Homemade Mint Toothpaste

Toothpaste is one of personal care products that can be made in a simple way at home. Most commercial toothpastes contain noxious chemicals. SLS and Triclosan are the most common, as well as Fluorine. In 2010, the WHO - World Health Organization classified fluorine as 1 of the 10 chemical products that represent biggest risk for public health, together with asbestos, arsenic, and dioxins. Due to excessive exposure to fluorine, in the long term, this chemical causes serious bone problems. You can read detailed information about fluorine effects on health in this link of WHO website.

In our research for homemade toothpaste recipes we found much, but as usual we decided to keep it simple and make a 3-ingredient toothpaste:

Ingredients

1. Mint: a full hand of fresh grinded mint leaves (with creamy texture)
2. Baking soda: 2 tbsp
3. Coconut oil: 4 tbsp

This recipe gave us 80ml of toothpaste.

Why These Ingredients?

Here are the benefits of each one: 

Mint: has several medicinal properties. Concerning oral health, mint is anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory, which helps to prevent infections, cavities and, for its freshness, also prevents bad breath. Most recipes use essential oils, but we preferred to try it like "grandmothers did before".

Baking soda: is alkaline. Therefore, it helps to neutralize acidity in the mouth, keep a correct pH and prevent enamel decay. It also helps to whiten teeth for being slightly abrasive. Although, when brushing, you don't feel it's abrasive, you should vary your recipes of homemade toothpaste and don't use baking soda constantly. 

Coconut oil:  is also used to do oil pulling (swishing vegetable oil around the mouth), it helps reduce bacterial plaque, and whiten your teeth. Vegetable oil has been used for thousands of years to keep a good dental health. 

How To Do It?

1. Collect fresh organic mint leaves. Never make a product at home with ingredients that have been treated with pesticides. 
2. Grind the leaves until they become a paste. The time it takes to grind depends on the power of the machine you use. 
3. In a glass jar, mix the mint paste with 2 tbsp of baking soda and 4 tbsp of cold-pressed organic coconut oil. Mix it all until you get a creamy paste.
4. Store it in the same glass jar or in a toothpaste tube. 

OK, toothpaste done and ready to use! You can keep it in the bathroom at room temperature. Coconut oil solidifies or melts according to the temperature, so if it's too stiff put it under hot running water for a few seconds, if it's too liquid put it in the refrigerator.


Just like all natural products, this toothpaste is very different from industrial ones. The texture is not as fluid, is less "tasty", it's saltier and makes less sud, but as in everything in life, you can get used to it. On the other hand, it's really natural and healthy, for it contains nothing that could harm you. In our case, although we used industrial toothpaste all our lives, we did not find it that odd. So, as we've already served as guinea pigs, you too can try it at home with no fear :)

Making natural products at home has nothing but advantages. It's healthy, does not pollute the environment, and avoids using and wasting packages difficult (sometimes impossible) to recycle.

When making natural products at home, never forget to check if you are allergic to the ingredients of each recipe. 

Video - Homemade Mint Toothpaste