Birch Oil and Borax Recipe
I have just started using your lotion for my osteoarthritic fingers. I have Bouchard's nodes on the middle joint of the fingers of my right hand. The nodes are ugly but only mildly painful so far. Lately, it's difficult to clench my hand properly.
I use it every time I wash my hands (which is a lot these days). I dry my hands thoroughly then put a dollop of lotion and massage it into my fingers (especially the knuckles) quite vigorously.
I wonder if the massage is part of the effectiveness of the therapy lotion. I will also add lotion to my hands throughout the day for no other reason than it feels good and I love the smell.
I followed your protocol – except I did add birch essential oil.
- I use my coffee/spice grinder to grind up about 1/4 of a cup of borax (20 Mule Team) until it is a fine powder. That way I will always have a supply on hand.
- I use an unscented hand lotion with as few ingredients in it as possible. I got mine from the health food store.
- I added two teaspoons of ground borax to my 16-ounce bottle of lotion, shook it thoroughly and then let it sit until the next day. The borax was completely dissolved.
- I then added 17 drops of birch essential oil (that may be too much for a beginner but my skin can take it). For those of you who don't know about birch e.o., it smells like Lifesaver's Wint-o-Green (or wintergreen). Not even sure if they still make that flavor. It's also a very good pain reliever for me but your results may vary. Essential oils are optional.
I've also used this lotion to massage my ankles and swollen feet (it's hot here so I'm prone to swelling). It had a cooling effect and did reduce the swelling by about half (once again, maybe the vigorous massage was part of the effectiveness of the therapy).
I really like it (never would have thought of adding borax to a lotion) and will continue to use it for any future pain (like a stiff neck, sore muscles, even a headache) - certainly can't hurt!
Thanks again, Art!
Hi again, Tessa!
Thank you for posting how it is going with the borax lotion, that's so helpful! It's so much better for everyone when people come back and report their results!
I wish more would do it, even if the results are not positive because this increases the knowledge base on EC which means it increases the benefit to all of us on EC as well as those who are just visiting!
For some who read here and get benefit from the abundance of remedies on EC, I think it is easy for them to think they are better now, but do not come back to share their results for whatever reason. Those results let others know which remedies are most likely to be effective and that can be very useful and time saving information for all of us. This can make EC an even better place to come to and know that you are getting the benefit of many years of experience with the best remedies available whenever you stop in at EC!
Art
Birch Oil Aspirin Alternative
Thank you for the borax lotion recipe. Since I don't use aspirin, I found using a few drops of birch essential oil worked just fine. You gave me the idea when you mentioned you could add a few drops of peppermint essential oil.
I did a search for essential oils that are anti-inflammatory, etc. and birch, peppermint, eucalyptus (plus many others) came up.
So, not only does this lotion work but it smells terrific!
Thanks again for all you do :)
Cheers and best wishes.
Hi Tessa,
You're welcome!
Please let us know what you use the lotion for, how often and how it works out for you. I'm interested in if it will work for other joints which will be useful information for others. I have run into many people who simply will not take borax orally, so this again, may be useful information for them!
Essential oils are quite interesting in terms of the many uses you can find for them. I like peppermint essential oil because it is fairly versatile, but I use others for various effects.
Eucalyptus in jojoba oil is useful for localized pain and very nice on the skin! I used to use essential oils in mag oil(MO), but have gotten away from that because to me it shortens the shelf life of the MO. There is some type of reaction that takes place over time that renders the product unusable to me when it has sat around for a while. The change is readily apparent because the MO no longer smells like whatever essential oil you added to it and instead may have a rancid smell. So now if I am going to use essential oil in MO, I only make a small quantity that I know I will use up quickly and this is still useful because the EO can have synergy with MO such as the eucalyptus oil adding a bit more pain relief to MO. MO is well and quickly absorbed all by itself, so no need to use essential oils to boost transdermal absorption of MO. MO on its own has a very long shelf life.
Keep us posted on how you do with the lotion!
