higher cure rate in 14 days than 1 dose fluconazole, but at 3 months cure rates are same... Usual dose boric acid is 600mg in gelcap inserted in vag daily for 2 weeks with maintenance dose 2/weekly to prevent recurrence. There is LITTLE SYSTEMIC ABSORPTION with vag administration, but large amounts of oral ingestion are shown TOXIC. Also, it is inexpensive. DO NOT use during pregnancy.... Pap smear doesn't necessarily indicate Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)... "

Do ALL your research very well. Some professionals are interested in money or are limited by their bosses (their hospital or insurance group limits, or pharma's that fund them).

Replied by Cindy
(Illinois, Usa)
06/28/2020
403 posts

The chemistry of boron, boric acid and borax is extremely interesting, isn't it?

One of the components that borax breaks down into when exposed to specific kinds of acids - including stomach acid - is boric acid so, in a way, when you take borax you're taking - or, rather *extracting* the boric acid from it. Or, more accurately, your body is.

The "acid" aspect isn't what it sounds like as ACV is far more acidic than boric acid which is just to the acid side of the pH of water. A lot of tap water in the US is probably more acidic than boric acid so...

There isn't really any way to research these things because science makes up rules which they say are proven by exceptions and then just keep adding rules upon rules upon rules all the way back to the initial incorrect assumption rather than going back to the assumption and...fixing it. Every rule on top of another rule is an excuse for not doing that. And the writers of rules are perfectly willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary - including people's lives - to "save face". To preserve their social reputations. And not just scientists. Politicians do it, capitalists do it, industrialists do it - their standing in society, among their peers, in their professions and any number of subcultures or economic sectors is more important to them than the well-being of even children. Even their OWN children.

Boric acid shouldn't work for vaginal yeast infections - based on scientific assumptions and rules - yet it does. Most of the remedies here shouldn't work - but in a variety of circumstances, many of them do. Many illnesses are hyped up as horrific when they are no more deadly and no more difficult to treat than the sniffles.

We have capitalists and industrialists with hearts that are hundreds of times blacker than Hitler's and neighbors, political representatives, teachers, doctors and bosses whose are hundreds of times blacker than Manson's and if one's heart is NOT of the black variety, one truly is on one's own.

Do your own research. Don't dismiss anecdotal evidence because some black hearted marketing fan or expert claims it isn't evidence because the only reason they resent it is because they don't have any. Nobody goes onto social media singing the praises of marketing clients saying things like, "Oh, thank God! My liver is being destroyed, I'm probably going to die, spend all of my money on this poison they're giving me and still have my disease and feel like crap! Yeahh!! ". Don't believe all of the anecdotal stories - use your head. Or not - it's your choice.


Boric Acid Vs Borax
Posted by Tamis (Paris, France) on 10/26/2011

I just bought some borax from a local drugstore and was given a plastic bag with "borate na" written on it. Having read that some drugstores have given some boric acid instead of borax I asked the vendor if he was sure it was borax and not boric acid and he told me it was labeled "borate na" in his storage room.

Now I'm a cautious guy and I want to make sure this is indeed borax and not boric acid.

Is there a way to test this at home ? Like adding my powder to vinegar and see if it fizzles or not ?

I found out the The ph of Borax is about 9. 5 (so I guess it should fizzle in vinegar), boric acid has a ph of 3. 7 (http://www.merck-chemicals.com/boric-acid/MDA_CHEM-100765/p_HXeb.s1Lb5QAAAEW9.AfVhTl) (so I also guess it should not fizzle in vinegar).

Am I right about this?

Replied by Maria
(Gippsland, Australia)
10/26/2011

Hi Tamis, I have not found that it has any fizz when adding it to cleaning mixes, but of course they are diluted. Anyway I have just added borax to ACV and there is no fizz, have also added it to cheap white vinegar and no fizz. You may have to test it with a ph meter, I got mine for about $15 (AU) including postage via ebay. Good luck.

