Homemade Toothpaste
Making my own toothpaste is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I am slowly trying to get away from as much store bought anything as I can. I don’t like all the chemicals put in EVERYTHING and what it does to our bodies.
We have been put into a vicious cycle. We buy products that have things in them that aren’t good for us, then we get ill, then we go see the doctor ($$$) and he/she prescribes pills ($$) which in turn almost always have side effects and the cycle starts over again.
So this past weekend I finally made some….and I am happy with the results….my teeth feel great!
My recipe:
3 parts food grade diatomaceous earth
1 part bentonite clay
3 capsules activated charcoal
1/8 t tea tree oil
7 parts coconut oil ( or enough for your desired consistency)
1 t cinnamon extract
Diatomaceous earth is a naturally occurring siliceous sedimentary rock and the oldest use of it is as a very mild abrasive in toothpaste, metal polishes, as well as facial scrubs.
Bentonite is an absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate, impure clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite (soft group of minerals) which helps it to remineralize our teeth. It forms naturally from volcanic ash and because of its absorbent properties it is used as a mud mask to detoxify the skin. I use it once a week! When it becomes wet the molecules change and produce an electrical charge so it is important to never use metal utensils when mixing. And no, it is not the kind of charge that will give you electric shock so don’t worry 
Activated charcoal is a form of carbon processed to have small pores that increase the surface area available for adsorption. It is used as a medication to treat poisonings following excessive oral ingestion of certain medications or poisons. And, no, it won’t turn your teeth black or gray. People actually use it as a whitener & to absorb impurities.
I didn’t add anything as a sweetener so it is a little salty tasting. If you have ever brushed with a paste that has baking soda in it that is what it tastes like…not horrible or anything. It does need more cinnamon so next time I will add a tablespoon of cinnamon extract so there is more than just a hint of it.
The only draw back I have found is that since I used coconut oil it doesn’t rinse off my toothbrush easily and does leave a little oily residue. This normally wouldn’t be so terrible but since my paste is black because of the charcoal it makes my toothbrush look bad.
Do you make your own toothpaste? What ingredients do you use?
I haven’t tried makingn my own toothpaste, although I did try using baking soda and salt once. That ended up a bit of a disaster! I might give this a go but I’m not sure where I could get some of the ingredients.
I got them all on-line except for the coconut oil.
That is great that you are shunning the expensive chemicals that are not beneficial to good health. I have never tried to make toothpaste, it’s good that you have tried, you may have to tweak the recipe a bit.
Kathleen
Fridays Blog Booster Party #20
Thanks for stopping by Kathleen!
ok, I like all natural things. I have yet tried a toothpaste DIY .
I have made homemade toothpaste with bentonite clay and baking soda, but have never heard of using diatomacous earth. I have also tried the activated charcoal a couple of times, and it does leave your toothbrush all black!
a very inspiring DIY! I think I’ll stick with my nice white toothpaste for sensitive teeth, but it’s good to know that the make-it-yourself ones work well too ~ Leanne visiting from #AnythingGoes Link Party.
lol….It is only black because of the charcoal. If I leave that out it would be a light gray. Thanks for stopping by Leanne!
I so admire people who try to DIY home products. Not only does it save money but you also know what is in it. Thanks Mary, for sharing the idea with us at #AnythingGoes. See you next week! PS Hope your daughter is feeling better.
Thank you so much Sue! Nadia has good days and bad days….good hours and bad hours. It has become our new normal
I love the idea of making your own toothpaste, but I don’t think I’m brave enough! LOL Over the past year I have been making our own cleaning supplies and most everything that we eat from scratch. It is nice knowing what all of the ingredients are!
It definitely is reassuring to know exactly what is going in my body. I must say, I don’t make my own cleaning supplies and I don’t plan to. Thanks for stopping by Emily!
Great idea! I hate all the chemicals in everything too. Thank you for sharing your recipe. Thank you so much for linking up at the #HomeMattersParty and hope to see you again next week.
Thanks for stopping by Shann!
This is so interesting! I’ve tried a few different recipes. Haven’t had good success yet. Maybe this one will do the trick!
If you make it let me know how you like it…thanks for stopping by Nichole!
Wow - cool that you made your own toothpaste. I do some couponing and can usually find a deal to get it free. Never tried making it on my own.
Wow! I didn’t even know it was possible.
I’ll be pinning it.
Thanks for sharing it, Mary.
I was just talking to my husband about making toothpaste last night! I’m curious about where you found your ingredients, though…Thank you for the inspiration!
Online mostly…..tea tree oil on ebay and cinnamon extract from Swanson’s and I think the rest was from Bulk Apothecary. Just make sure the powders you get are Food Grade. Thanks for stopping by Alex! Let me know what you end up with