Thursday, January 19, 2012

Homemade Mouthwash & International Traveling Bees

Well folks I did it! After weeks of wanting to do this, I finally got to make my own mouthwash and guess what...
I liked it!! I took a recipe from the Gorgeously Green website and modified it with ingredients I found in other online recipes. So I used:


½ cup Aloe Vera Juice
1 cup Filtered Water
1 tsp Honey
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 TBSP Witch Hazel
3 drop Lemon Essential Oil (EO)
20 drops Peppermint Essential Oil (EO)


You might ask, now why would I make my own mouthwash? Have a look at the ingredient list on the LISTERINE® ZERO™ bottle
Active ingredient: Sodium fluoride 0.02% (0.01% w/v fluoride ion)
Inactive ingredients
water 

sorbitol solution
propylene glycol
flavor
sodium lauryl sulfate
poloxamer 407
sodium benzoate
phosphoric acid
eucalyptol
thymol
methyl salicylate
sodium saccharin
menthol
disodium phosphate
sucralose
FD&C red no. 40
FD&C blue no. 1

Anyone know what all those ingredients besides Mentol are without having to google them? I know Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is in shampoos that I don't buy because it's harsh. All the others I would have to google. I don't think it's a bad idea. In fact I'll do it when the little princess tot who hit the floor running this morning goes down for a nap. But for now the list is questionable as is the rest of the other brands filling the bottles on the shelves. This LISTERINE® ZERO™ won a best beauty award! Beware of these sort of things. Again the graphic designer in me raises a brow. Stay with the safe ingredient lists you know. Our bodies deserve better. 

As for the homemade mouthwash, it's minty and I like it! I have to admit I was a little hesitant because I've read that you shouldn't consume EO's but this isn't to be swallowed! I was asked if I did the math for it's cost effectiveness and I did not because I had these things on hand. So I'd say if you have these things on hand give it a go. The honey was a bit expensive since I bought local honey. You know my daughter asked me to pick up some honey the other day and I was told years ago that you should always buy locally made honey and this article Why You Should Buy Local Honey definitely states why! As I browsed the honey jars looking for local one I was quite disappointed that Schnucks didn't have anything local. Sure they had some "distributed" in Kansas but not made locally. Note, it's only distributed and not made. On the bottle it had it printed "product of Argentina" Whoops! That's not local! I saw some jars actually imprinted with product of India, Argentina and USA all on one bottle. Um can I get Honey that doesn't travel so far? Yes. Yes, I can. I went to Dierburgs to see their selection and purchased some there. The price was higher than the other traveling bees but the quality is better. So while I didn't buy the honey solely for the purpose of this mouthwash, I did learn a lesson. My lesson was to read the back of the Honey Bear container and be ware of those international traveling bees! The EO's can be expensive too so bargain shop for price but watch the quality. If the cost effectiveness is a big factor, I'd say search online to find a recipe that has the ingredients you already have. I found a variety just searching the words "homemade mouthwash." If you do have these ingredients listed, give it a go!



So far so good. Swish Swish!

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