Obviously, toothpaste is a definite necessity unless you want to have mouth pain or eat food that's not mashed potatoes. But have you ever looked at those ingredients in the toothpaste aisle at the store? There's a lot of unnatural, chemically stuff in there! Now, I am by no means a dentist, much less a dental expert, but I have learned in recent years that I am being sold everything in my life, both necessity and unnesessity, and as a result I cannot just blindly believe and buy everything out there.
A big part of this blog and our lives lately has been getting away from pre-packaged food and chemical additives. We are trying to use foods and products that are more natural. So I began researching alternatives to cleaning my teeth. I discovered I could make toothpaste only using two main ingredients: baking soda and coconut oil.
Here's what I do...
Options are:
- Bentonite clay (a natural clay with remineralizing properties)
- Peppermint essential oil (for taste)
- Xylitol (a sweetener that's good for your teeth)
After I mix in the "extras," I freeze it for a few minutes to get it to solidify quicker. Overall, I find the texture of this toothpaste to be similar to the store bought tubed kind I grew up using, but without the Xylitol, it is more salty than sweet. Without the Xylitol, did you know that this toothpaste is both kid and pet friendly?! I use it to clean up my dogs' teeth, and I put a little on a cloth and gently scrub my son's two teeth! Now, I can't be like other bloggers out there who say their teeth have improved or remineralized themselves using their new homemade toothpaste recipes (maybe because I'm not adding in that clay), BUT I can say that after a couple of years using this stuff, my teeth are less sensitive, and there aren't any new cavities (I had two cavities pre-homemade toothpaste days)! |
Homemade Two Ingredient Toothpaste
Ingredients:
| Optional Additions: |
- In a glass jar, add equal amounts of baking soda to coconut oil.
- Microwave on high for 20 seconds, or until the oil has melted.
- Add in any optional additions you want, to taste. Mix everything together with a spoon.
- Freeze for 10 to 20 minutes, or until the oil solidifies.
- Place desired amount of toothpaste on toothbrush, and brush those teeth!