Art
(OR)
02/18/2023
If the mag oil is in a plastic container, eucalyptus oil, or any essential oil can act as a solvent and actually break down the plastics in the container. That may be what is happening. I would only add essential oil to magnesium oil if it was in a glass pump. Kerrin
(MA)
07/22/2022
Hi,
It's worth pointing out that birch is rich in methyl salicylate, a close cousin to aspirin, acetyl salicylate. Methyl salicylate is an active ingredient approved for topical pain relievers. Other plants that contain it or other forms of salicylates are wintergreen, willow, poplar.
General Feedback
Also, I asked under another post, do you know is the percentage of sodium in borax? it would be useful to people with BP issues.
Thank You.
Martio,
I don't usually use aspirin for myself, but if I were going to use it on myself if I had shingles, I would use three, 325 mg pills per ounce of lotion in addition to the borax ground into a very fine powder. When I have not ground the borax sufficiently, the mix comes out feeling gritty and much less effective.
I already answered your other question after you posted it.
Art
(Chicago)
06/17/2024
Hi Peter,
Do not use borax in your wife!!! This will be dangerous for her kidneys, even if applied topically because some will be absorbed systemically and any boron or borax will be very bad for her kidneys.
Aspirin is not recommended for people with CKD! So no aspirin except under the supervision of her doctor.
Melatonin is good for both CKD and diabetes and can relieve pain from arthritis. In long term use it can also help to reduce arthritis damage depending on what type of arthritis she has. It can also be made into a spray if she prefers a spray over a lotion.
Again, whatever she decides to use, even topical melatonin spray or lotion, it needs to be approved by her doctor and or transplant team because melatonin spray and lotion will go systemic, so it needs to be approved by her doctor.
Art
General Feedback
★★★★★
I want to try your cream. How did you decide how much borax to use? Can you also use boron from tablets?
Other boron questions: Does the boron or borax affect the outcome of blood tests such as antinuclear antibody tests? I just went to the cardiologist and was diagnosed with ventricular bigeminy, prolapse and wide tachycardia.
Just wondering about whether I should be using the borax internally or externally.
Anybody have this issue?
Thank you so much.
Uncertain,
You're welcome!
As far as the amount of borax used, I was essentially trying to replicate a saturated solution and that amount should have gotten close. With lotion, it is a little harder to determine, but I felt that even if I was over, the very fine powdered borax would just remain suspended in the lotion and would not be a problem. If I was a little under, it wouldn't have been enough to have a lesser effect.
You could use boron from tablets, but borax is much less expensive than boron supplements and may do more than boron alone. Borax is only 11.3% boron. The remainder is likely to have other positive effects that boron alone may not.
On the testing, I don't know the answer as I have never seen studies that discussed this aspect and I am doubtful that your doctor will know either.
On the question of internal or external use, boron definitely interacts with the heart and it is usually in a positive way based on studies, but if you have heart issues, you should discuss the use of boron supplementation with your cardiologist.
Art
Painful Feet
★★★★★
For many years the balls of my feet have been painful. That pain was usually the reason I needed to stop doing whatever I was doing. On a hunch I tried this recipe with a "health food store" hand lotion that's quite thin because the borax thickens it up. I put the borax in my blender to get any lumps out, then added just that to the lotion. I had less than 1/4 of the bottle left at the time and I added 1 heaping teaspoon and shook it well. I rubbed it on the bottoms of my feet at bed time for three months. That was about 2 years ago and I've never had to quit what I'm doing from ball of the foot pain since. Thanks so much, Art and Earth Clinic!
M Johnson,
Congratulations on taking care of your "ball of foot pain" with the lotion recipe for hand arthritis and thank you very much for coming back to EC to report your great results! I've had that ball of foot pain many many years ago and I know how bothersome and painful it can be!
Art
Q&A Regarding Ibuprofen
Cindy,
Long term use of topical ibuprofen will allow the ibuprofen to go systemic to some degree and eventually go to the heart, so that does not seem like a safe way to go for your mom.
Keep in mind that the only reason I made this lotion was because my brother in law would not take oral borax. It is the borax that is actually reducing the arthritis, and the ibuprofen is just there to give temporary pain relief until the borax kicks in. For the purpose of actually trying to subdue the arthritis, the borax lotion without ibuprofen should work eventually, but there will be no pain relief until the borax has had a chance to get to the hand joints and do what it does. In my brother in law's case, it took roughly 1 1/2 months until the borax was able to work.
