How to Make Toothpaste method One

Whether you don't like the flavor of commercial toothpaste, or are looking for little ways to cut expenses, making toothpaste can be a fun project for anyone who's into making their own stuff. Plus, you can avoid many of the artificial ingredients contained in commercial toothpaste, such as sweeteners (usually saccharin), emulsifiers, preservatives, and artificial flavors.

Method One
Making Toothpaste with Sea Salt

1. Collect your ingredients. For this recipe, you will need 2/3 cup of baking soda, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1-2 teaspoons peppermint extract or other essential oils, and filtered water.1

• Sodium bicarbonate (commonly known as baking soda) polishes the teeth and eliminates bad breath. Another great advantage is that it is relatively inexpensive.2
• Salt acts as an abrasive that helps remove plaque. It also causes you to salivate, and saliva is nature’s method of protecting teeth.3
• The essential oil is for taste.
• The water is for consistency.

2. Mix together 2/3 cup baking soda and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Make sure that the sea salt is mixed thoroughly with the baking soda. When you look closely at the mixture, you should not see clumps of sea salt among the baking soda, but rather the salt should be dispersed so that it is difficult to pick out from the baking soda.

• This can be accomplished using a fork or whisk, which will help break up any clumps of salt.

3. Add in a few drops of the essential oil of your choice.4 Many people will choose peppermint or spearmint, since it is what they are used to. However, you can try other “flavors” too.

• Other essential oils commonly used include: lavender, which has shown to provide calming effects when used orally;5 orange, which has also been shown to reduce anxiety; 6 and eucalyptus, which has antiseptic and antibacterial properties.7

4. Begin mixing in the water. Do this a few drops at a time, and stir well after each addition.8 You can make it as thick or thin as you like, but be aware that if it is too thin it will be difficult to keep it on the brush.

5. Store the toothpaste in a glass jar.Essential oils should be stored in glass containers, so this is especially important if you have chosen to include oil. Store the paste near your toothbrush, out of direct sunlight in a cool dry place.

Scoop a bit onto your brush. You can dip your brush right into the paste if you wish, or you can use a small spoon to heap it onto your brush. Experiment with using different amounts. Start with a pea-sized drop, and add more if you don’t feel it is enough.