At our local health food store organic, fluoride-free toothpaste is $6.19 for a 5.5 oz tube! At the big chain grocery store Tom’s of Maine without fluoride is $4.25. So I was on a mission to make my own. I tried tooth powder for a while, but it isn’t cheap either. I’m too frugal to spend 6 bucks on something I’m just spitting down the sink.
Having said that, I know for sure that plenty of people don’t use anything on their toothbrush. The toothpaste isn’t cleaning your teeth, the brushing is. You can brush your teeth for the rest of your life with a naked toothbrush if you want to be extra frugal, but I like that minty fresh feeling, so here goes…..
Homemade Hippie Toothpaste
- 3-6 Tbsp baking soda
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 15 drops peppermint essential oil.
If you stop here, you have tooth powder. Just dunk your brush in and have a ball. I like paste, so I continue…
Mix this in a small jar. Add:
- 2-3 Tbsp coconut oil, softened.
- 2-3 Tbsp Aloe Vera Gel
Mix this with a fork until it is a paste-like consistency. This is where I stop.
If you want to take it one step further and make it exactly like the store-bought toothpaste for the haters in the household add 1-2 tsp vegetable glycerin. (find this in any drug store or pharmacy next to the band-aids). Mix the glycerin in with your fork and it will turn creamy and smooth like the poisonous stuff that you can buy at Wal-Mart for .50 cents.
For variety you can try clove oil, tea tea oil, spearmint oil etc. I’m a stickler for peppermint myself. I keep this in a small 4 oz jelly jar on the bathroom counter and just dunk my toothbrush right into it. If you have OCD or you are trying to hide your frugal hippie side from your spouse you can try to refill an old toothpaste tube.
If you can’t find glycerin for whatever reason, you can also use Xanthum gum (found next to the weirdo flours in the baking aisle).
