Does the idea of ice cream, boiling hot tea, melted chocolate (yes, poor me) and beer (am I even real?) make you shiver? Me too. Does the concept of toothpaste wrapped in a plastic tube give you goosebumps? Well, guess what, you’re not alone.
Many toothpaste tubes are impossible to wash properly, which means that they are simply most of the time not accepted in the recycling scheme — not to mention that they can even be potentially dangerous for your health, because of chemicals such as Triclosan.
A toothbrush that does not destroy the planet
First things first, the toothbrush.
Did you know that every year, the world consumes over 3.6 billion[1]Humble Brush toothbrushes?
That’s a hell of a gigantic mountain of toothbrushes! Most of them end up in landfills and oceans, and the majority are made from plastic which does not biodegrade. [CBC show=”y” country=”uk, ie”]Humble Brush toothbrushes[/CBC][CBC show=”y” country=”be, fr, lu”]Humble Brush toothbrushes[/CBC][CBC show=”y” country=”de, bg, ch, cz, dk, de, ee, ie, el, es, eu, hr, it, lv, cy, lt, hu, mt, nl, at, pl, pt, ro , si, sk, fi, se, is, li, no”]Humble Brush toothbrushes[/CBC][CBC show=”n” country=”uk, ie, be, fr, ch, lu, de, bg, cz, dk, de, ee, ie, el, es, eu, hr, it, lv, cy, lt, hu, mt, nl, at, pl, pt, ro , si, sk, fi, se, is, li, no”]Humble Brush toothbrushes[/CBC] have a biodegradable bamboo handle and nylon-6 bristles. Which reduces significantly the waste your mouth washing produces.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bab8SPRHGHA/?taken-by=zero.waste.nest
Stars of the show
- Coconut oil: cleansing, whitening and purifying
- Bentonite clay: cleansing, mild abrasive, neutralises the acidity, soothing
- Peppermint essential oil: anti-infectious, fungicide, antimicrobial — oh hello good breath!, antiseptic
- Clove essential oil: antiseptic, fungicide, anti-inflammatory, soothing (it contains eugenol, which is used by dentists)
- Tea tree essential oil: antibacterial, antiseptic, fungicide, anti-inflammatory
Sensitive toothpaste recipe
An eco-friendly alternative to mainstream toothpaste is tooth powder as it can come in a recyclable container or can be created from scratch at home. But it isn’t really my thing as I don’t like the idea of topping up my tooth powder mixture with an army of bacteria every time I dip my toothbrush in it (and I am way too clumsy and impatient to carefully sprinkle my toothbrush with some sort of powder twice a day). So powder was to me, a hygienic no-no.
Soooo guys, I’ve come up with a recipe that will delight even the most sensitive teeth, give you a breath as fresh as a morning breeze while sending absolutely nothing to landfill.
OH YES!
My loves, all you’ll need is:
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoon bentonite clay
- 15 drops peppermint essential oil
- 5 drops clove essential oil
- 3 drops tea tree essential oil
Instructions
- Unless you live in Hawaii (lucky you), you’ll need to make the coconut oil melt. You can do that by using a double boiler or a microwave.
- Mix all the ingredients together by using anything you want but a metal tool, to avoid reducing the clay’s effectiveness.
- Let your mixture cool down and solidify
- Happily brush your teeth by applying approx. half a teaspoon of the mixture on your toothbrush with a utensil such as a bamboo spoon.
You might some time to adapt to this new way of brushing your teeth, as it does not foam and thus comes up quite liquidy in the mouth (I even drooled a bit the first time, but please don’t tell anyone). After that adaptation stage, I promise it’s only pure happiness.
Simplistic mouthwash
I like to have a very fresh and cold ⛄❄ feeling in my mouth after brushing my teeth—which is probably caused by years of using super ice-cold refreshing mainstream toothpaste. So I kept the habit of making a mouth bath, but this time using only harmless natural products.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 4 drops peppermint essential oil
Instructions
- Well, simply mix it and you’re done!
Note to the sceptics in the audience: the saltiness goes away very quickly, but the peppermint taste doesn’t. #mouthGoals
Oil pulling
I got intrigued by that method as so many bloggers were talking about it. It consists of basically swishing oil (usually coconut oil) in your mouth for… 5 to 20 minutes. First thing in the morning. I’ll probably give it a go on a rainy Sunday when I feel like giving my mouth some extra love, but honestly, unless it really rocks my dental world, that ritual seems a bit too long to be sustainably added to my daily routine. But people, please let me know if you’ve already tried it!
Where’s even the kitchen?
Although I really like putting on my little chef hat and experimenting things in the kitchen, I can understand if some people don’t. Buuut nothing to worry about, you can still have a zero waste mouth hygiene routine, thanks to a super cool brand called Georganics. They make zero waste toothpaste, mouthwash and even oil pulling mouthwash! They use similar ingredients as the ones mentioned above. Have a look, their products are really worth trying out!
Morgane is a London-based writer passionate about sustainable living, ethical fashion and social justice.
References
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