I used to think that the only alternative to the toxic cocktail known as toothpaste is some old-fash dusty soda powder (achoo!) and chewing on sticks. Luckily, I was wrong.
Pressed for time? Scroll to the end of the post for the summary.
Toxic Toothpaste Discussion
However and despite the fact that Living Libations products come with a helluva delicious wow-facts about healthy teeth, since there’s so much to talk about in this product review, I won’t discuss toxic toothpaste this time. Please refer to the dental health tag for more info (and Living Libations dental health talks linked) – and please let me hear in the comments if you want me to discuss the Toxins in Toothpaste topic in the near future.
If you’ve missed it, go to my dental routine post first.
Neem Enamelizer: A Review
Made to “replace regular toothpaste”, the formula of the Neem Enamelizer is absolutely right up my alley since I don’t trust products with possibly strong abrasive effect. This darling – that comes in a dropper glass bottle – is entirely made of oils and water: organic neem, cinnamon, coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba and spring water. Downsides? If any, it took me a bit of research to find an online shop that ships to Germany, and I might or might have not gasped a bit at the European price of €36.90 for a 15 ml bottle (retails at $25 in the US).
Using a dry (!) toothbrush and just 1 drop of Neem Enamelizer, you brush gum to teeth for 2-3 minutes. The product does foam up a tiny bit. The taste needs getting used to: it’s intense and quite pungent, and I have choked about for quite a couple of days before I got used to it. But nothing is impossible for a gal who can pull coconut oil for 20 effing minutes! 😀
(To not gross you out: you’ve just looked at a brand new and clean brush, and the product got foamed by hand – for the photo.)
Also the effect is ever so worth the taste/ smell. The only real downside here: I do have a cinnamon sensitivity, so in order to avoid allergic reactions and problems that occurred in the beginning, I must make sure to swish with my DIY sea salt rinse very well. If not, I might experience redness and swelling.
Right now, despite the taste and the cinnamon issues, this is my favourite toothpaste – my teeth have only ever felt THAT clean and naturally fresh after a professional tooth cleaning (however, the latter always involves pain and gum bleeding). Any other product that I looked at, even organic, is just made of glycerin and alcohol, and I must say, I have learned to understand why those are poison, too.
Healthy Gum Drops: A Review
Healthy Gum Drops is a very versatile blend of amazingly beneficial essential oils (€39.85 for a 5 ml bottle, $30 in the US), namely: rose, peppermint, clove, oregano, cinnamon, seabuckthorn, tea tree, thyme. The oils have so many great effects on gums and mucosa in general – they do have antibacterial (but not killing off the “good” bacteria), anti-fungal properties, they promote healing and even soothe tooth ache.
You can massage your gums with Healthy Gum Drops, add the oil blend to your DIY mouth rinse for added zest, glide a drop over dental floss – knock yourself out with this sublimely aromatic concoction. According to the Living Libations website, the side benefits also include:
o Diminished canker sores
o Eases herpes
o Boosts immune systems and sinuses (yup)
o Soothes sore throats (definitely!)
o Keeps toothbrush clean
This is also a product I want to keep using forever.
The only downside here is – I wish the Healthy Gum Drops came with a dropper bottle. Once there’s only little product left, it becomes impossible to actually get any of the oil out. Right now I’m inserting a clean toothpick to use up the oil.
Brief Summary:
I have been test-driving Living Libations’ Neem Enamelizer
and Healthy Gum Drops since November 2014.
I’m very pleased to report that they are still not emptied
and that the results are overwhelmingly good.
If you are allergic to essential oils used in the formula,
unfortunately, this is not a good product for you.
Neem Enamelizer is also to be avoided by pregnant women.
Go get ’em:
Living Libations online store (USA/Canada only),
Raw Living (Germany)
(!) Attention, the Raw Living web shop has no functioning shop search, so you can’t search for the brand nor do they have a brand page, so if you follow the link above, you end up in their “Raw Spa” section, where you just scroll down for Living Libations products.
No affiliates, as always.
Since a while there is a European webshop, based in the Netherlands, where they sell almost the whole collection of LL.
http://www.dutchhealthstore.com
Great service!!
Ah, thanks for the tip, Martine!
which online shop is shipping to Germany, can you write? I searched but can not find =(
Hey hey, you know what, it seems the web shop’s search function is, well, NOT functioning. I’ve fixed the link. You can go to this page (http://raw-living.de/the-raw-spa.html) and scroll down. Yes. There’s no direct link to the brand.
