Following up on my last blog post on how to make your own deodorant, today I’m going to share two easy recipes to make toothpaste. The toothpaste takes less than 5 minutes to make. It’s surprising how easy it is and how cheap the ingredients are. A big plus point is that homemade toothpaste includes no fluoride.
Easy Toothpaste Recipe
The ingredients to make toothpaste are items that you might already have in your pantry: coconut oil, baking soda, and (optional) food grade peppermint oil.
Ingredients for homemade toothpaste
- 6 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 tablespoons baking soda
- 20 drops of food grade peppermint oil (optional)
Instructions
- Before you start, the coconut oil should be soft, but not melted.
- Mix baking soda with coconut oil
- Add the essential oil (optional) and stir the mixture
- Combine all ingredients well
- Store the toothpaste in a jar
Make sure that you do not store your toothpaste in a cold spot, because the coconut oil will get hard. If it does get hard, then just leave it in sun light or in a warm place for a few minutes, to allow it to soften.
Another Variety of Toothpaste
Another version of toothpaste can be made with baking soda, cinnamon, and coconut oil. Cinnamon has antibacterial and antifungul properties, and studies have also suggested that it works as an antioxidant, anti-ulcer, and it fights bad breath. If you don’t mind its taste, it will be an effective ingredient in your toothpaste.
Baking soda acts like fluoride, but without its side effects, and it neutralizes acids in your mouth.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3-4 tablespoons baking soda
- 1/2 or 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- With a fork, mix all ingredients until they form a paste. Store it in a jar.
Final Thoughts
Making your own toothpaste gives you control of the ingredients and its manufacturing methods. You can customize the texture and even flavor, and you can adapt its abrasiveness. Additionally, you reduce your use of plastics and avoid buying products that are tested on animals – Yes, although it sounds strange, toothpaste is tested on animals.
Colgate has now come out with a vegan version of their toothpaste, but they still have their products tested where it is required by law.
The following companies test on animals: Crest, Colgate, Sensodyne, Aquafresh, Biotene, Spry, Arm and Hammer
Some cruelty-free or vegan companies are the following: Jason, Dr. Bronner’s, Dessert Essence, Kiss My Face, Weleda, Green Beaver, Marvis (100% vegan), Dr. Brite (100% vegan), Bite, Radius, Auromere, Davids (100% vegan), Kopari, and Green People. I have used Jason’s toothpaste for a while (when I couldn’t be bothered to make my own, lol) and I loved it 🙂
Amazon disclaimer: as an Amazon associate, I earn a small commission from any qualifying purchase that was made through the links I provided in this article, at no extra cost to you. This is how I maintain my website 🙂
Their toothpaste can be ordered online, or you could make your own homemade toothpaste. I have been making mine for years 🙂
If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments.
I actually do have all those ingredients… woah! I think I will cross toothpaste off my list from now on! I didn’t realize it was so easy to make! Thank you so much!
P.S. I’m going to try that cinnamon recipe first! I love cinnamon!)
Hi Randi,
Great! I also like the cinnamon recipe, it gives a nice taste 🙂
Thank you for your comment!
Hello. Good day. What a wonderful article. This is so nice. Making your own toothpaste is cool. Helps you save money and saves you from some kind of queue stress in some stores. And it’s will also be very effective since it’s made from natural ingredients. And you will also be able to help your self and people around you. Thanks so much for this wonderful article. Hoping to see more.
Thank you, Bob 🙂 This recipe is fun and easy to make. I’m glad you like it.
Thank you for both of these versions of homemade toothpaste. I had no idea that you could add cinnamon – I think the peppermint oil one would offer a much fresher experience, especially since many toothpastes already have that minty taste.
However I do love cinnamon so would love to give both a try. I’m getting very much into using natural remedies and recipes lately. You just never know what effect all of these mass produced products have on your health. Plus I’m all for products that are not tested on animals and it is shocking and sad to see how many products still are.
I’m going to check out your homemade deodorant too!
Awesome, Lynne!
I’m happy you’re going to give this a try 🙂
Hi Christine,
Wow…You learned how to make toothpaste at home, which is amazing to have toothpaste without fluoride. It seems super easy to mix all the ingredients to make homemade toothpaste, and I appreciated the two sets of ingredients you share here.
It’s very nice of you to share vegan recipes and some ways to make things in a DIY style. Have you tried other types of food-grade oils into the first set of ingredients? I will love to know more about other combinations because I love essential oils so much. Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
Matt
Hi Matt,
There are other diy home recipes that require essential oils. If you like I can share more of them 🙂
Thank you for your comment!
Christine,
Thank you for sharing this recipe for homemade toothpaste!
As you know I’m not much of a vegan. But I love good food whether it’s vegan or not, and I very much find your posts very informative. Plus, I’m always looking for ways to be more earth-friendly and reduce my carbon footprint.
So making my own toothpaste seems like a fantastic way to save money AND save the planet. Win-win. I like that you also shared two versions of the recipe for those of us who might hate peppermint flavor.
I look forward to reading more of your posts!
Cheers,
Femi
Hi Femi,
I’m happy you are going to try out one of these recipes 🙂
Thank you for your comment!