Thursday, October 1, 2015

Say Cheese...

No, we are not making cheese today, although that is in the near future.  We are, however, making toothpaste.

Back in the day of couponing, toothpaste was always free with coupons and drug store discounts.  But eventually, I had to read what I was buying. 
Triclosan.  "Researchers have raised concerns about triclosan and its link to dioxins, which are highly carcinogenic chemicals that can cause severe health problems such as:
  • weakening of the immune system,
  • decreased fertility,
  • altered sex hormones,
  • birth defects, and
  • cancer"
Fluoride: You can look up the studies regarding this element that is becoming more and more controversial, especially considering it is in our municipal water sources. 
 
I personally wanted to eliminate these two ingredients, especially the triclosan, from our household as much as possible.  I found a few homemade toothpaste recipes and have found one that I tweaked and really like so far.  
 
In a 3-4 oz jar, mix 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil, 2 Tablespoons of baking soda, 2 Tablespoons of powdered calcium/magnesium, 1Tablespoon of stevia (most recipes included xylitol for a sweetening agent), 10 drops of liquid trace minerals and peppermint essential oil to taste.  Most recipes used 20 drops, I only put in 10 for two reasons: 1) I wanted to use it sparingly, and 2) it tastes just fine with that much to me.  Give all the ingredients a good stir.  It is a bit drier than a paste.  If you prefer, you could add more coconut oil to get a texture that made you mouth-happy. 
 
I purchased the items I did not have on hand from Amazon, but I will replenish them as needed from a local health food store, but this will be a very long time from now.  I could have gotten smaller quantities locally that would still have lasted months. 
 
I am very happy to slowly change over to homemade products so I know exactly what is in them. 
 
Next up:  Shampoo
 

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