Malleable Reality

Here are the homemade toothpaste/tooth powder recipes I’ve promised from last week’s Back to Basics post, regarding why store-bought toothpaste is not as beneficial as you may think it is.

Remember, you want to steer clear of harmful store-bought toothpastes that contain: Fluoride, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), Saccharin, glycerin, and any artificial colors (such as: FD&C Blue 1, FD&C Red 3, FD&C Red 40, FD&C Red 33, and Yellow 10 Lake), and any other chemical ingredient. Research the ingredients in your hygiene products! 

First, let’s look at the ingredients I choose to use to make homemade toothpaste & why:

• Baking soda:  Cleans teeth, whitens teeth, and freshens breath. Going “back to basics”, baking soda has been used as a teeth cleaning agent for years, and is still used in today’s commercial toothpastes.  Baking soda is also alkaline and will neutralize the acids that are lingering in your mouth & on your teeth from consuming acidic foods/drinks.  Acidity can erode enamel & causes cavities.
• Sea Salt: Natural anti-septic, used for years.  Kills bacteria that cause plaque, and cleanses teeth & gums.
• Xylitol:  A natural, non-fermentable sugar that not only sweetens the toothpaste, but protects against cavities as well. Xylitol has the opposite effect of traditional sugar.  While sugar helps bacteria grow & thrive by creating an acidic environment, Xylitol cannot be fermented, and therefore protects against the growth of bacteria and helps to prevent cavities, helps with the re-mineralization of teeth, & eliminates plaque.
• White Kaolin Clay: Earth’s clay has been used for years by our ancestors for various cosmetic and healing purposes.  Clay has been known to cleanse & purify the skin by pulling toxins and pollutants from the skin when used as a mask, and have also been used in toothpastes and mouthwashes for the same purpose.  When clay is used in the mouth, it purifies, cleanses and rids the mouth of bad bacteria. Kaolin clay is also known to polish the tooth’s surface, while gently removing surface stains and plaque.
• Eggshells: Probably the best natural source of calcium, since eggshells are calcium & other trace minerals.  The composition of eggshells are very similar to our bones & teeth.  Eggshells are easily absorbable.  Finely ground eggshells make calcium powder.  However, only use organic, pastured-eggs, not store bought (factory farmed) eggs.  Factory farmed/store bought eggs are not very nutritious…if the chicken does not get proper nutrients, the eggshells will not be filled with all of the nutrients we need, and instead will be weak & easily breakable (therefore, have less calcium).  If you don’t have healthy eggshells available, use calcium powder instead.
• Coconut oil: Great for the gums and is anti-bacterial.  Coconut oil kills bacteria that causes tooth decay and gum disease.
• Aloe Vera gel (in it’s pure, liquid form): Aloe has been used for centuries as a home remedy.  For toothpaste purpose, it cleanses and soothes teeth and gums, as it is also anti-bacterial.
• Myrrh Essential Oil:  Great for the mouth & gums!  This oil has been used for cleaning and purifying since ancient times and is known to keep gums healthy & eliminate mouth sores/infections. It is antiseptic by nature, and also stimulates circulation, which is great for the mouth and gums.
• Peppermint Essential Oil:  Anti-bacterial and provides a minty fresh scent to breath, and a minty taste to homemade toothpaste.

After much research and thought, here is the toothpaste recipe I like to use: (you can feel free to add or remove ingredients based off of your own research, and change measurements as you see fit.  I use measurements of my own based off of research and personal wants/needs, and personal opinion).

1/2 cup baking soda (finely ground*)
1/4 cup finely ground* sea salt
1/4 cup finely ground* xylitol
2 tablespoons Kaolin clay
2 tbs finely ground* eggshells (organic, pastured-eggs from a farm.  I wouldn’t do this with factory farmed, store bought eggs.  You can replace the eggshells with calcium powder if necessary).
Essential oils (I use myrrh & peppermint)

To use as a toothpowder, use recipe above and sprinkle onto toothbrush & brush gently.  If you’d rather have more of a paste consistency like I do, use the following:
A few tablespoons coconut oil (I used 2 tbs)
1-2 tsp aloe vera (pure aloe vera, in it’s liquid form/aloe vera juice)

Store in small glass jar or bowl if you made paste (the wet Kaolin clay CANNOT be stored in plastic, as it will absorb the toxins from the plastic.  As a tooth powder (in dry form), it can be stored in plastic).

