I’ve noticed lately there’s been a LOT of attention to making your own body care products, and I’m not surprised. With all of the chemicals added to deodorant, toothpaste, makeup and pretty much anything- people are wanting to get away from them and the health problems they can cause.
I’ve dipped my toes into the world of homemade toothpaste before, but every time the tooth paste or tooth powder wasn’t good enough to use for a really extended period of time, or there was some kind of problem with it.
I tried remineralizing tooth powder with bentonite clay- it worked, but didn’t really taste that good.
I tried tooth powder with myyrh gum and cinnamon in it for the anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties and that tasted even worse!
I’ve made a simple cleansing powder with baking soda, peppermint extract and salt (too salty), just baking soda (yuck); baking soda and peroxide (WAY too many bubbles!)
Finally, I think I’ve found one that I can use forever.
It’s really easy to make, doesn’t taste terrible and makes my teeth feel really clean. It also whitens and the coconut oil in it helps pull toxins out of your teeth. My teeth feel healthier than they have in a long time.
Wanna know something that’s funny? The recipe I used for it is actually a deodorant recipe, but it works really well for toothpaste too! That’s the beauty of natural products- a lot of times they can be multi-purpose. I use the same blend for my deodorant and it works better than any deodorant I’ve ever used before. Of course, I put the deodorant in an empty deodorant tube and the tooth paste in a small jar, so there’s no chance of cross-contamination. That would be gross.
Do you want the recipe?
It’s Dr. Axe’s recipe for homemade deodorant. (side note: I love Dr. Axe’s stuff! Check out other pages of his site- he has a ton of great information on how food heals your body. And no, I don’t get paid by him to talk about this.)
Coconut oil, baking soda, essential oil. Simple and effective. And you might already have all those things in your cabinets!
I used 20 drops each of peppermint and lavender essential oil for scent, but you could use whatever oils you prefer. I think next time I’ll probably add 30 drops each because while it smells good, it is very subtle. I’d like to try it with a stronger scent. As for healing properties, baking soda is a gentle abrasive cleanser. It also whitens teeth. Coconut oil is one of the best things you can put in your body! It has no saturated fat and healthy omega fats that nourish your body. Using it in tooth powder is kind of like a mini session of oil pulling, and it pulls toxins out of your teeth. Peppermint essential oil is cooling, anti-inflammatory and calming. Lavender essential oil is calming as well, and smells amazing.
As deodorant, this seriously works. You know how sometimes your store-bought deodorant works, but then for whatever reason you’ll have a day where it just doesn’t seem like its working and you have to re-apply it? That has never happened with this. AND I’ve never even had a hint of odor- not even when doing strenuous things where I’m sweating, like hauling wood or carting a 35lb toddler up stairs. It is awesome.
So do yourself a favor and go make some great toothpaste AND deodorant- at the same time!
For more on essential oils:http://draxe.com/essential-oils-guide/
For more on oil pulling: http://draxe.com/oil-pulling-coconut-oil/
For more on lavender: Lavender profile
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