In order to make sure our new homestead’s greywater system doesn’t pollute our land we decided to make our own toothpaste. It is nearly impossible to find toothpaste in rural Tennessee that doesn’t contain fluoride. If you’re not familiar with the problems associated with putting an industrial waste such as fluoride in your body you can check out An Inconvenient Tooth on YouTube.
Sarah made the first batch of toothpaste with coconut oil using a YouTube recipe from AshleysGreenLife, but the coconut oil is too hard in the winter mornings to scoop onto a toothbrush. Sarah made another batch without the coconut oil as follows:
1/4 cup Baking Soda
4 rounded Tablespoons Xylitol (an alternative sweetener found at most health food stores or on Amazon)
2 Tablespoons Peppermint Essential Oil
1 Tablespoon Tea Tree Essential Oil
Mix together thoroughly and put into a small jar. To use the tooth”powder” simply wet your toothbrush and mash it into the jar. The wet bristles can pick up as much or as little toothpowder as you want to use.
Beware that the first few times you brush with this recipe, it may seem very salty because of the Baking Soda, but you will get used to it. Also you can add more Xylitol to sweeten and/or adjust Essential Oil amounts to your taste buds’ likings.
Benefits to making your own toothpaste:
1. No fluoride, sodium lauryl sulfate, and other nasty chemicals in your body
2. No fluoride, sodium lauryl sulfate, and other nasty chemicals in the ground
3. Much cheaper than tubes of brand-name toothpaste – less than $1 per recipe
4. Makes us happy to brush our teeth! 🙂
5. You control the recipe. Add cinnamon, vanilla or whatever you prefer.
