Looking for a homemade toothpaste recipe? Look no further than this list of 17 recipes.
Why would you want to make your own toothpaste? Well, maybe you want to save money. Maybe you’re not a fan of the ingredients in regular toothpaste. Or maybe it’s both.
Some of the ingredients to worry about in conventional toothpaste include
- Fluoride: can cause fluorosis in children and harm the thyroid by preventing iodine uptake (especially important if you have or suspect Hashimoto’s)
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate: an irritant, neurotoxin, and endocrine disruptor
- Propylene Glycol: an irritant
- Glycerin: Creates a film over your teeth that prevents minerals from bonding with your tooth enamel
- Triclosan: a pesticide that can also disrupt hormones
- Artificial Colors: not necessary and can contribute to hyperactivity in children
But natural toothpastes without these ingredients can be expensive. While it can be nice to have something ready-made–I use Thieves toothpaste when I’m not making my own–it’s also nice to save a little money by making your own.
What Can I Store My Toothpaste In?
You can either keep your toothpaste in a glass jar like these, or if it’s a squeezable recipe, you can use a silicone tube. If you have an extra toothpaste flip cap lying around, this post has super easy directions for making your own squeezable toothpaste tube.
Otherwise, GoToobs are very popular. They’re reusable, so no extra waste. You can buy a single squeeze tube here or a three pack here.
What about kids ingesting essential oils?
Several of the recipes contain essential oils. And you may have heard that it’s dangerous for kids to ingest essential oils.
If your kid is known to swallow toothpaste and you’re uncomfortable with your child potentially ingesting oils, I’ve included recipes below without oils (and have clearly labeled them as such).
But let me take a minute to talk about why I’m personally not concerned about oils in toothpaste.
Recipe use is different from therapeutic use
When you’re using essential oils in a recipe, the number of drops are diluted throughout the entire recipe. If you’re using a small number of drops, the amount potentially ingested is very small.
Even this naturopathic doctor, who advises against internal use of essential oils for children, says, “essential oils that are used for flavoring only tend to be safe (e.g., orange essential oil to flavor ice cream) – in this case the total amount of essential oil is very, very low.”
Compare this to therapeutic use, which involves ingesting one or more drops at a time. We’re not putting drops directly from the bottle into our kids’ mouths with a toothpaste recipe.
Food manufacturers use essential oils as food flavorings
It is not uncommon for food manufacturers to use essential oils in their food as flavorings. So if you’re buying food off the shelves at the grocery store, your child is probably ingesting small amounts of essential oils.
One Final Word About Essential Oils
When you’re using essential oils to replace the toxins in your home, you’ll want to be sure that you’re purchasing pure oils from a source that you can trust. Unfortunately, many of the oils on the market today are contaminated with fillers or synthetics, even when they say 100% pure on the label.
The essential oils industry is not really regulated, and companies can get away with a lot of shady practices in the name of making an extra buck. You can read more here about which company I believe is the best essential oils company and why I choose to use them for all our family’s essential oil needs.
Now, without further ado, here is the list of 17 homemade toothpaste recipes.
1. Kid-Friendly Strawberry Toothpaste from The Pistachio Project (without essential oils)
This recipe is very straightforward with only three ingredients. It uses an all-natural strawberry flavoring for a taste kids will love. You could use other flavorings too, depending on what your child prefers.
2. Orange Toddler Toothpaste from More With Less Mom (without essential oils)
This is another simple, 3-ingredient recipe. It uses an orange extract (like you can find on the baking aisle at the grocery store) for the flavor.
3. Squeezable Children’s Toothpaste from Nourishing Joy (without essential oils)
This recipe uses extracts instead of essential oils for those who prefer to be extra cautious with essential oils around children.
4. Orange Creamsicle Kids Toothpaste from DIY Natural
This toothpaste’s flavor comes from orange and vanilla essential oils. The ingredients make for a great flavor and texture.
5. Healthy Kids Toothpaste from Growing Up Herbal
This toothpaste includes kid-friendly essential oils, as well as xylitol, a natural sweetener that also happens to be good for your teeth. The recipe also includes variations, for thick or thin toothpaste with or without bentonite clay.
