You can use just borax (like 20 Mule Team BoraxTM) and washing soda (like Arm & Hammer Super Washing SodaTM) for all types of cleaning including your body, laundry, dishes and your house! You don't need all of those products you see in commercials for each special task!
Even if you have dry skin, difficult hair or some other unique requirement, just pure borax will satisfy these needs. A part of every skin problem is due to the toxic elements found in the soaps themselves. For instance aluminum is commonly added as a “skin moisturizer”. It does this by impregnating the skin and attracting water, giving the illusion of moist skin. In fact you simply have moist aluminum stuck in your skin which your immune system must remove. While borax won't directly heal your skin or complexion, it does replace the agents that are causing damage, so that healing can occur.
Borax Liquid Soap
Empty 1 gallon jug 1/8 cup borax powder Plastic funnel
Funnel the borax into the jug, fill with cold tap water. Shake a few times. Let settle. In a few minutes you can pour off the clear part into dispenser bottles. This is the soap!
Easier way: use any bottle, pour borax powder to a depth of a 1⁄2inch or so. Add water. Shake. When you have used it down to the undissolved granules, add more water and shake again. Add more borax when the undissolved granules get low.
Keep a dispenser by the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and shower. It does not contain aluminum as regular detergents and soaps do, and which probably contribute to Alzheimer's disease. It does not contain PCBs as many commercial and health food varieties do. It does not contain cobalt (the blue or green granules) which causes heart disease and draws cancer parasites to the skin. Commercial detergents and non-soaps are simply not safe. Switch to homemade bar soap and borax for all your tasks! Borax inhibits the bacterial enzyme urease and is therefore antibacterial. It may even clear your skin of blemishes and stop your scalp from itching.
For Laundry
Borax (1⁄2cup per load). It is the main ingredient of non- chlorine bleach and has excellent cleaning power without fading colours. Your regular laundry soap may contain PCBs, aluminum, cobalt and other chemicals. These get rubbed into your skin constantly as you wear your clothing. For bleaching (only do this occasionally) use original chlorine bleach (not “new improved” or “with special brighteners”, and so forth). Don't use chlorine if there is an ill person in the house. For getting out stubborn dirt at collars, scrub with homemade bar soap first; for stains, try grain alcohol, vinegar, baking soda.
For Dishes
Don't believe your eyes when you see the commercials where the smiling person pulls a shining dish out of greasy suds. Any dish soap that you use should be safe enough to eat because nothing rinses off clean. Regular dish detergents, including health brands, are now polluted with PCBs. They also contain harmful chemicals. Use borax for your dishes. Or use paper plates and plastic (not styrofoam) cups.
In The Dishwasher
Use 2 tsp. borax powder pre-dissolved in water. If you use too much it will leave a film on your dishes. Use vinegar in the rinse cycle.
In The Sink
Use a dishpan in the sink. Use 1⁄4 cup borax and add a mini- mum of water. Also keep a bit of dry borax in a saucer by the sink for scouring. Don't use any soap at all for dishes that aren't greasy and can be washed under the faucet with nothing but running water. Throw away your old sponge or brush or cloth because it may be PCB contaminated. Start each day by sterilizing your sponge (it harbors Salmonella) or with a new one while the used one dries for three full days. Clean greasy pots and pans with a paper towel first. Then use homemade bar soap.
Shampoo
Borax liquid is ready to use as shampoo, too. It does not lather but goes right to work removing sweat and soil without stripping your colour or natural oils. It inhibits scalp bacteria and stops flaking and itching. Hair gets squeaky clean so quickly (just a few squirts does it) that you might think nothing has happened! You will soon be accustomed to non-lathery soap. Rinse very thoroughly because you should leave your scalp slightly acidic. Take a pint container to the shower with you. Put 1⁄4 tsp. citric (not ascorbic) acid crystals in it. For long hair use a quart of rinse. Only citric acid is strong enough to get the borax out, lemon juice and vinegar are not. After shampooing, fill the container with water and rinse. Rinse your whole body, too, since citric acid is also anti-bacterial. All hair shampoo penetrates the eye lids and gets into the eyes although you do not feel it. It is important to use this natural rinse to neutralize the shampoo in your eyes. (Some people have stated that citric acid makes their hair curlier or reddens it. If this is undesirable, use only half as much citric acid.) Citric acid also conditions and gives body and sheen to hair.
