It is just saponified (whatever that means) olive and coconut oils + essential oil for flavoring. It seems to work pretty well. It's wild how much one little shred foams up! But it honestly tastes like I am washing my mouth out with soap! LOL- that horrid aftertaste...Today I used my regular toothpaste, instead, although I will continue to use the soap. I was just curious if it's supposed to do anything over time...

I always wanted to try it. Where did you get it? I'll give it a go, I don't care much what it tastes like so long as it cleans my poor soft sensitive teeth super well.

I got it at rawfoodworld. com. Can't remember the official brand name but what is so cool is there are many, many shreds in a jar. All you use is one thread. I bought it at cost, I think. I have to say that I am very pleased with that online store. They shipped very promptly and even combined orders so I could save shipping. They have stuff at cost each month so that's when I bought the shreds. I will definitely use them again. I also got raw nori sheets, carob, a spiral slicer, Perfect Pickler...Very cool stuff. If you sign up for their newsletter, you get the at-cost deals for that month.

perfect pickler! i love mine...

wonder if i can get the kids to brush with soap

It's more of a punishment, LOL. Oh about that pickler...It doesn't come with the jar so hopefully will fit a standard two-quart sprouting jar (I hope). Have you had it work with actual pickles? I read a review where the person said it didn't work and I bought it specifically for pickles because they are problematic. I have had success with cabbage, etc. just in the regular method.

I've done pickles for sure. If you don't do it right they will be mushy instead of crisp so take care with measurements and also with temperature. The best is cauliflower, carrot, celery and green beans with either ginger or caraway seeds. Oh So tasty good!

*starts salivating at the mention of pickled green beans...*

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I just looked on my jar for the company, if anyone's interested: it's toothsoap.com.

What's the difference between the liquid toothsoap at toothsoap.com and Dr Bronner's liquid castile soap? Or bars vs toothshreds for that matter.
Says you can brush your teeth with Bronner's too. [www.drbronner.com]
For $30/2OZ vs $18/32OZ there had better be a BIG difference!
I'm going to email them...

I love Bronner's, haven't used it on teeth yet though, thats a pretty good idea.

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I recently started using Vicco, which is from India. It's ayurvedic herbs, but whatever it is, it's actually rather soapy--I am left with a taste reminiscent of Ivory from way back when I said something naughty and my mouth was washed out with it! Oddly, and to my delight, my teeth do not develop any kind of weird plaque-like coating by the day's end as long as I've used the Vicco at least once(I'm really good about oral hygiene-this was just to test is, LOL).

that sounds like an interesting product, do you purchase it locally or online?

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Coco, I think you may be on to something. This company sells a liquid also. I have some peppermint Dr.Bronner's. I have to say, though, that I find it too harsh on my skin, even after the hemp oil was added. They also have other additives. The only ingredients in the shreds are saponified olive oil and coconut oil and spearmint essence. It foams and everything. Doesn't Dr. B's have some foaming agent? It's not as pure. I will say that I don't like the mouth feel of this stuff--very Ivory soap-ish!

Dr B's is just saponified oils, essential oil (unless you get the unscented one, which I do), citric acid and sometimes vit E (there is none in mine but it's listed on the website). The oils are hemp, olive and coconut. Seems like it would be just the same but for WAY way way less money.

D'oh! I didn't see the ingredients of products on their site. Maybe this is why? I notice they list a couple ingredients of their tooth whitener but maybe not all of them. I was afraid of this. But citric acid is okay?

Sure, why not? Can't think what it would hurt unless you drink it (gak!). It's just to prevent spoilage. The toothsoap says it's best used within 3 months but that castile lasts and lasts and lasts for a long time. I have had some go sort of rancid but it was a scented one, the unscented stays good for a very long time. I'm not ready to brush with soap, I'm working my way up to it. I think a paste of castile with baking soda and peppermint or clove oil would be a great whitener/freshener. Have to talk myself into it.

Hmm...I think I'm gonna write Mister/Miss Tooth Soap person and ask how their product differs from Dr. B's...

I already did. They were quick to reply to other emails but this one they are choosing to ignore.

Interesting,LOL...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Curator,

I got the Vicco at a hfs in DC over Thanksgiving. Can't seem to find it here in the D.
[viccotoothpaste.com]

that stuff sounds really amazing tam!!! it doesnt sound very cheap however,lol... oh, i take that back, checking their retail store (not counting shipping) its comparable to many conventional toothpastes... im going to look into the possibility and average cost of making it myself however... I have plenty of time on my hands, I can give that mortar and pestle some work!!! LOL.

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Wow, Coco...Looks like I got schnookered, eh? It's better to see the bottle first so you know it's worth what they charged. Kind of bugs me because Angela and Matt promote it as if it's so unique and effective compared to what's out there. Oh yeah, they run a BUSINESS. LOL- I keep forgetting that little fact...

I still don't know for sure though, it could be different but nobody is saying anything. I emailed Bronner's too, they are a bigger company but hopefully will get back to me eventually.

Tam, I've used vicco before but was looking for something without glycerin in it and the stuff I bought had it. I don't think they use sls though so points to them!
I've had pure neem oil, bought it to make insect repellant, but the smell was very strong and yucky. You could make your own tooth something with it if you can find it and diguise the taste enough.

There is this powder I absolutely loved called Ecodent. They sell it at Whole Foods and it seemed like it could be recreated at home. It had baking soda, salt, hydrogen peroxide, and some essential oil. Oh and calcium carbonate. Does anyone know how you get hydrogen peroxide in a powdered form or maybe they just pour it on the dry ingredients and dry it again? But this stuff really was gentle yet did a good job of cleaning. It's just an arm and a leg...

Well, I haven't heard back from the toothsoap company but Dr Bronner's did send me a response today and here's what they had to say...

"Thanks for writing us. Our castile soaps are great for cleaning your teeth and gums. Our soaps seem very similar to the "plain jane" toothsoap you mentioned below. The toothsoap doesn't have each and every ingredient listed (that I was able to see) so I'm not sure how it differs from our soaps. We don't add any glycerine to our soaps. The glycerine that is in our soaps is naturally derived from our soap making process. It seems to me that this company is more or less making a castile soap and marketing it as a toothsoap rather than a regular castile soap. But I'm not familiar with the company so you may want to send them a quick email also."

There you go. I'll brush with the castile and see how it goes I think. Might as well, I clean everything else with that stuff!

coco,

Don't know if you mentioned it upthread, but maybe stick with Bronner's mildest soap for teeth?

I usually only buy the baby stuff, it's got hemp oil and is unscented. I add essential oils to it for scent if needed, tea tree oil for cleaning... I have anise, clove, cinnamon and mint oils so I can make lots of different flavours to try! It will all taste like soap I'm sure. Maybe throw in a little stevia...

coco,

The Baby Mild is probably best; I don't know what they told you about brushing your teeth with something with citrus oil in it or the like, but I think it could be too caustic for the enamel?

Citrus oil is pretty intense but it would be so diluted I don't know that it would be that bad. Clove and cinnamon too. I still haven't tried it, last time I did I used a squirt from the handwashing pump by the sink forgetting that it was scented w lemongrass oil. Ugh. Even soapier tasting than plain old soap!

coco,

The lemongrass one makes a great shampoo--talk about random men telling you, "Gee, your hair smells terrific!"