Make your Own Toothpaste
By Mrs Money on May 26, 2009 – 6:09 am -
A few days ago I discovered that we were running low on toothpaste. We don’t use Crest, Colgate, or any of those main brands, we generally use Tom’s of Maine or Trader Joe’s toothpaste because there is no sodium lauryl sulfate in them. I didn’t want to spend $4 on more toothpaste, so I decided to improvise. I’m kind of scared of using straight baking soda as toothpaste, so I decided I’d make a recipe with items I had on hand.
Here’s my toothpaste recipe:
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
3 Tablespoons Baking Soda
10 drops of peppermint essential oil. (You could also use cinnamon or spearmint)
I stirred them all together in a glass container for about 5 minutes. It looked about the consistency of toothpaste. I tried it out, and while it didn’t foam (doesn’t bother me), it did an excellent job of cleaning my teeth! I think once we run out completely I’ll rinse out the old tube of toothpaste, put my toothpaste in the tube, and use one of those toothpaste squeezers on the end to keep it in. It should work very well.
Not only does this keep money in our pockets, it keeps chemicals out of our mouth and water. Win-win!
By the way, Mr. Money informed me after I got done making it that we do have some extra toothpaste in the basement in my storage area. Thanks, honey.
Posted in Green Living | 8 Comments »
May 26th, 2009 at 11:13 am
I don’t know if you have a Science & Surplus store near you, but I’ve found empty toothpaste tubes there. You put your paste in, and close the end. No need to worry about toothpaste squeezer. And here they’re around 50 cents.
[Reply]
May 26th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
I like this idea. I wonder how it would taste using a different carrier oil. I don’t have coconut oil on hand. Is that an important component in cleaning? I will share this blog on my website http://HealWithOil.com. Thanks alot.
[Reply]
May 26th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Kittymoose- I’ll have to check and see! I like reusing the tubes because then I keep a tube from going into the landfill.
Rebecca Park Totilo- I’m not sure how it would work with another carrier oil. Coconut oil is normally solid at room temperature, so I use that!
Let me know if you try it with another!
[Reply]
June 9th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
What a great idea. I might have to try it once my stockpile goes down.
[Reply]
August 13th, 2009 at 6:03 am
[...] back, I posted my minty fresh homemade toothpaste recipe. While I still use it and think it’s fantastic, I will admit that in the summer it’s [...]
October 2nd, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Interesting recipe. I’m concerned, though, about the use of oil in it. I generally think of oils as antithetical to cleaning, solid or not, and I’m hesitant to scrub my teeth with an oil, even with baking soda. Maybe someone whose used this recipe or another for a while can chime in? Does it not leave your teeth feeling greasy?
[Reply]
Mrs Money Reply:
October 8th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
It does not feel greasy at all. I rinse it and it rinses clean. Coconut oil is much lighter than other oils and doesn’t really stick around.
[Reply]
Wren Reply:
October 9th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Very interesting! I may have to give this a try =) Thanks!
[Reply]