Toothpaste

Sorry I've been slacking on the blogging and it's not for lack of topics either. Mostly I've been researching flooring, chicken coops, water footprints and humanure. All over the place. I recently came across a blog titled fake plastic fish, Beth, the author of the the blog has been on a remove plastic journey. And that lead me to the great pacific ocean gyre.

I do promise to write about all the things I have been researching but for now I want to document my toothpaste recipe. In and effort to live lighter on the planet and reduce even more our output of garbage I thought homemade toothpaste would be a good idea. There are TONS of recipes online all of which are great but this is what we decided to do.

almost 1/4 c. baking soda
almost 1/4 c. coconut oil
4+ drops of peppermint essential oil (more or less as needed)
about 1.5 Tablespoons of honey
1.5 teaspoons hydrogen peroxide

Mix well.

I mixed all this and put it in an old yeast jar. It is much runnier at first but it thickens up to a crumbly paste. We tried it at first with less coconut oil but the baking soda was way too abrasive. Still, I don't brush directly on my teeth right at first. I add a tiny amount (1tsp or less) of water in my mouth add my toothpaste and swish a little. Just to start the baking soda dissolving. Then I brush with the runny toothpaste. Jake and I switched to an earth friendly brand a while ago so we are used to the lack of foamy toothpaste. But for some it might come as a shock. Like the lack of bubbles in dishwater, without detergents and foaming stuff.

Coupled with our EcoDenT floss, we intend to go green with our toothbrushes too. Preserve has the gimme 5 program that recycles #5 plastics into household stuff.  They make toothbrushes that can be purchased new, and sent back to be re-made into a new toothbrush when you're done with the old.