Hair Spray
I don't have a recipe that holds your hair as well as the bottle of chemicals you can buy at the store. Remarkably a little lemon juice (not from a bottle) has some holding power and no odor! Buy a 1 cup spray bottle. Squeeze part of a lemon, letting only the clear juice run into the bottle. Fill with water. Keep it in the refrigerator. Make it fresh every week. Spraying with just plain water is nearly as good! For shinier hair, drop a bit of lemon peel into the bottle.
Homemade Soap
A small plastic dishpan, about 10” x 12”
A glass or enamel 2-quart sauce pan
1 can of lye (sodium hydroxide), 12 ounces 3 pounds of lard (BHT and BHA are OK here) Plastic gloves
Water
Pour 3 cups of very cold water (refrigerate water overnight first) into the 2-quart saucepan.
Slowly and carefully add the lye, a little bit at a time, stir- ring it with a wooden or plastic utensil. (Use plastic gloves for this; test them for holes first.) Do not breathe the vapor or lean over the container or have children nearby. Above all use no metal. The mixture will get very hot. In olden days, a sassafras branch was used to stir, imparting a fragrance and insect deterrent for mosquitoes, lice, fleas, ticks.
Let cool at least one hour in a safe place. Meanwhile, the unwrapped lard should be warming up to room temperature in the plastic dishpan.
Slowly and carefully, pour the lye solution into the dishpan with the lard. The lard will melt. Mix thoroughly, at least 15 minutes, until it looks like thick pudding.
Let it set until the next morning; then cut it into bars. It will get harder after a few days. Then package.
If you wish to make soap based on olive oil, use about 48 ounces. It may need to harden for a week.
Liquid Soap
Make chips from your homemade soap cake. Add enough hot water to dissolve. Add citric acid to balance the pH (7 to 8). If you do not, this soap may be too harsh for your skin.
Skin Sanitizer
Make up a 5 to 10% solution of food grade alcohol. Food grade alcohols are grain (ethyl) alcohol or vodka. Find a suit- able dispenser bottle. Mark it with a pen at about one tenth of the way up from the bottom. Pour 95% grain alcohol (190 proof) to this mark (for 50% grain alcohol or vodka make your mark one fifth of the way up). Add water to the top. Keep shut. You may add a chip of lemon peel for fragrance.
Use this for general sanitizing purposes: bathroom fixtures, knobs, handles, canes, walkers, and for personal cleanliness (but use chlorine bleach for the toilet bowl once a week). Always clean up after a bowel movement with wet toilet paper. This is not clean enough, though. Follow with a stronger damp paper towel. This is still not clean enough; use a final damp paper towel with skin sanitizer added. After washing hands, sanitize them too, pouring a bit on one palm and put finger tips of the other hand in it, scratch to get under nails, repeat on other hand. Rinse with water.
Deodorant
Your sweat is odorless. It is the entrenched bacteria feeding on it that make smells. You can never completely rid yourself of these bacteria, although they may temporarily be gone after zapping. The strategy is to control their numbers. Here are several deodorants to try. Find one that works best for you:
Vitamin C water. Mix 1⁄4 tsp. to a pint of water and dab it on. Then dab on cornstarch.
Citric Acid water. Mix 1⁄4 tsp. to a pint of water and dab it on. Then dab on cornstarch.
Only a few drops of these acids under each armpit are necessary. If these acids burn the skin, dilute them more. Never apply anything to skin that has just been shaved!
Corn starch. Many people need only this. Dab it on.
Baking soda has been deleted as a deodorant because benzene was found in some boxes.
Lemon juice. This acid is not as strong, use what you need.
Pure alcohol (never rubbing alcohol). The food grade alcohols are grain alcohol and vodka. Dab a bit under each arm and/or on your shirt or blouse, then dab on cornstarch. If the alcohol burns, dilute it with water. Be very careful not to leave the bottle where a child or alcoholic person could find it. Pour it into a different bottle!
Do not use this recipe, nor keep any bottles of alcohol in the house of a recovering alcoholic.
Use only unpolluted cornstarch
Pure zinc oxide. You may ask your pharmacist to order this for you. She or he may wish to make it up for you too, but do not let them add anything else to it. It should be about 1 part zinc oxide powder to 3 parts water. It does not dissolve. Just shake it up to use it. After you get it home, you can add cornstarch to it to give it a creamy texture. Heat 3 tsp. cornstarch in 1 cup of water, to boiling, until dissolved and clear. Cool and add some to the zinc oxide mixture (about equal parts). Store unused starch mixture in the refrigerator. Only make up enough for a month.
