[GIFTED] Your bathroom is one of the most overlooked places when it comes to living a green life. We talk about food all the time whether it be veganism, palm oil, or an unnecessary amount of plastic coating all our food. but rarely about having an eco-friendly oral care regime.
Having an eco-friendly plastic free dental regime actually isn’t that hard. The kind people over at Brushd send me some products to try. Brushd offer a wide range of zero-waste products. Everything is plastic free.
Eco-Friendly Oral Care Regime
1. Bamboo Toothbrush
I think everyone has heard of bamboo toothbrushes by now.
Bamboo is growing in popularity as sustainable ingredient for a very good reason! It not only absorbs more CO2 than trees, but also releases oxygen, and grows considerably faster. Even better; it’s biodegradable.
We all know that standard toothbrushes made from plastic are not recyclable or biodegradable, so they’re in landfill forever. Why not switch to a bamboo toothbrush and pop it in the compost bin when it needs to be replaced?
Remember; the bristles are probably not made from bamboo, so you’ll have to cut them off. Read the packaging on your toothbrush and follow the disposal instructions.
2. Dental Floss
Brushd dental floss is made from corn and is coated in a plant-based candelilla wax. This means that like the toothbrush, it’s biodegradable. The little jar it’s in is glass, which is very easily reused and recycled. It works just as well as regular dental floss, so again, why not?
I was really excited for the inter-dental brushes because I need them. I have a bar over the back of my bottom front four teeth; the last remainder of my braces. If I don’t use these, plaque builds up.
However, until now I couldn’t find an eco-friendly version. I’d resort to re-using them too many times because I wanted to put off buying more for as long as possible. Small pieces of plastic like standard inter-dental sticks are so dangerous for wildlife and marine life which can easily swallow them. The handles are bamboo which can go in the compost bin, but the top needs to be disposed of separately. There’s five in the packet but they can be reused!
3. Toothpaste Tabs
I’ve heard of toothpaste tablets before but this was my first time using them. All you have to do is pop a tablet in your mouth, wet your toothbrush, bite down, and start brushing.
The first time using these is strange. After a solid 23-years of using normal toothpaste, changing is strange. Although they have peppermint, it feels and tastes a bit different to regular toothpaste so it’ll take some getting used to. The difference isn’t a bad thing by any means.
4. Mouthwash Tabs
Mouthwash tablets was super interesting. You fill up a small cup with around 20ml of water and drop the tablet in. As you can see from the picture, it starts dissolving pretty fast. When its all dissolved you can use it like regular mouthwash. Like the toothpaste, I thought this tasted different to regular mouthwash so I was taken off guard. Again, this isn’t a bad thing; it doesn’t taste bad. If you try this just brace yourself for a different flavour.
These products are ideal for travelling green. You’ll also be able to by-pass the liquid restriction on short trips with a couple of these and a shampoo bar!
5. Dental Supplements
I’d never heard of dental supplements before this! However, it makes sense that they’re a thing. The formula is vegan, which is great!
They contain calcium, and vitamin D which helps the body absorb calcium. They also have vitamin C to strengthen gums and soft tissue in the mouth. There’s vitamin A which promotes healing, vitamin K which supports bone strength, and potassium which improves bone mineral.
Coming into winter, another source of vitamin D is much needed, and I feel like I could do with a little more of the other vitamins too.
Extra Ways To Make Your Bathroom Green
I’d recommend going one step further and making your whole bathroom green!
You can do this by ditching the shampoo bottles for shampoo bars, and going back to bars of soap like the olden days. zero-waste shaving kits are also growing in popularity, as disposable razors build up!
I’d also recommend getting eco-friendly menstrual products, be it a reusable cup, biodegradable pads or tampons, period underwear, or reusable pads – whichever makes you feel the most comfortable. There’s a lot of toilet paper and tissues made from bamboo and recycled fibre too, which will help save trees! If you add a biodegradable bin to your bathroom, and do all these things, you’ll have a wonderfully sustainable bathroom!
Eco-Friendly Dental Regime: The Verdict
I’m really impressed with all of Brushd products. My teeth felt so clean it was like I’d come home from the dentist! In fact, they felt cleaner than when I used standard toothpaste and mouthwash!
Oral care is so important, not only for the sake of your teeth but your overall health! Did you know bacteria in our mouths can spread illness to the rest of our bodies? It’s great to see that dental health doesn’t have to sacrificed to be green.
I would absolutely recommend Brushd products if you want to live a little greener. I see myself purchasing some when these run out!
Brushd will also plant a tree on your behalf for a £1 donation with Tree Nation! There are so many different initiatives out there planting trees right now which is amazing. Trees not only only provide homes for wildlife, but they’re also one of our best defences against climate change. The more old trees we save, and the more new ones we plant (on top of seriously reducing our CO2 emissions) the better chance we have a curbing the climate crisis.
Do you already have an eco-friendly plastic-free dental regime? If not, do you see yourself switching to an eco-friendly oral care regime? You might also be interested in my eco-friendly apartment living guide and hair-care.
