Toothpaste Recipes Links

There are many things that you use at home that you can make for yourself, in a previous article I wrote about how to make THREE big bottles of liquid laundry soap for the price of ONE name brand bottle. Considering that I have 2 kids, and a husband with a more often than not dirty job, that can be substantial savings! ( you can find that here: http://fine-frugality.blogspot.com/2012/03/march-2012-article-is-here.html ). I also posted my most recent article about how you can wash your hair with TWO items that most people already have in their own homes! You can read about that here: http://fine-frugality.blogspot.com/2012/03/march-2012-article-is-here.html , and these items are VERY inexpensive to purchase!

If you check out my October’s  Article posting here: http://fine-frugality.blogspot.ca/2012/10/octobers-stew-magazine-article.html, you will find a few different options on how to make toothpaste. The article focuses on three different recipes, which I tried personally, and what I thought of them. There are many other recipes to be found, so I have not tried them all, but here are a few links to point you to where I have looked:

References:

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/health/dental/
http://www.diynatural.com/homemade-toothpaste-recipe-easy-and-frugal/
http://lusaorganics.typepad.com/clean/2010/02/natural-toothpaste-tutorial.html
http://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-health/natural-oral-hygiene-zmaz75zwar.aspx
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/2007-08-01/Recipes-to-Make-Your-Own-Soap-Lotion-and-More.aspx
http://mizar5.com/homemade.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ILM4oQvsWA
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Toothpaste
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/toothpaste.htm
http://www.tammysrecipes.com/homemade_toothpaste
http://christianpf.com/how-to-make-natural-toothpaste/
http://www.naturalnews.com/029155_orange_essential_oils.html
http://www.squidoo.com/uses-for-peppermint-essential-oil
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/08/going-fluoride-free.html

Glycerin:
http://artistta.blogspot.ca/2011/04/closer-look-at-glyerin-and-whether-its.html
http://www.natural-health-restored.com/natural-toothpaste.html

Xylitol:
http://www.tammysrecipes.com/node/2963
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol
mints: http://momsfrugal.blogspot.ca/2008/09/xylitol-mints.html

Coconut oil:
http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/
http://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2012/05/122-uses-for-coconut-oil-even-more-of-the-simple-the-strange-and-the-downright-odd/
http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html#.UG3QfJjAeSo
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/09/03/sci-coconut-oil-tooth-decay.html
http://sciencewithme.com/lets-make-homemade-toothpaste/

Here is another toothpaste recipe: ½ cup baking soda, dash of salt, ¼ cup hydrogen peroxide, 1 drop peppermint oil, and a dash of stevia powder. Mix these all together into a paste like consistency and there you go. I am not sure how well this works, as I can not use peroxide, so this would be a try if you don’t mind the ingredients. The peroxide is a cleaner and whitener, the peppermint oil is both for flavouring and for it’s ability to be cooling and soothing. The stevia powder has a naturally sweet flavour that is not sugar based, so it’s kinda like aspartame, only health for you!

There is also Dentist Dr. Ellie: http://askdrellie.blogspot.ca/p/ellies-system-other-countries.html, who has suggestions for those who are trying to recreate healthy gums, teeth and tissue. However, some of the things that she suggests may be hard to come by in our area, and may also be cost inhibitive. But there were quite a few people who did find her “System” to work at making them require fewer dentist visits, and that it helped to improve their overall dental health. Which I guess I should try, since I fear dentist visits with a passion! I’ll update you all as to whether it does help out, or not, but that will be a year in the making unfortunately!  :(


Anyways, hope that this can help you all out, and that you find the dental toothpaste recipe that works for you!  :)

Links for March 2012 Article

For more information on the "no 'poo" method (I agree with my husband...they need a better name for it!), here are a few links to get you started!  :)


http://www.naturemoms.com/no-shampoo-alternative.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Wash-Your-Hair-Without-Shampoo
http://www.collegefashion.net/beauty-and-hair/the-no-shampoo-method-hair-care-routine-for-curly-girls/
http://www.collegefashion.net/beauty-and-hair/the-no-shampoo-method-hair-care-routine-for-curly-girls/
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Go-No-Poo/
http://noshampoo.org/
http://no-poo.livejournal.com/

March 2012 Article is here!

The “No Shampoo” Method

I happened to run into an article on a group of people who believe that shampoo is bad for your hair, and that going without is better, overall, for your hair. This group of people make up the “No ‘Poo Movement” and they say that all the chemicals that are in shampoo actually make your hair more oily, because they make your sebaceous glands produce more sebum oil. If we weren’t to use the shampoo, they say, the glands would stop overproducing, and our hair wouldn’t be greasy, and would be healthier overall.

Well, since I believe that the sudsing chemical in shampoo causes cancer, and that chemicals overall are not good for you if they are not naturally occurring, I decided to try this out. I started at the beginning of February, and have been doing it for just over three weeks as of the writing of this article.

I know, everyone is probably saying, “Ewwww, that’s gross!” but the way I have been doing it does require items to both clean and condition the hair. As a matter of act, these items are found in most homes already!

For the shampoo you’ll need two tablespoons of baking soda and two cups of water (comfortably warm). Put both into an old, clean shampoo bottle and shake. To use, dampen hair, and use the baking soda solution to wash your hair. Massaging the scalp is very important! It helps to clean the scalp and hair, as well as encouraging circulation and hair growth. Rinse out, massaging your scalp as you do so.

For the Conditioning rinse you’ll want two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and two cups of water. Put both into an old, clean conditioner bottle and shake. To use, after washing hair, use the vinegar solution on your hair, massaging it into your scalp as you did with the baking soda solution. Then rinse out, massaging the scalp as you do so.

You’re probably thinking that I must smell like vinegar or like something pickled, but I don’t! The water and scalp massage rinses it away! I do have to say that I altered the recipe for the conditioning rinse with a few drops of essential oil, because I’m a girl and I like to smell nice. While the vinegar rinses away, the fragrance of essential oils tend to stay, though just a little.

Now to the important part: How my hair reacted to the change.

I would wash my hair every second day, as I did when I used shampoo, but in the first week my hair felt oily by the second day. My glands needed time to get used to the change, and they eventually lessened the amount of oil they released. By the third week my hair was doing well.

However, in saying that, I have read a lot of articles covering the subject, and found that many people had to wait months for their hair to get used to the change. As well, some people recommend brushing your hair in the morning and evening to help distribute the beneficial oils throughout the length of your hair.

The goal of the “No ‘Poo Movement” is to eventually just use water to wash your hair. I myself have not gotten to that point, and I’m not sure if I ever will. I’ll just have to wait and see.

If you wish to read more about this subject, or other topics on frugal living, visit my blog at www.fine-frugality.blogspot.com.

angela@thestew.ca