If living a healthy lifestyle is as important to you as it is to us at Skinny & Co., you’re always looking for the healthiest alternatives to common household products. Today, we’ll tell you about homemade toothpaste and how it can fit into your lifestyle.
Why natural toothpaste
Most store-bought brands of toothpaste have additives and chemicals that can harm your mouth and your entire body. To help make sense of these chemicals and additives, use this guide so you know what to view as a red flag and to avoid at all costs.
Fluoride
We recommend avoiding fluoride at all costs. Fluoride is a toxin that has a lot of harmful effects on thyroid, immune system, and metabolism. If you're really want to dive into why fluoride is bad for you, please can read Mark Sisson’s breakdown and Dr. Mercola’s opinon.
Surfactants
Surfactants give toothpaste the foam and lather we all love. Sodium lauryl sulfate is most commonly used in toothpaste and has been shown to cause ulcers in the mouth and canker sores.
Sweeteners
Sorbitol, sodium saccharin, and other artificial sweeteners are often used in toothpaste to improve taste, even though there is no evidence that these sweeteners are beneficial (or even safe) for use in the mouth. Xylitol has shown some positive benefits for oral health in some studies, but it remains a controversial ingredient in toothpaste.
Triclosan
Triclosan is a chemical previously used in antibacterial soaps and products. The FDA recently re-evaluated it for safety in human use, and banned it from being used in soaps. It’s still in toothpaste, however.
Glycerin
Glycerin is found in many toothpastes, especially natural toothpastes. Glycerin is a sweet, colorless liquid and some research says it can coat teeth and prevent them from benefiting from the minerals in saliva. It does more bad than good.
How to make natural toothpaste
If you’re feeling alarmed, don’t stress. The best option to control what you put into your body is to turn to natural ingredients and make your own homemade alternatives. Below, find our recipe for making natural toothpaste.
Natural toothpaste ingredients
- About 1/2 cup Oil Pulling Peppermint Coconut Oil (buy here)
- 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda (buy here)
- 1 capsule of activated charcoal (buy here)
Natural toothpaste instructions
- Melt or slightly soften the coconut oil.
- Mix in other ingredients and stir well. If using semi-hard coconut oil, use a fork, if not, use a spoon. If you are using completely melted coconut oil, you will need to stir several times while the mixture cools to keep the baking soda incorporated
- Put the mixture into a small glass jar. (We recommend reusing a Skinny & Co. jar!)
- Let cool completely, and don’t be alarmed that it is black in color; that’s just the charcoal.
Using your natural toothpaste
Before you brush your teeth, we recommend adding oil pulling to your daily dental hygiene routine. This helps remove toxins that live throughout your mouth before you you focus more specifically on your teeth. Then, to use your toothpaste, simply dip your toothbrush in and scrape a small amount of the paste onto the bristles. Or, if you’d prefer, you can also use a small spoon to apply the paste to your toothbrush.
Once you’ve used this natural toothpaste recipe for awhile, drop us a line and let us know what you think of it!