*For ingredients marked “finely ground”, I literally grind these ingredients (in small portions) into a fine powder in a small coffee grinder (Krups Electric Coffee Grinder, $19.00).  It works fabulously.  The reason for grinding these ingredients is simple:  They’d be too abrasive on the tooth’s enamel otherwise.  Although some people do use baking soda whole and brush strictly with baking soda alone, I feel that it is too abrasive to use on a daily basis (in it’s whole, un-ground form).  Some dentists say it’s fine and good for your teeth, others say it’s okay to use, but maybe only once a week instead of daily, while other’s disagree completely and say it is too abrasive. Well, to be safe, I grind all of my “too abrasive” ingredients, including baking soda, to a fine grind.

I make this recipe, which allows me to have more than I need for one small jar (think baby-food jar), which is probably about 2-3 tablespoons of the tooth powder (dry) mixture.  Then I mix about equal amounts of coconut oil, and 1-2 teaspoons of aloe vera to form a paste.  I store the extra dry ingredients that are already mixed together in a zip lock bag so when I run out of toothpaste in the future, I just have to mix together a few tablespoons or so the dry ingredients with the coconut oil and aloe vera, and I’ll have a new jar of toothpaste.  Quick & easy.  I could also always use the dry ingredients as a powder, of course, but for now, I’m sticking with the paste.

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*I obviously am not a dentist or a professional of any kind, & all of the information I have is based off of my own research & opinion and is not meant for treating or curing any hygiene disease.  I simply make homemade products for my own personal use, and I’m offering the recipe for my homemade toothpaste for those who would like to make and use their own all natural toothpaste.  That doesn’t mean you will be cavity-free!

For years, essential oils have been used by native tribes as medicine to promote healing.  These oils are still perfectly adequate for healing, as their natural healing properties have never changed.  They are natural oils, right from the earth.  “Essential oils” are the oils that are derived from fruit, trees, leaves, etc.  Different oils are good for different things — but most of all, they have substantial healing and cleansing properties.  About five months ago, I started using essential oils for those amazing qualities.  Since then, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how having just a few different kinds of essential oils around the house can be extremely beneficial in everyday life.

For now, I’ll use my most recent example (and the main reason for this post):

A few days ago I was cutting an orange when the knife slipped and put a nice slice right into my finger.  Since the knife was so sharp, it was a clean, thin cut…almost looked like a paper cut, but a little thicker, and a lot deeper.  It was bleeding, but was holding itself together well enough for me to ignore it and deal with the extreme stinging sensation. A day later, instead of healing closed, the cut started swelling up and pushing itself apart. I literally could push the two sides together to keep it closed, but when I wasn’t holding it, it was completely open.

It was suggested to me that maybe I should put some Neosporin on it to help it heal.  I thought about it, and knew that I should do something to help fight the infection that seemed to be developing (it was red, puffy, warm, and burning/stinging).  Again, I chose to ignore it since I was trying to avoid putting any kind of medicine/antibiotic on it — that would just defeat the purpose of my “all natural” kick that I’ve had going for months. So instead, I decided to go with a 100% all natural version of Neosporin:  Essential Oils (specifically: essential oils with antibacterial properties).

After looking through the bottles of essential oils that I own, I chose the oils that are most known for their antibacterial and antiseptic traits.  First, I cleaned my cut with Tea Tree oil and warm water.  Then I put 4 drops of Lavender oil on a band-aid and covered the cut overnight.  When I woke up this morning, I took of the band-aid off and my cut was no longer open, swollen, or red all around.  Although the cut was still obviously visible, it was closed and held together.  It seemed like it magically healed overnight.  The cut still has to finish healing completely, but it’s definitely looking a whole lot better than it was when I had ignored it and used nothing.  Not to mention, it’s definitely, definitely not hurting (stinging and burning) like it was before I smothered it in Lavender.

This is just one example of how an essential oil worked for me (in the past I’ve also used Lavender oil to alleviate headaches).  However, remember that essential oils can also be used as a non-toxic disinfectant (for house cleaning), deodorizer, and insect repellent. They also help to heal and alleviate discomfort caused by burns, chapped lips, colds/flu, toothaches, etc.  I highly recommend the use of essential oils to anyone who is open to trying something all natural and completely chemical-free. — Whether it’s for health, beauty, household tasks, or relaxation…I’m sure you’ll find use for at least one type of essential oil in your life.

If you’re really interested in learning what essential oils can do for you, and putting them to good use — get your hands on this book: The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy - by Valerie Ann Worwood.  It’ll be that book you refer to over and over again.