Thursday, February 27, 2014

Homemade Toothpaste

This past year, I have been making many of the products we use myself. The internet is an abundant resource for recipes and ideas. I have made soaps, creams for my eczema, shampoo, dish soap, laundry detergent and more.
I get tired of the chemicals in these products, so I make them myself.

The latest is toothpaste. The first several tries were a bust. My son called them tooth powder, "Mom! I need toothpaste! Not tooth powder"

I had to admit, it was dry and hard to control. But the flavor wasn't bad, so I used it up myself.

This time I decided to pay more attention to the consistantcy. I was also intrigued by the flavor mentioned in the recipe: Orange mint. I had both essential oils, so I decided to try it.

I use a calcium/magnesium drink powder. It fizzes in water, which makes this toothpaste fizz while you brush. It doesn't fizz while you mix it with the other ingredients in the recipe. I love it! It makes my mouth feel so clean afterwards.

Last time I stored it in a plastic container. This also made it difficult to handle. I didn't want to stick my brush in it, so I would have to use a clean finger to mush the crumbling mess on top of my brush, then get it into my mouth without it falling off.

This time I stirred enough oil into it so it was creamy, then added 12 drops of orange and 7 drops of peppermint essential oils. Then I put it in a sandwich bag and cut off the corner as if it were cake icing.

Now, my bag was pleated, so when I looked for a corner to cut off, there were two. So I just picked one and cut it off. It worked fine.

Great in fact. It helps that I know how to handle an icing bag. If that is not one of your talents, just use a ziplock bag so you don't lose the contents down the sink.

Unfortunately, it was not a hit with my sensitive aspie. He like how it went on the brush, but when it dropped on his tongue he quickly spit it all out in the sink. He said it was burning his tongue. Now I know that it is not nearly as minty as the stuff he is using. But kids with sensory issues interpret things differently. I think he was not prepared for the fizzing and it caught him off guard. I may try another batch and use vanilla to flavor it. But I will have to remember to warn him of the fizzing.

Here is the recipe I used: http://wellnessmama.com/2500/homemade-remineralizing-toothpaste-recipe
I did not use the DE in this recipe, because I am concerned about it being abrasive. We have all the ingredients on hand most of the time, so I will definitely be making this again.