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I once told a boyfriend that I would never brush my teeth with baking soda like he did, and went so far as to scoff at his “unhygienic” ways. I guess the alien idea of being clean without using a packaged product with miscellaneous ingredients was too farfetched and implausible for me at the time.<\/p>\n

But here I am. I’ve now been making my own toothpaste for over eight years and writing about how much I love it. It eliminates plastic packaging, gives me control over the ingredients, and saves me money (read more about the reasons why I make my own toothpaste here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Plus, my teeth have never felt so clean.<\/p>\n

Sure, you have to get over the saltiness of the baking soda, get into using a spoon instead of a tube, and you might miss the frothing and bubbling of commercial toothpaste, but I think of it this way: There was a time when we were trained to tolerate the stinging minty paste that we all grew up with, the one that burned because it was “working.” That burning became normal – I was taught to believe that it was what clean felt like. Not because it was super clean, but because that is what my family and my authority figures said. I later realized that my aversion to brushing with baking soda wasn’t because it doesn’t work, it was because it didn’t align with how I was raised to view cleanliness.<\/p>\n

Transitioning to a Zero Waste lifestyle has really been as simple as understanding why I believe the things I do and retraining myself to form new habits and make simple changes to my daily ritual. It has not added hardship or strife or inconvenience at all. It’s just different. <\/i>Different has been great. By challenging my preconceptions about what clean means, how I should clean, and what I need to achieve “cleanliness”, I feel more immaculate than I ever did before.<\/p>\n

Zero Waste Toothpaste Recipe<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Ingredients:<\/strong>
\n3 tablespoons coconut oil
\n1 1\/2 tablespoons baking soda (here <\/a>is a great resource on why baking soda is awesome for toothpaste).
\n25-30 drops Organic food grade peppermint essential oil<\/p>\n

Instructions:<\/strong>
\nTo Make:<\/em> Mix all three ingredients in a glass dish (I use a small mason jar). Add more or less peppermint or coconut oil depending on your textural preference. Psst, if you would like to watch me make Zero Waste toothpaste, check out this video<\/a>!<\/p>\n

To use:<\/em> Scoop out a little bit with a spoon and put it onto your toothbrush. I also suggest using it for a few days on and off. Give yourself some time to adjust, I had to. It’s pretty different, but that’s OK.<\/p>\n

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