Warning! Warning! This is about to be a hippie dippie post. Revert your eyes if you wanted a post about shopping or bars or cupcakes. This is nothing of the sort.
Here’s hoping I didn’t just scare off all our awesome readers. Because this is a DIY recipe that will blow your mind and open your…mouth. But let me back up a bit,
Awhile ago, I had a DIY day with a few friends. We made everything from soap bombs to chapstick to toilet bowl cleaner. It was great. But the one thing I haven’t found a good recipe for was toothpaste. Determined to never buy Crest again (much to my husband’s dismay, who still buys it…grrr) I tried just about everything. For awhile I just used baking soda, but the taste is gross and it’s hard to apply to my toothbrush when I’m half awake. Then I heard about rubbing strawberries on your teeth, but what happens when strawberries aren’t in season or when they are and I rather eat them than put them on my toothbrush? Then I thought I had the perfect recipe that contained 1 part arrowroot, 1 part orris root (which is kinda hard to fine) and 1 part water, with a few drops of peppermint oil. It was good for a bit, but by the time I was near the end the concoction would reak. And the thought of putting something that smells in my mouth to make it clean seemed a little counterintuitive.
I was this close to caving and resort to buying the $6-8 hippie stuff at Whole Foods (Jason Powersmile actually carries my favorite flavor, Vanilla Powermint, and I use this at work because I’m that girl who flosses and brushes after lunch). But that’s when I discovered this popular recipe that used everything I already had in my cupboard. I immediately tried it and thought it tasted great. The problem? It melted within a day. Duh, coconut oil doesn’t stay that consistency especially when mixed with glycerin and essential oil. I should’ve known it was too good to be true.
SOOO, what’s a hippie diy-er girl to do? Read posts, search google for thickening coconut oil toothpaste, and look at my pantry—which was exactly what I did. I noticed one person suggested adding more baking soda, so I did that and nothing happened. Then it hit me—arrowroot! That shite makes everything thick. And so, with that very long explanation here is your DIY Hippie Dippie Toothpaste recipe:
3 Tbsp coconut oil
4 Tbsp baking soda
2 tsp arrowroot
1 Tbsp stevia (or xylitol, wherein one commenter on a separate blog mentioned will prevent cavities—I’ll have to try this next time)
35 drops peppermint essential oil (or clove essential oil, which I didn’t have at the time, but might have to get or make for myself, as it’s also supposed to be good for the teeth and gums)
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Put the coconut oil, baking soda, and arrowroot in a bowl and mash it all together. Then add the essential oil and stevia and boom! Add mixture in your favorite little glass container and get brushing.
If you give this a shot, we’d love to hear what you think of this recipe. Comment below, hit us up on Facebook or tweet something nice on Twitter. May the hippie force be with you!
I love this recipe! I was thinking arrowroot would thicken my toothpaste recipe, but I wasn’t sure if anyone else had tried it. It works well, tastes pretty good and I think my husband will go for it. He, like your hubby, is reluctant to give up his toxic brand of toothpaste. BTW, I reused a Crest bottle (not the tube) but a squeeze bottle designed for toothpaste. The top comes off and so you can use it repeatedly. It’s worth buying some bottled toothpaste, emptying it, and refilling just to have something convenient to use.