How to Choose a Safe DIY Recipe & Holistic All-Purpose Toothpaste Recipe

Photo by Katherine Hanlon on Unsplash

Essential oils have been the all rage for past ten years and I've avoided the craze because of the misinformation that enshrouds the industry. Last summer I decided to delve into my research skills and prepared to wade through the muck. Unfortunately, even hours of searching, I got nowhere. Credible, brand-free information was extremely difficult to find. So I took a class. A brand-free class backed with evidence-based information and my holistic world just got that much bigger!

How to Choose a Safe Internet Recipe

Safety when using essential oils IS important and should not be casually dismissed, don't let anyone selling essential oils tell you otherwise. The keyword here is "selling". Selling essential oils automatically disqualifies the salesperson as an independent source of reference. Do your due diligence when researching essential oil. The risk of using essential oil increases when they are applied undiluted. Common adverse reactions are:

Irritated skin Contact Dermatitis (irritation)

Allergic reactions

General Contact Dermatitis

Anaphylactic shock(7)

Using essential oils shouldn't be paralyzing either! A common-sense, evidence-based, BRAND-FREE approach should wisely lead you to right sources and information. However, when the internet is inundated with how-to recipes. How do you choose the safest DIY recipes?

The first clue that you may want to avoid using an internet recipe is the amount of recommended essential oil usage.

Essential oils are volatile. In other words, they release and evaporate readily. Essential oils are present in minuscule amounts in various plants, barks, resins, peels, and flowers. When you peel a lemon, the scent that fills the air is the essential oil.  Steam-distilled (and expressed fruit peels) essential oil products are SUPER concentrated, natural chemicals. It takes 45 rinds of lemon to fill a 15 ml bottle. Just one drop can contain up to 300 chemically related molecules(1) and because our bodies were not designed to process essential oils in a concentrated format, it is important to be sure they are diluted in a balanced way.

As a personal safety guideline -  a recipe should not have more than 24 - 30 drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil and other emulsifying ingredients. Avoid recipes that suggest 30 or more drops of EACH suggested essential oil for every ounce of carrier oil or emulsifying ingredients in the recipe.

For example: if a recipe suggests a formula of ten different essential oils, then the guideline should be three drops of each essential oil for every ounce of carrier oil.

Avoid personal care recipes that recommend an undiluted blend. In other words, a straight blend of essential oils without the benefit of a carrier oil such as sweet almond or jojoba oil.

With that said, I've formulated an all-purpose toothpaste that covers a wide range of oral concerns.

Holistic All-PurposeToothpaste

What you'll need:

Clean, empty 6 or 8-ounce container - glass is preferable, but not required.

4 Tablespoons of melted, Organic, Raw Virgin Coconut Oil

4 Tablespoons of Baking Soda

1 Tsp. of Pink Himalayan Salt

2 Tsp. of powdered Stevia Leaf (whole herb)

4 drops of Orange essential oil (expressed, not steam-distilled)

4 drops of Cinnamon bark essential oil

4 drops of Clove

2 drops of Anise Star essential oil

2 drops of Lemon (expressed)

2 drops of Copaiba

Directions

Combine dry ingredients in the container. Add melted coconut oil. If the coconut oil is solid, melt prior to preparing by keeping in a warm spot or placing the jar of coconut oil in a bowl of hot (not boiling) water. Add the essential oils and stir thoroughly with a wooden or plastic utensil. Stainless steel can react with the essential oils. 

All Purpose Whole Use Essential Oils and Ingredients

Every ingredient in the recipe provides a purpose; Gums, Cavities, Halitosis, brightening, plaque and antibacterial.  The baking soda acts as gentle abrasive (plaque), while coconut oil(6) can be healing and antibacterial. The pink salt mineralizes teeth. Copaiba(2) and Stevia(3) have been found to be helpful in cavity prevention. The orange and Lemon essential oil can contribute to a bright smile, and everyone knows that cinnamon can freshen your breath. Anise star is my absolute favorite oral support oil for gums. Anise carries an allergen warning if you're allergic to carrots and celery, simply omit the oils. (4, 5)

Suggested Recipe Adjustments for Suitability

Its extremely important to understand that essential oils react differently in different bodies, in other words, they are bio-individual. What works for me may not work for you. Here are some adjustments you can make to the recipe to suit your needs better.

Cinnamon bark is a hot oil, if 4 drops are too much, you can reduce it to just two or one. Peppermint is another good breath freshening agent you can replace cinnamon with. Otherwise, Cypress oil is well-known for their deodorant action. If you are allergic to carrots and celery,(5) simply drop anise oil form the recipe or increase other non-hot oils (Cinnamon, Peppermint, and Clove are hot) by two drops. 

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Disclaimer:

This article is written and presented in an informative manner and has not been reviewed or evaluated by the FDA and should be not be used to diagnose, cure or treat any diseases. Please talk to your doctor before making any dietary changes.

Sources:

1 - The Healing Power of Essential Oils; Dr. Eric Zielinski

2- https://naturallivingfamily.com/copaiba-essential-oil-uses/#learn1

3- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26192983

4- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/anise

5 - https://articles.mercola.com/herbal-oils/anise-oil.aspx

6 - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844018308983

7 - https://tisserandinstitute.org/safety/adverse-reaction-database/

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