I grew up probably with the same toothpaste as you did – in a tube, crazy foaming and burningly minty fresh. Until about 4 years ago I started reading and noticing what’s actually in my toothpaste. Companies are adding a lot of useless and dangerous chemicals in there and as I embarked on my zero waste journey my hand just couldn’t reach for the plastic tube anymore.
I’ll break my reasoning down…
The Ingredients:
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or SLS
This is a common additive in most self and home care products like shampoo, body wash, cleaners etc, it acts as a foamer. SLS is considered “moderate hazard“ as it can cause a lot of side effects like itchy skin, weird texture on your tongue and damaged hair. It has also been linked to cancer, neurological diseases, organ toxicity and more. Oh, and some SLS is derived from petroleum.
You may think “but it’s tested and safe, right?”. Well, during the production process, SLS is more often than not contaminated with a toxic byproduct which causes nerve damage, negative effects to liver and kidneys and is noted as “possibly carcinogenic”, and undiluted SLS can cause extreme irritation, vomiting, diarrhea and more. Testing is done by feeding pure SLS to dogs, cats, monkeys and bunnies or applying it straight into their eyes. Read previous sentence to figure out how it ends. - Flouride is the most controversial ingredient in conventional toothpaste. Of course you should do your own research to decide whether you support it or not but here are some facts: it used to be marketed as a strengthener and resistant to tooth decay but recent studies have now found that it poses some serious health risks, especially in young kids, like permanent discolouration in teeth, stomach problems and skin rashes. In America, even though 95% of commercial toothpaste includes flouride, FDA has required every product with this ingredient to have a warning label.
- Triclosan is a pesticide (you know the poison that they spray on vegetable fields to destroy weeds and rodants) that claims to be a “super-chemical” as it can remove plaque. To make things even weirder, in 2016 the FDA banned triclosan from soaps. So… it’s forbidden in a product that we touch with our hands but ingesting triclosan – YAY party in my mouth!!
Fun fact – it has even been discovered that triclosan is a chemical compound cousin of Agent Orange (the deadly herbicide that the US military used to kill 400k people in the Vietnam War).
There is now only one brand on the market that contains this chemical and this brand convinced the FDA that triclosan is safe, oh and they paid for the toxicology studies. It rhimes with rollgate. - Saccharin is one of many artificial sweeteners found in toothpaste, it is also made from petroleum. Mmm…yum. It’s over 350 times morw sweeter than your regular sugar and has been linked to cancer, diabetes, obesity but is still used in self care products like toothpaste and lip balm and even in food.
- Parabens are preservatives in products like shampoo, conditioner, body wash and toothpaste. They mimic estrogen which can cause serious risks to health like breast cancer and reproductive problems.
- Propylene Glycol here’s a fun one! It’s a mineral oil that in industrial grade is used in antifreeze (the cooling liquid you pour into your car radiator), paint and aeroplane de-icers.
I mean yes, I am always concerned about an overnight freeze on my teeth, sure am lucky I got that propylene glycol in my toothpaste to help me out!
It’s an irritant of eyes, skin and lungs and can cause organ failure, cancer and reproductive problems.
Now that the scary part is over I’m glad to say that we don’t need any of that sh*t in our toothpaste, really.
Your toothpaste does not need to foam (SLS, SLES), it doesn’t need to be sweet (saccharin and other sweeteners) nor does it have the need to still be fresh in a hundred years (parabens).
Toothpaste doesn’t have to be ingested for the toxins to get into your system, they are absorbed by the lining in your mouth and have a straight entrance to your bloodstream. By making your own you can control exactly what you’re exposing yourself and your family to.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you knew every ingredient that goes into your body? If you wouldn’t have to be scared thinking whether your family will develop these health risks?
Call me crazy but if you wouldn’t eat these ingredients then why would you put them in your mouth or on your skin?
The Packaging:
It’s no secret that commercial toothpaste comes in a plastic tube that more than likely will not be recycled or reused. And on top of that the tube is usually in a paper box as well. It also bothers me that every single piece of plastic since the 1960s when it first globalised, is still out there, still exists.
Instead I can reuse a glass jar or a stainless steel container so there’s no need for me to send 12 unrecyclable plastic tubes to the landfill every year.
The Ethics:
As I mentioned above I cannot support companies that allow animal testing on innocent live beings who cannot do anything to protect themselves or say “no”. And most of commercial toothpaste is owned by P&G, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson&Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline.
Being the biggest animal testing companies in the world, some of the toothpaste brands owned by them are:
Aquafresh
Colgate
Listerine
Sensodyne
Tom’s of Maine (I know it sucks)
Crest
The Cost:
This has never been my motivation for making my own toothpaste but it is for many.
Store-bought paste may cost up to $15 usually, in some cases even upwards from $30 if it’s advertised as “extreme whitening”. A DIY one will round up to an average 70 cents for a month’s supply of toothpaste. I like money, do you?
The Recipe:
This DIY vegan toothpaste recipe is super easy and chances are you can find all the ingredients already in your cupboards;
- Coconut Oil – are you even a millenial if you don’t have coconut oil in your house?
This magic liquid has natural antibacterial properties as it fights away infections and cavities in your mouth. Coconut oil is also good for your tummy. - Baking Soda – the alkalinity balances out the ph level and acid-loving bacteria in your mouth. It also helps to whiten teeth, remove plaque and keeps gums healthy.
- Essential Oils – you can use a variety of these. I used peppermint and orange as that’s what I had already. They are mainly added for flavour.
4 tbs organic coconut oil (melted)
2 tbs baking soda
10-30 drops organic essential oil
Mix them in a glass or ceramic dish and use a wooden spoon or chopstick to blend together. (Metal can react with baking soda)
I then place the mix in the fridge for about 5-10 minutes so the coconut oil would harden, and then I mix it again as BS tends to sink to the bottom while coconut oil is still in liquid form.
It probably takes a few weeks to get used to as the texture and taste is deffinitely different but my mouth feels so much cleaner!
