Have you ever wondered how many things we buy we could actually do ourselves with little effort, sparing time, money and resources? Well, sometimes I do and eventually I come up with funny solutions like this one:

Basic tooth powder recipy

Kaolin clay (3 tablespoons)

it has very good cleansing and detoxing properties. It also has the weird habit of attracting metallic ions, so it would be better to use a wooden or plastic spoon to scoop the final product.

it has very good cleansing and detoxing properties. It also has the weird habit of attracting metallic ions, so it would be better to use a wooden or plastic spoon to scoop the final product. Sodium bicarbonate (2/3 teaspoons)

as whitening agent

Mix it in a bowl or put it into the mixer for a few seconds and that's it!

If you like you can get a proper, nicely scented toothpaste just by adding some vegetable glycerin and a few drops of essential oil. You could pick your favourite scent, but it would be better to choose it according to its properties in order to obtain the product that better suits your necessities.

Lavender, for example, dulls gums pain and cinnamon prevents gum diseases or gingivitis as well as oral thrush because of its strong antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. You could even add peppermint oil because of its fresh and clean taste.

Even if the result is not as good as the paste, I usually use the plain powder because I think -ecologicallywise- the less I can use the better. And also, I'm a superlazy person :D

And in case you're wondering why I do bother doing this while I could simply go to the supermarket and buy a tube of toothpaste:

I think It's more sustainable because in this way I avoid supporting unnecessary resources exploitation (like ingredients production and processing, packaging, transports and so on).

And as I said before, I'm lazy and it's way quicker (and pleasant) to me to put stuff in a bowl and mix them rather than queue up at the counter of a supermarket to get things. It's also cheaper as 100 grams of kaolin costs me about 2,5 euros and it takes ages to finish.

So I guess there are not many reasons left for me to prefer an already made product.

I learned this recipy in an amazing self-sufficient farm in south Italy, but I'm sure there are many more ways to do the same thing, so if you have different recipies you want to share with me I will be happy to try them :)