Learning to make your own health and beauty products at home carries loads of benefits. You’ll save money, skip the hard-to-recycle packaging, and be able to control the ingredients your family comes in contact with during their morning routine.
If you’ve never made personal care products yourself, the concept may sound a little intimidating. But most concoctions require only a few household ingredients. And they work just as well as your favorite brand. Check out these two simple do-it-yourself, natural toothpaste recipes to get started.
Basic Homemade Toothpaste
Difficulty Level: Easy
You need only four basic ingredients and about five minutes to complete this simple yet effective DIY natural toothpaste.
Bloggers Matt and Betsy Jabs of DIY Natural say this toothpaste costs less than $1.50 for 5 ounces. That’s about a 300% cost savings over store-bought toothpaste. And it’s free of potentially harmful additives and ingredients.
“DIY cleaning and beauty are usually much more simple than a lot of the natural-living websites afford, which is one staple of our approach: make it simple, affordable, and effective!” the couple told us in an email.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1-2 teaspoons peppermint extract (or 10-15 drops peppermint or other essential oil)
- filtered water
Get step-by-step instructions for making basic toothpaste at DIY Natural.
Squeezable Remineralizing Toothpaste
Difficulty Level: Moderate
This natural toothpaste recipe requires a few additional ingredients. But the end result is probably more like the products you’re used to using. And it has the added benefit of being squeezable for easy use.
Dreamed up by Katie of Wellness Mama, this recipe is nontoxic and enriched with clay and calcium powder for a double dose of minerals.
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons calcium carbonate
- 3 tablespoons xylitol powder (optional)
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon baking soda (optional)
- 2 tablespoons bentonite clay (or additional calcium carbonate)
- 3 tablespoons distilled water
- 30 drops essential oils (such as peppermint, cinnamon)
- 20-30 drops trace minerals (optional)
Get step-by-step instructions for making remineralizing toothpaste at Wellness Mama.
More Natural Personal Care Recipes
Now that you’ve discovered how easy it can be to make natural toothpaste at home, are you ready for more recipes? Check out our how-to guides for natural personal care products for men, women, and children.
Feature image: Matt and Betsy Jabs, DIY Natural. Originally published on October 31, 2013, this article was updated in June 2021.