Has your mom tried Ted's oral borax for arthritis? If not, that may be an option.
Use 1/8th level teaspoon in a quart of water each day, Monday through Thursday and have her take Friday, Saturday and Sunday off according to Ted. Ted's protocol worked extraordinarily well for me for well over a decade now.
Does your mother get arthritic pain relief from mag oil (MO)? If so, I can recommend another course of action. Take a 40% mag oil mix (40% magnesium chloride flakes / 60% distilled water) and add the borax to it. Run this in your blender at high speed until completely blended. Use the same amount of borax as per the lotion mix and substitute distilled water for the lotion in the same amount . Filter this mix through a coffee filter and put it into a spray bottle. Apply to the hands twice a day up to three times a day and rub it in.
If your mom responds better to MSM than MO, substitute MSM for the magnesium chloride flakes. Again, these are merely for the purpose of offering temporary pain relief and it is the borax that gives the longer term relief.
If none of the above is compatible with your mom I can offer one more option. Let me know.
Art
Reader Feedback
Thanks Art.
Lou,
I am not familiar with industrial borax as borax is essentially removed from the ground, cleaned and packaged for sale, so I don't know how industrial borax would differ unless that means it is contaminated in some way and not suitable for retail use? Borax has multiple uses in industry. I searched for industrial borax on google and didn't find anything.
A possible alternative might be Ebay in the PI. check these :
https://www.ebay.ph/sch/i.html?_nkw=borax&ssPageName=GSTL
The boxes at the bottom of the page are what we get here in the US, but these are more than double the cost of what we pay here.
Art
Reader Feedback
Anne,
I use 5 to 10 drops per ounce of lotion depending on how strong I want the PEO to be in the lotion.
Art
Reader Feedback
★★★★★
Thank you for yet another fabulous remedy. I tried to make up your mixture using aspirin last weekend and it ended up being very gritty, along with the borax. I am wondering if you could dissolve both the borax and aspirin in a tiny bit of hot water and then add this to the cetaphil lotion and mix well?
I know you mentioned putting the borax and aspirin in a blender, but this way seems less messy if it will work. I only have one small blender and I'd rather just put food and beverages in it!
Your thoughts? Thank you!!
Hi Deirdre.
Yes, I can see where that would be a problem. When I grind the NSAID and the borax in a bullet type blender, it turns them into a very fine powder that does not leave a gritty feeling with the application of the finished lotion, so I have never had to deal with the problem you are describing.
Your solution may work with some lotions and not others as the addition of water may cause some lotions to become milk like in consistency while other lotions may keep their natural consistency or close to it.
Since there are an endless amount of different lotions out there, it is not practical for me to test all of them.
If "I" was going to use water to try and dissolve aspirin and borax prior to adding it to the lotion, I would use boiling distilled water to allow the maximum amount of borax and aspirin to dissolve in the water and add it to the lotion while still hot. I would use extreme caution in handling this hot water solution to insure that I do not burn myself in the process. I would have to experiment to try and determine what is the most minimal amount of boiling water I will need in order to make this supersaturated solution of borax and aspirin. I will need to add it to the lotion while still very hot to prevent the borax from crystalizing if it gets too cool. With a supersaturated solution of borax, when it cools it will crystalize some of the borax and these crystals will not dissolve, even if you add more water.
So as soon as I add the hot borax and aspirin solution to my lotion, I will shake this lotion very quickly and very thoroughly to try to prevent any crystallization of the borax.
Well, that is what I would try for myself.
Art
(Michigan)
07/28/2023
(Oh)
07/23/2020
Hi Art,
I made a small batch of your formula when I first read your post. I used a small mortar and pestle to crush the aspirin. At first it was gritty, with the borax, but in a day or two it seemed that the moisture in the lotion softened it, and it became pretty smooth. I didn't add any water. I used some magnesium lotion I had bought at our health food store for the mixture. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Rsw,
We haven't talked in some time and it is good to see you still posting on EC!I hope the lotion is helpful for your hands!