I’ve sent them an email saying that this is not very convenient and they should fix it 🙂
Thank you for the ping!
[…] 6. Inflammation cure; insects, bugs, (and people) repellant: Akamuti Organic Neem Oil. Antiseptic, antifungal, antipyretic and antihistamine, neem oil has got so many amazing benefits to offer. Unfortunately, it stinks like a sweaty sock stuffed with old garlic. (One drop of Mint or Clove or Cinnamon essential oil is most likely to counterbalance that and still maintain all the amazing perks.) Neem oil is widely used in oral care products, for example by Dr Hauschka and Living Libations. […]
[…] Rose essential oils are quite a popular cosmetic ingredient for a variety of reasons: + anti-inflammatory benefits, + strong anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial properties, + wound-healing properties (through inhalation), + soothing properties on psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, + skin-barrier-reinforcing properties. {Sources: anti-inflammatory properties of rose oxide; Tocopherol, carotene, phenolic contents and antibacterial properties of rose essential oil, hydrosol and absolute; Effect of “rose essential oil” inhalation on stress-induced skin-barrier disruption; Enhancement of keratinocyte differentiation by rose absolute oil; Dermocosmetics for dry skin: a new role for botanical extracts}ROSE HYDROSOL (aka rose floral water, rose distillate and rosewater) is distilled from rose buds and used in food and cosmetics for its antibacterial properties.There are two rose varieties used in cosmetics: damascus roses or rosa damascena and cabbage roses or rosa centifolia (rose hips, however, are a different species altogether – and you can check it out in my post Rosehips Don’t Lie); both are also used as a food ingredient throughout the cultures.My personal rose-infused beauty and food (and drink) favourites are: > Noble Rose of Afghanistan EdP, The 7 Virtues > Sacred Emily Rose Darjeeling, Paper & Tea > Rose Tea, Yogi Tea > Rose petal pepper, vinegar, spreads and more, Manufaktur von Blythen > Rose Absolue, Farfalla > Rosewater, Kart > Healthy Gum Drops, Living Libations […]
[…] Oil-based toothpaste and salt-based mouth rinse – does it sound crazy? It’s actually the best thing to keep the mouth healthy (and there’s more to come on that […]
Ahh these two are my all time dental tool favourites!! I’m obsessed with the taste of the neem toothpaste, but like you it took me a bit to get used to. As for the Healthy drops I pulled out the plastic drop dispenser thing and am now able to pour out the last few drops 🙂 Hope all is well love, I haven’t forgotten about the tag, I promise to get to it soon!! xoxo
Woohoo!
Erm, I mean, yeah, the dispenser can be taken out but then the oils evaporate. I am actually pushing a clean toothpick down the bottle and then swirling it in my mouth rinse shotglass 😀 Note to self: going out of toothpicks. Dang!
Chewing sticks brings back happy memories of childhood holidays with my grand parents. That price tag is eye wincing. It’s the age old issue about why less toxins means mo money….
I’d gladly chew sticks, but I have the weird feeling they a) come overpriced and b) with a carbon footprint of killing off a small forest 😦
I’ve never atually seen them in Europe and yes I’m sure you’re right that here they are probably very ‘artisan’….As far as I recall they were made from fallen twigs and branches so no trees cut down or waste
Chewing stick are available in organic specialty shops and through mail order here.
Ha, ‘artisan’ – you nailed it 🙂
What was the tree called? I’m curious!
It’s over 20 years ago since I’ve used! Absolutely no idea – will ask my mum!.
Cool! 🙂 Thank you!
I like the idea of oil on floss.
It’s lovely!!! I have also tried single oils from my stash, and it’s great. If you use clove, it’s soothing pain, if you use oregano and thyme, it’s amazingly refreshing without the mint effect (some don’t like it).
I think I have some clove oil in my cupboard. ( It is the season for cloves and quinces. I am eating baked quinces spiced with cloves and star anise. So delicious. I don’t want to clean that taste out of my mouth. :D)
Yowza! This is too pricey for me. And yes, I would very much appreciate a toxins in toothpaste discourse – merci!
Will do! And it really *is* pricey. But stay tuned anyway, as I will soon review the Living Libations book on successful self-dentistry and ask the founder a couple more questions.
[…] A brush and toothpaste. Here I use my Living Libations Neem Enamelizer Liquid and once every couple months the Vitamin B12-enriched tooth gel by Santé). All Pros & Cons of […]