This is a natural, simple to make, lemon and mint toothpaste recipe with an organic coconut oil and bicarb soda base, and NO artificial sweeteners.
Making your own toothpaste at home with this DIY recipe is cheap, easy and a great way to avoid packaging.
I do sometimes just brush with plain old bicarb soda, it's the most basic option BUT it does have a distinct salty taste that is not very palatable and takes a while to get used to. With this DIY recipe, you will create a toothpaste that is much more flavoursome and refreshing than simple bicarb, with a consistency similar to store bought toothpaste minus the packaging and unwanted ingredients. I noticed Colgate's new Natures Extracts range has a lemon with Aloe Vera toothpaste. I haven't tried it, but you could definitely add in a little aloe Vera to this recipe if you wanted to recreate a similar homemade product.
There are a number of reasons I don't usually use normal toothpaste including the difficulty in recycling and the prevalence of SLS and other ingredients I like to avoid.
Below is a guide to quantities, and you can adjust it to suit your taste as well as the texture of the paste.
It might sound very strange to use coconut oil as a base but I guarantee it won't feel like your using oil to brush your teeth.
DIY Mint Lemon Toothpaste Recipe
Ingredients 2.5 teaspoons of Coconut Oil 2.5 teaspoons of Bicarb Soda 5 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil 5 Drops of Lemon Essential Oil
Instructions Add your coconut oil, bicarb soda and essential oils into a small jar or glass.
Mix and blend together really well with the back of a teaspoon, until it becomes a paste. Make sure you have no lumps at all, it should be smooth. Place into a glass storage jar as essential oils can start to break down plastics so it's always safer to use glass. Apply a pea sized amount to your toothbrush and brush as normal, rinsing afterwards. If you find it is gritty, go back and mix further and add a little more coconut oil if you need to.
I love the lemon with a subtle coconut flavour. It's a perfect match and the peppermint gives it a more refreshing feel.
Make sure you use high quality therapeutic grade essential oils that are the real deal, not a synthetic blend especially as this is going in your mouth. I really like Eco Modern Essentials which sustainably sources ingredients and manufactures here in Australia.
I find this quantity ideal to store in a mini glass jar, plus I like to just dip my toothbrush into it, which you probably shouldn't do with large batches or if you share toothpaste. it's so quick to mix up that there's little point to making a large batch.
I hope you give it a go and let me know what you think!