My Homemade Toothpaste and Teeth Whitener

Like most people who decide to run away from chemically loaded products, the first thing I did when I switched from big branded toothpaste to natural was buying organic. At the time I was wearing braces, for almost four years (yep when you're an adult you might wear it for a while), and even though I was tempted to make my own, I just couldn't take the risk to have dirty teeth or have anything staying stuck in between the brackets. I also didn't know that water flossers existed, but that's another story.

Since I've been "freed", I've been trying various recipes, all of them included coconut oil, but as soon as the weather got warmer, I started having issues with the melting coconut oil.

And then I remembered that magical ingredient sitting in my DIY box: calcium carbonate.

I wanted to make a toothpaste quite thick, with a texture close to the usually toothpaste. I also wanted to avoid baking soda and white clay, because even though they are efficient in cleaning and whitening teeth, they are also very abrasive. So, for a daily toothpaste it was a no no. Calcium carbonate, on the other hand, is a natural mild abrasive that can be used daily, it also thickens the paste, giving it the toothpaste consistency we are used to.

Why coconut oil?

Coconut oil has been so popular these past few years, and rightly so. It's great for hair, skin, in our diet and also for our teeth. It has antibacterial properties and inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria responsible for infection and cavities.

Here is the recipe:

• 3 tbsp carbonate calcium

• 2 tbsp coconut oil

• 10 drops of lemon and peppermint essential oils. 5 drops each (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together until you obtain a paste.

For a whitening toothpaste you can, just follow the same recipe and add 2 teaspoons of ground turmeric and one teaspoon of baking soda to the mixture (add a bit more coconut oil if it's too thick).

As surprising as it sounds, turmeric is an age old teeth whitening remedy. It is widely used in various parts of the world such as India.

Turmeric contains curcumin which has antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. It removes stains from teeth and gives them back their natural whiteness.

I use this toothpaste once or twice a week with a toothbrush that I keep just for this use. I let it sit for 5 minutes before  rinsing thoroughly.

Let me know your thought on this recipe in the comments.

See you next time !

Et si on discutait ?

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave un comment and don't hesitate to take a picture and share it on Instagram and tag me @gentlebeautywithaliza.

I can't wait to see your pictures !