Alcohol and zinc oxide. This is the most powerful deodorant. Apply alcohol first, then the zinc oxide, then dab on corn- starch.
Remember that you need to sweat! Sweating excretes toxic substances, especially from the upper body. Don't use deodorant on weekends. Go to the sink and wipe clean the armpits like our grandparents did. Often, just plain cornstarch is enough! These homemade deodorants are not as powerful as the commercial varieties–this is to your advantage.
Brushing Teeth
Buy a new toothbrush. Your old one is soaked with toxins from your old toothpaste. Use only water or chemically pure baking soda if you have any metal fillings. Put a pinch in a glass, add water to dissolve it. Use food-grade hydrogen peroxide (see Sources) if you have only plastic fillings. Dilute it from 35% to 171⁄2% by adding water (equal parts). Store hydrogen peroxide only in polyethylene or the original plastic bottle. Use 4 or 5 drops on your toothbrush. It should fizz nicely as oxygen is produced in your mouth. Your teeth will whiten noticeably in 6 months. Before brushing teeth, floss with 4 or 2 pound monofilament fish line. Double it and twist for extra strength. Rinse before use. Floss and brush only once a day. If this leaves you uncomfortable, brush the extra times with plain water and a second “water-only” toothbrush. Make sure that nothing solid, like powder, is on your toothbrush; it will scour the enamel and give you sensitive teeth, especially as you get older and the enamel softens. Salt is corrosive—don't use it for brushing metal teeth. Plain water is just as good.
For Dentures
Use salt water. It kills all germs and is inexpensive. Salt water plus grain alcohol or food-grade hydrogen peroxide makes a good denture-soak.
Mouthwash
A few drops of food grade hydrogen peroxide added to a little water in a glass should be enough to make your mouth foam and cleanse. Don't use hydrogen peroxide, though, if you have metal fillings, because they react. Don't use regular drug store variety hydrogen peroxide because it contains toxic additives. Health food store varieties contain solvents from the bottling process. See Sources. Never purchase hydrogen peroxide in a bottle with a metal cap.
For persons with metal tooth fillings, use chemically pure baking soda or just plain hot water. A healthy mouth has no odor! You shouldn't need a mouthwash! If you have breath odour, search for a hidden tooth infection or cavitation.
Contact Lens Solution
A scant cup of cold tap water brought to a boil in glass saucepan. After adding 1⁄4 tsp. aluminum free salt and boiling again, pour into a sterile canning jar. Refrigerate. Freeze some of it.
Lip Soother
For dry, burning lips. Heat 1 level tsp. sodium alginate plus 1 cup water until dissolved. After cooling, pour it into a small bottle to carry in your purse or pocket (refrigerate the remain- der). Dab it on whenever needed. If the consistency isn't right for you, add water or boil it down further. You can make a better lip soother by adding some lysine from a crushed tablet, vitamin C powder, and a vitamin E capsule to the alginate mix. If you have a persistent problem with chapped lips, try going off citrus juice.
Foot Powder
Use a mixture of cornstarch and zinc oxide poured into a salt shaker with a lid. Add long rice grains to fight humidity. You may also try arrow root or potato starch. If you don't have zinc oxide use plain cornstarch.
Skin Healer Moisturizer Lotion
1 tsp. sodium alginate 1 cup water
Make the base first by heating these together in a covered, non-metal pan until completely dissolved. Use low heat–it will take over an hour. Use a wooden spoon handle to stir. Set aside. Then make the following mixture:
1⁄4 tsp. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) (You may crush tablets) 1⁄4 tsp. lysine (crush tablets)
2 tbs. pure vegetable glycerin
2 vitamin E capsules (400 units or more, each)
1 tsp. apricot kernel oil (olive oil will do)
1 tbs. lemon juice from a lemon or 1⁄4 tsp. citric acid (this is optional) 1 cup water
Heat the water to steaming in a non-metal pan. Add vitamin C and lysine first and then everything else. Pour into a pint jar and shake to mix. Then add the sodium alginate base to the desired thickness (about equal amounts) and shake. Pour some into a small bottle to use as lip soother. Pour some into a larger bottle to dispense on skin. Store remainder in refrigerator. (See Sources for sodium alginate, vegetable glycerin and apricot ker- nel oil. Sodium alginate is also available in capsule form at some health food stores.)
Other Skin Healers
Vitamin C powder (ascorbic acid, not the same as citric acid). Put a large pinch into the palm of your hand. With your other hand pick up a few drops of water from the faucet. Rub hands together until all the powder is dissolved and dispensed. It may sting briefly. Do this at bedtime, especially for cracked, chapped hands. Include lips if they need it.
