Should you bath with borax?

[Changed]

I know this sounds stupid. I would never but my mothers friend has been doing this for 3 months and loves it and is insistent of us all using it. She's interested in the idea of not needing to buy soap and using something touted as natural and safe. I'm not sure if it's indeed safe to wash your body with. He told her to dilute it in a jug of water and then add a little to a squirt bottle and just squirt it on her body and hair instead of soap.

Help please!

[blessedwithboys]

from about.com:

"Borax is natural, but that does not mean it is automatically safer for you or for 'the environment' than man-made chemicals. Although plants need boron, too much of it will kill them, so borax can be used as an herbicide. Borax may also be used to kill roaches, ants, and fleas. In fact, it is also toxic to people. Signs of chronic toxic exposure include red and peeling skin, seizures, and kidney failure. The estimated lethal dose (ingested) for adults is 15-20 grams; less than 5 grams can kill a child or pet. For this reason, borax should not be used around food. More commonly, borax is associated with skin, eye, or respiratory irritation. It is also important to point out that exposure to borax may impair fertility or cause damage to an unborn child."

[hubris]

Borax is pretty caustic, I don't think I'd bathe with it.

It's amazing what some people do, though. A friend of mine says her mother used to spray baby wipes with lysol and she used that to wipe herself after going to the bathroom. YIKES!

[shishkeberry]

Originally Posted by funshine

It's amazing what some people do, though. A friend of mine says her mother used to spray baby wipes with lysol and she used that to wipe herself after going to the bathroom. YIKES!

I think I heard that some women used to douche with Lysol

[Ruthla]

You might want to suggest to your mother's friend that baking soda can be used for washing as well, and it's a lot less toxic!!! She can use it in the exact same way she's been using the borax, or it can be mixed into a paste for each use.

[Changed]

I told her today but she thinks he's got some source that is all knowing who told him to do that. I have a friend who's mother soaked diapers in pine sol. Gag

[snowbunny]

Bathing with borax is HARSH! Borax is so rough on the skin. Yuck.

Pine-sol Diapers? Douching with Lysol? Now that is really disturbing.