Replied by Misty
(Somewhere, Indiana, Usa)
07/04/2012

Boric acid's chemical formula is H3BO3; there is no sodium (Na) in boric acid. The chemical formula for borax is Na2B4O7·10H2O or Na2[B4O5(OH)4]·8H2O. Other names for borax include sodium tetraborate, disodium tetraborate, and sodium borate. Thus, you have gotten your hands on an oddly named version of borax :)


Boric Acid Vs Borax
Posted by Rosie (USA) on 06/01/2009

I hope this message finds you very well. May I suggest you to change the heading underneath the BORAX remedy in your website: Boric Acid is not a synonym of Borax! It took me 2 days to find out my mistake: I have been drinking a solution of Boric Acid instead of Borax and I even made my husband to drink it... There is Sulfuric Acid added to Borax, then it is not a synonym for Borax.

We feel all right but please change your heading. I was a bit stupid and despaired and I didn't verify that information. The trouble is stupidity and despair is sadly common nowadays.

Kind Regards, Rosie

Replied by Ted
(Bangkok, Thailand)
06/01/2009
388 posts

A borax has a pH of 8.6 and is alkaline, but boric acid has a very acid pH! I hardly make any mention of boric acid except as a warning not to take it!

Ted

Replied by Rosie
(Daylesford, Victoria Au)
11/19/2013

Hello Deirde:

About 4 years ago I sent you an email about the possible confusion between boric acid and borax. As I had some boric acid in my paint tool box and read about the borax cure in your so precious website, I was confident to give this boric acid to my husband. So he took it and probably had a healing crises that I didn't recognize as such at the time and I decided to research a bit more about boric acid. Too quickly I came across with the (not so accurate) wikipedia website and read that boric acid is toxic if ingested. That is why I wrote that email to you and I was probably in a state of fear and guilt of thinking that I could have poisoned my husband. Then you put the warning mentions on the borax page. A couple of days ago I went back to the borax page on earthclinc to prepare an article about borax as my husband and I continue to take it regularly and we want to spread the word about its fantastic ability of healing. There a saw some comments of people upset about the warnings of Boric Acid on the Borax page. Then I felt that those warnings were there only because of my experience which was only based on my lack of research and state of fear at the time...my stupidity.

Like the authors of those comments, I would like to ask you to remove those warning signs as it creates confusion that is detrimental to the perfectly safe use of borax and boric acid for healing.

Thank you so much in advance if you can do it and thank you a thousand times for the wonderful site that you have created.

Kind regards, Rosie


Boron Drops - How to Make

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Posted by hands and wrists (Joshua Tree, CA) on 05/07/2022
★★★★★

1 ml = 20 drops, so 100 ml = 2000 drops.

For 1 drop to equal 6 mg of Boron, 2000 drops must have 12000 mg of Boron or 1.2g. But Borax is not pure Boron. 25 to 30 mg of Borax contains 3 mg of Boron.

To make the calculation simpler I will choose 30 mg. That means 1 mg of Boron is contained in 10 mg of Borax. We need 1.2 g of Boron, which is in 12 g of Borax. You need 12g of Borax per 100 ml of water. I'm not sure that much Borax will dissolve in that much water. If not, add another 100 ml of water. Then you will have to use 2 drops to get your 6 mg of Boron.

Replied by Roelof
(Amanzimtoti, KZN)
08/16/2022
★★★★★

I love your idea of Boron drops in a dropper.
Awesome.

I've been running the numbers different though.

If 1 ml = 20 Drops
That means there are 2000 drops in a 100ml bottle
So at 1 drop per dose that = 2000 DOSES

If
30mg Borax (0.03g) = 3mg Boron (0.003g)

That would mean you need 60grams Borax dissolved in 100 ml water to provide 2000 doses of 3mg Boron.

So to get around the problem is simple

Aim for 10 drops for each 3mg Boron dose.
2000 drops ÷ 10 = 200 doses of 3mg Boron

200 × 0.03(Borax in gram) = 6 grams Borax
Needs to be dissolved in 100ml water
Now that is very doable.

So if you want 3mg Boron a day.. just drop 10 drops in a glass of water.

That's a 200 day ( 3mg/day) supply
Or
100 day (6mg/day) supply

Yes a 5ml teaspoon takes 5ml/5gram water.
Keep in mind that
Water 1 cubic meter = 1000kg
Borax 1 cubic meter = 1730kg
(Thats 42.19 % more than water)
So if 5ml teaspoon takes 5grams water
A 5 ml teaspoon(not rounded) would take 7.10 grams of Borax

I won't stress the extra bit too much..as I've seen info that we could basically take one or two teaspoons a day without side effects.

But once again AWESOME IDEA for the dropper..would make life sooo much easier.



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