Vitamin E oil. Use capsules. Snip open a capsule and rub into skin.
Glycerin. Dilute 100% vegetable glycerin with an equal amount of water. This is useful as an after shave lotion.
Vitamin C liquid. Mix 1⁄4 tsp. vitamin C powder in one pint water (crushed tablets will do). This is useful as an after shave lotion and general skin treatment.
Apricot Kernel Oil. This is a very light oil, useful as an after shave lotion and general skin treatment.
Cornstarch. Use on rashes, fungus, moist or irritated areas and to prevent chafe.
Combining several of these makes them more effective.
Dry skin has several causes: too much water contact, too much soap contact (switch to borax), low body temperature, not enough fat in the diet, or parasites.
Massage Oil
Use olive oil. It comes in very light to heavy textures. Pick the right one for your purpose. Alginate mixtures can be used instead of, or added to, oil. Starch solutions are good, too.
Sunscreen Lotion
Purchase PABA (see Sources) in 500 mg tablet form. Dis- solve 1 tablet in grain alcohol or vodka. Grind the tablet first by putting it in a plastic bag and rolling over it with a glass jar. It will not completely dissolve even if you use a tablespoon of the alcohol. Pour the whole mixture into a 4 ounce bottle of home- made skin softener. Be careful not to get the lotion into your eyes when applying it.
Nose Salve
(When the inside of the nose is dry, cracked and bleeding.)
Pour 1⁄2tsp. pure vegetable glycerin into a bottle cap. Add 1⁄2 tsp. of water.
Applicator: use a plastic coffee stirrer or straw; cut a slit in the end to catch some cotton wool salvaged from a vitamin bottle and twist (cotton swabs, cotton balls and wooden toothpicks are sterilized with mercury which in turn is polluted with thallium). Dip it into the glycerin mixture and apply inside the nose with a rotating motion. Do each nostril with a new applicator.
Quick Corn Starch Skin Softener
4 tsp. corn starch (see Sources) 1 cup water
Boil starch and water until clear, about one minute.
Cornstarch Skin Softener
1 tsp. lysine powder or 8 tablets, 500 mg each
1 tsp. Vitamin C powder (ascorbic acid); or 8 tablets, 500 mg each 3 tsp. cornstarch (see Sources)
Vitamin E, 1 capsule 400 mg
1⁄4 tsp. apricot kernel oil (optional)
1 cup water
Boil starch and water until clear, about one minute. Add other ingredients and stir until dissolved. Cool. Pour into dis- penser bottle. Keep refrigerated when not in use. Apply after washing dishes and after showering.
After Shaves
Vitamin C. 1⁄4 tsp. vitamin C powder, dissolved in 1 pint water.
Apricot kernel oil.
Vegetable glycerin. Equal parts glycerin and water or to suit your need.
Personal Lubricants
Heat these together: 1 level tsp. sodium alginate and 1 cup water in a covered non-metal pan until completely dissolved. Use very low heat and stir with a wooden spoon handle. It takes a fairly long time to get it perfectly smooth. After cooling, pour into a small dispenser bottle. Keep the remainder refrigerated.
Or, mix and heat 4 tsp. cornstarch and 1 cup water until completely dissolved in a covered saucepan. Use non-metal dishes and a non-metal stirring spoon. Cool. Pour some into dispenser bottle. Refrigerate remainder. This is many person's favorite recipe.
Baby Wipes
Cut paper towels in quarters and stack in a closable plastic box. Run tap water over them, drain the excess. Add 1 tsp. grain alcohol and/or borax liquid on top. Close. Put a dab of the Quick Cornstarch Softener recipe on top of each wipe as you use it.
People Wipes
1⁄4 tsp. powdered lysine (you may crush tablets) 1⁄4 tsp. Vitamin C powder (you may crush tablets) 1⁄4 cup vegetable glycerin
1 cup water
Prepare wipes by cutting paper towels in quarters. Use white, unfragranced towels that are strong enough to hold up for this use. Fold each piece in quarters again and stack in a plastic zippered baggy. Pour the fluid mixture over the stack and zip. Store a bag full in the freezer to take on car trips. If you want to keep them a month or more, add 1 tbs. grain alcohol or vodka to the recipe.
For bathroom use, dampen a roll of paper towels under the cold tap first. Then pour about 1⁄4 cup of the mixture over the towel roll around the middle. Store in plastic shopping bag or stand in plastic waste basket.