DIY #1: Toothpaste and toothbrushes

I think it would be good to sometimes show what I preach on this blog. Despite my greatest efforts, I do not live a zero-waste life, mostly because of the packaging I am bound to buy when I do my food shopping. However, there are areas where I produce very low waste, if any, such as my bathroom. And it all started with toothpaste!

Okay, just like you, I was at first skeptical about making my own toothpaste, and was wondering what was wrong with the one I had anyway. Well, funnily enough, making your own toothpaste is not only beneficial for the planet (even though it matters a great deal), but also for your health and your wallet (if, like me, you're experiencing times in your life where you just can't afford anything #mostofmylife). But to really, convince you, here are a few reasons why I made the move:

- Toothpaste tube and toothbrushes are not recyclable. The small size of the container, the mixed materials and the toothpaste remaining in the tube makes it almost impossible to recycle. Same for toothbrushes, which are made of mixed plastic and nylon brushes, which are very tough to disassemble and therefore recycle (because, in case you didn't know, this is exactly what recycling is about: disassembling materials to make something else)

- There are billions of toothbrushes discarded on the planet, on land and in the oceans, each year. To give you an idea, there are about one billion toothbrushes per year discarded in the United States only. Only. ONLY (did I emphasise this enough?). So multiply this by the number of people who use toothbrushes. I'll let you do the maths.

- Toothpaste has quite a few chemicals in it such as Triclosan, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and artificial sweeteners. Considering that the mouth is an extremely absorbent part of the body, even if you spit most of it out, some of it still makes its way into your blood stream. It's not the first reason why I stopped buying toothpaste and started making my own, but definitely something I took on board.

- No, your teeth won't fall off if you make your own toothpaste. I've been brushing my teeth with my own toothpaste for three years, and go to the dentist once a year (I know, I'm very assiduous) and all of them congratulated me on the health of my teeth (Yes, I see many different dentists).

Finally, before I jump in: of course, I can't make my own toothbrush - although I wish I could. However, I've been using bamboo toothbrushes for over three years, which are completely biodegradable and compostable.

You can now find them more and more easily in shops like natural pharmacies or zero waste shops, but here are a few links to find them online:

> zero waste shop: http://zerowasteshop.uk/toothbrushes/

> zero waste club: https://www.zero-waste-club.com/plasticfreeshop/

Now, let's get crafty ! (even though it takes two minutes to make)

These are the three ingredients you're need: bicarbonate of soda, essential oil of your choice, and a clean glass jar.

I buy my bicarbonate of soda in France as I can find it easily in recyclable cardboard, I use mint essential oil, and I upcycled a jar that contained toothpaste in the first place.

1) Fill up the jar with bicarbonate of soda

2) Put 15-20 drops of essential oil, depending on how minty you like it.

3) Stir until the bicarbonate of soda is well combined with the oil, and holds togehter.

That's it!!

There are so many ways to make toothpaste. The first year I started, I used coconut oil, mixing 2/3 bicarbonate of soda to 1/3 coconut oil and adding the essential oil at the end. The coconut oil makes it a bit more toothpaste-like in terms of consistency, but I now skip this step as the bicarbonate of soda does not bother me anymore.

And yes, just like you, I was kind of disgusted by brushing my teeth with bicarbonate of soda, but it turns out that loads of people do it (I mean, loads - in the low waste community), including women who are leading the zero waste movement and that you should check out:

- Bea Johnson (THE boss): https://zerowastehome.com/

- Lauren Singer (THE SECOND boss): http://trashisfortossers.com/

- Kate Arnell: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3pE1IqHqbdf3vqtaALL4nA

Now, you'll never look at your toothbrush the same way.