Please come back and let us know how it works out for you! Was it OLP that you have? If that is correct, how is it doing? If it was OLP, this abstract may interest you:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28673588/
Art
(Oh)
07/24/2020
Hi Art,
Thank you so much for posting the links to these studies for me. I will be reading them over the weekend. I actually went to a dermatologist this month to see if there was anything new for the LP. She gave me a prescription for an ointment, but when I looked it up it immediately said that it could cause cancer, so I didn't get it filled. At least she offered to give me a prescription for LDN, a first for me, if I got a blood test. So I did get that test today and hope to maybe get a prescription now for the LDN. I also bought some 10mg. melatonin that are quick dissolve when you were first posting about it, but I only tried 10mg twice at night but didn't sleep well. I know the anti-inflammatory benefit may take a much higher dose to be effective. Maybe I will be able to get a sense of what is needed after I read these studies. Thank you, as always, for the tremendous energy and research you share with us on Earth Clinic.
Hi Rsw,
Yes, I would definitely be avoiding the medication that can potentially cause cancer!!! That's crazy!
I did experiment with LDN for at least 6 months, but it was unfortunately not effective for my purpose, but it has helped many people for many different conditions so I felt compelled to test it. I hope it turns out to be the answer for you!
Thank you for saying so, about what I post!
Let us know how the LDN and melatonin work out for you.
Art
Roxanne,
Lotion should have some form of preservative in it already, but I don't understand why you would want to add water to it? That could potentially weaken whatever preservative is in the lotion.
Art
Reader Feedback
Thank you for sharing this, very keen to try it out for my husband. However, I am a little confused, you say it is the borax that does the healing, why is it necessary to use the Ibuprofen? could you not just use the borax and hand cream, and if I choose to use some pain relief - would you recommend aspirin over the ibuprofen?
Again thanks Art and look forward to your reply.
Kerry
Hi Kerry.
I think I answered this in another reply, but here goes.
The reason I made the lotion in the first place was because my sister asked me to make it for her husband to help him be able to sleep and function during the day with reduced pain in his hands and fingers.
I had already tried to get him to take oral borax, but he refused, so I essentially snuck the borax into the lotion and didn't tell him or my sister. It seemed like the only way I would be able to help his hands and fingers in terms of actual repair as opposed to just pain relief. The results were incredible considering that his doctor had already told him that his hands and fingers would only get worse with time.
So yes, the borax lotion alone would have done the job, but if I had put no pain reliever in the lotion, he would not have continued to use it to ultimately have his hands heal. I never told my brother in law what I did, but I did tell my sister, who seemed happy about the outcome and as far as I know, she never told her husband either.
Art
Reader Feedback
This information is needed if anyone wants to give this a try.
Claudi0,
I only used ibuprofen in the mix for my brother in law so he would keep using it, but it is the borax that actually healed his hands, so I did not give an amount for the ibuprofen that I used in his mix.
The amount of ibuprofen I used in his 16 ounce lotion was 10,000 milligrams.
Art
(Longmont, Co)
07/15/2020
How much aspirin?
(Israel)
07/14/2020
I would prefer to use White Willow Bark powder (from which aspirin was derived) instead of the artificial stuff.
John,
Nothing wrong with trying White Willow Bark (WWB) as the pain relieving component of the lotion. I've never tried it in lotion, so I can't comment on its efficacy in this application.
WWB powder has a medium brownish color to it and this color may transfer to clothing and bedding. This is one reason why I use the white form of ibuprofen to avoid any color transfer. Generally basic otc ibuprofen tabs can have a color coating that will definitely transfer to skin, clothing and bedding and I definitely want to avoid that issue!
Art
Reader Feedback
Reader Feedback
About using Naproxen is the only OTC that helps me to any extent, the others I could take a whole box and no reaction, so if I order naproxen how many mg do you think it would take for it?
me: 9 vertebrae degenerated; scoliosis S form; worn-out rt hip; and rt replaced knee is in trouble from the hip and another part of the back pelvic that I could swear someone with a screwdriver is determined to inside that bone!
To top all off none of these can be operated because of my hear attack, stint, and 2 valves working backward.
I hope you get this with amt of pain I endure on other issues I have a very high pain tolerance. Thank Dear God for what you have done!
Jinx,
I find Naproxen to be useful also, but I can no longer use it. As far as an amount, I generally use the same as ibuprofen or about 10,000 mg in 16 ounces of lotion.
Art