6. Baby and Toddler Toothpaste from We, A Great Parade
This recipe is interesting because it uses Castile soap for a little bit of foam. I also like that it calls for just a couple drops of essential oil. This is a great option if you’re willing to use essential oils but want to keep the potential risk from ingestion super low.
7. Earthpaste-inspired Homemade Toothpaste from Don’t Waste the Crumbs
If you like Earthpaste, you’ll love this recipe (uses essential oils). I love Tiffany’s blog for learning to do real-food and healthy living on a budget, and this toothpaste does not disappoint. She gives thorough instructions as well as a cost breakdown so you can see exactly how much you’re saving.
8. Squeezable Homemade Toothpaste from Wellness Mama
Wellness Mama is one of my favorite natural-living bloggers. Her posts are always very well researched, and I love her recipes. (Her cookbook is the most-used one in my entire collection.)
This recipe is an adaptation of her tooth powder, which I have made before. It has been modified to make it squeezable. It does include essential oils.
Check out the great Q&A and user feedback at the end.
9. Herbal Remineralizing Toothpaste from Growing Up Herbal
One thing I love about homemade toothpaste recipes is that most of them are remineralizing. I’ve had a lot of dental issues from not knowing how to take care of my teeth as a child, so I need all the help I can get putting minerals back into my teeth to make them strong and protect them from decay.
Our diets today are missing a lot of the nutrients we need, and a healthy diet as well as extra minerals in our toothpaste can help. This recipe from Growing Up Herbal includes essential oils and an unusual ingredient for remineralization–spirulina. You’ll find directions for using it as a tooth powder or a toothpaste.
Related: Template for a Healthy Diet (from a dentist’s research!)
10. Remineralizing Homemade Toothpaste Recipe from Food Renegade
There’s lots of good stuff for dental health in this recipe, including trace mineral drops, bentonite clay, xylitol, coconut oil, and cinnamon and clove essential oils.
11. Remineralizing Toothpaste from Bliss Health Coaching
This recipe also includes a great summary of what dietary changes have affected our dental health. Includes essential oils.
12. DIY Remineralizing Toothpaste from The Paleo Mama
This recipe (includes essential oils) starts with a brief discussion of how the author healed six cavities. Take a look at what else she did to heal them. It’s an interesting read.
She leaves xylitol out of her recipe because the author of Cure Tooth Decay does not believe it’s beneficial. Take a look at her kid’s version of the recipe here–it’s a tooth powder rather than a paste.
13. Turmeric Coconut Oil Toothpaste from One Mum and a Little Lady
The inclusion of turmeric in this recipe is very interesting to me. Apparently turmeric can prevent bad breath and the accumulation of plaque. It may also help whiten your teeth.
When my daughter had her tongue and lip ties revised, the dentist recommended a mix of turmeric and coconut oil to help with any inflammation. It dyed everything yellow if it got on anything, so I’d suggest taking a little extra care with this paste if you choose to use the turmeric.
This recipe includes optional essential oils.
14. DIY Natural Whitening Toothpaste from Maple Alps
This recipe includes bentonite clay for remineralization, essential oils for flavor, and a small amount of activated charcoal for whitening. The resulting paste looks like it has a nice consistency, and the gray color is interesting.
15. Homemade Toothpaste from Purely Twins
This recipe includes essential oils and the optional addition of aloe vera gel, which they claim is as effective as toothpaste at fighting cavities. (Interesting!)
It’s a very simple recipe with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.
16. Homemade Coconut Mint Toothpaste from Artful Homemaking
This is another fairly straightforward recipe, with the optional addition of black walnut hull powder. It’s said to strengthen your teeth and reduce dental pain, though at least one dentist says it doesn’t work.
17. Homemade Tooth Powder from The Frugal Farm Wife
If you’d rather not deal with the mess or potentially shorter lifetime of a paste, tooth powder is a good option. This recipe includes bentonite clay, activated charcoal, xylitol, baking soda, cinnamon, and optional essential oils.
How about you?
There are so many recipes out there for homemade toothpaste. Have you ever made your own? Will you try any of these recipes? Let me know in the comments!
Make sure to pin for later!