I’ve been meaning to get bamboo tooth brushes for months now but still haven’t gotten around to it. I may have to purchase them online today so I literally can’t put it off anymore.
Oh my god! I have never heard of some of these supplements! I’m going to have to try them!
Great tips! Only got the bamboo toothbrush and floss in so far. 🙂
It’s interesting, but in contrast to your opening comment, my bathroom is probably where I have been most successful in implementing a more green and sustainable lifestyle. I have been using a bamboo toothbrush for about a year now, and I really love them. I feel like they are softer and hold up better than other toothbrushes that I have had. Unfortunately I have not found a solution for my toothpaste yet. I have done research on the toothpaste tabs and I am in the middle. They are great and certainly work, but they can also miss parts of your teeth if you don’t spread it around enough, just because of how we chew them. Also, I have some dental issues, so I need to use products that I know will help prevent me from having long-term problems.
In the shower I only use Lush Cosmetic shampoo and conditioner bars (and my hair has never been healthier) and I opt for bar soap. For feminine products, I have aimed to buy organic cotton tampons (which is at least a start for my own health and for less plastic), but one day I hope to make the switch to a menstrual cup.
All in all, I loved your post and I love hearing about these products. Overall, I also feel that these alternative products tend to last longer and impact the body better.
That’s amazing that you have such as green bathroom. I see toothpaste in glass jars now so that might be better than the tabs
Toothpaste in glass jars might be a good solution. I’ll have to do more research and see if I can find something. Thanks for mentioning that. And for some reason, bath products have been the easiest for me to make the transition.
I really needed to find this blog post right now. My dream is turn my home into the most eco-friendly, mindful home and this is a great next step! Thank you – I’m going to be researching this brand for sure!! 😍
That’s my dream home too!
oooooh I love reading your review! Unfortunately I’m stuck with prescription high fluoride toothpaste but I keep meaning to look and see if I can find an extra soft bamboo toothbrush. I’m tempted by the interdental brushes as well I must admit. I currently use those floss harps that are so environmentally unfriendly but the only thing I can cope with :-/
I hope you find something that suits you!
Great post! I was recently sent a subscription box which focuses on eco friendly products and there was a bamboo toothbrush and toothpaste in there which I’m excited to try out! x
Love this! Do you know if the toothpaste and mouthwash contains fluoride?
I need to give brushd a go! I’m not keen on bamboo toothbrushes as they tend to be too soft but I want to try some new/refreshing toothpaste
The Quirky Environmentalist
This is so great! I’m saving this article. My family and I are on a journey to remove the plastic in our home and we are having a hard time with reducing the plastic in our bathroom. This helps so much! Thank you for sharing.
I’m so interested in the mouthwash tablets they look and sound amazing, I love the colour to them. I’m dying to get a hold of bamboo toothbrush too x
This is such a lovely blog post, I love the idea behind this and the ethos of the brand!
Ayse x
http://www.aysemervedemirblog.wordpress.com
Mouthwash tablets look really good, not heard of them before!!
Fantastic post!! I’m so intrigued by the toothpaste tablets! Thank you for sharing all this!
I’ve never heard of bamboo toothbrushes, but I’m going to keep an eye out for them. Thanks for sharing this!
Great post! I think the bathroom is a super easy place to make swaps and you can get a lot of lot of eco-friendly alternatives in supermarkets/highstreet shops now which makes it much simpler for people!
I just checked their site, and it looks like they ship to the U.S., and the prices (post conversion, in case that wasn’t obvious) are comparable to what I pay for supplies now. I’m definitely intrigued, although I’m going to see if there’s a local version first so I can minimize the whole carbon footprint thing. Thank you for the heads up!
I’ve never heard of mouthwash tablets before but they sound amazing! Will have to look into them x
https://www.femaleoriginal.com
You’ve got some great advice! I have implemented green living quite well in my bathroom, but I have yet to discover a way to change over my toothpaste… I use a specific toothpaste for my overly sensitive teeth and haven’t found anything comparable that would be considered ‘more green’ at this point.
All of these products look great! It’s so funny, I’m heading off to the store today to purchase more bamboo toothbrushes and fluoride-free toothpaste. But I had no idea a lot of these products even existed; I’ll have to look out for the tablets and the biodegradable floss. Thanks!
This is definitely an interesting read. At some point I will which to bamboo toothbrush, but still unsure of the tablet toothpaste. It is quite strange since I never heard of it. As for bars of soap, we use it daily. I have looked into shampoo bars, but that it wouldn’t lather as good with my hair texture. I could always try just to see if it works. As for menstrual cups, Im really not into that. I would like to try to underwear and pads, but my husband is like, “Not in my washing machine,”lol. I will look into biodegradable pads, now that you have shared. Thank you so much for this helpful article.
The tablet toothpaste takes some getting used too! I hope you find something that suits your hair type
I would be willing try the toothpaste, but Im pretty sure my fiance would not even bother, lol. It’s hard to go green when everyone in your family is not on board.
I’ve been meaning to get a bamboo toothbrush for so long..I really need to get some…great ideas to save the environment and lower the amount of waste we make!!