I'm just gonna say it: I hate mint.
I hate mint tea. I hate chocolate chip mint ice cream. I hate mint gum. I even hate Thin Mints. And I especially hate mint toothpaste and mouthwash.
But I really love clean and healthy teeth.
For years I religiously purchased Arm & Hammer baking soda toothpaste, the original flavor. But a few years ago, this mysteriously disappeared from store shelves. I wrote a letter to their customer service asking about it, and they responded to me as if this product never existed.
For awhile I bought hippie brands from health stores, since those are the only places I can find anything other than 'fresh mint' or foul 'cinnamint' (which tastes nothing like cinnamon, even when you factor in the mintyness) flavors. But I couldn't find a flavor that satisfied me. I just wanted one that tasted like clean.
I tried to make my own toothpaste, but since I don't have glycerin lying about, and I didn't fancy rushing out to buy some, I ended up with toothpowder, and I wasn't happy with it. About a month ago I finally broke down and just bought a minty Arm & Hammer toothpaste.
I'm still hunting for solutions.
In a related matter, recently someone at work left a giant bag in the break room filled with travel-sized body products, free to a good home. Amongst these treasures was a Fresh Mint Molton Brown Mouth Wash. It was free. I love free things, even if they're mint. So I took it home.
The bottle may have said 'Fresh Mint' but the flavor was in actuality pure ambrosia! I took a closer look at the bottle and found that it was actually mint and marsh mallow flavor (as in, the actual flower). It left behind a tingly mouth glow, spicy like cloves and ginger, but light and airy, like... well, mint. Except delicious.
The travel-size sample ran out quickly, so I searched the Google-machine for a vendor from which to purchase a larger quantity - and found that such things do not exist. This luxurious mouthwash is apparently so elite that it is only available in 4 oz bottles in posh hotel bathrooms. Or eBay, if you want 30 travel sized bottles.
I admit, I was tempted. It's that good. But, alas, I just couldn't make myself buy that much plastic. So, until I find myself in a rich person's hotel bathroom, I will try to recapture the flavor in my own mouthwashy brews.
First try: Cardamom and Clove Mouthwash. It's basically just cardamom and clove tea. Supposedly, cloves have antiseptic properties, so it's not just for tastyness. It leaves a similar spicy tingly sensation, but it's much more subtle (I probably should have left it steeping longer).
Maybe for my next try, I'll attempt to get a hold of some actual marsh mallow root.
I hate mint tea. I hate chocolate chip mint ice cream. I hate mint gum. I even hate Thin Mints. And I especially hate mint toothpaste and mouthwash.
But I really love clean and healthy teeth.
For years I religiously purchased Arm & Hammer baking soda toothpaste, the original flavor. But a few years ago, this mysteriously disappeared from store shelves. I wrote a letter to their customer service asking about it, and they responded to me as if this product never existed.
For awhile I bought hippie brands from health stores, since those are the only places I can find anything other than 'fresh mint' or foul 'cinnamint' (which tastes nothing like cinnamon, even when you factor in the mintyness) flavors. But I couldn't find a flavor that satisfied me. I just wanted one that tasted like clean.
I tried to make my own toothpaste, but since I don't have glycerin lying about, and I didn't fancy rushing out to buy some, I ended up with toothpowder, and I wasn't happy with it. About a month ago I finally broke down and just bought a minty Arm & Hammer toothpaste.
I'm still hunting for solutions.
In a related matter, recently someone at work left a giant bag in the break room filled with travel-sized body products, free to a good home. Amongst these treasures was a Fresh Mint Molton Brown Mouth Wash. It was free. I love free things, even if they're mint. So I took it home.
The bottle may have said 'Fresh Mint' but the flavor was in actuality pure ambrosia! I took a closer look at the bottle and found that it was actually mint and marsh mallow flavor (as in, the actual flower). It left behind a tingly mouth glow, spicy like cloves and ginger, but light and airy, like... well, mint. Except delicious.
The travel-size sample ran out quickly, so I searched the Google-machine for a vendor from which to purchase a larger quantity - and found that such things do not exist. This luxurious mouthwash is apparently so elite that it is only available in 4 oz bottles in posh hotel bathrooms. Or eBay, if you want 30 travel sized bottles.
I admit, I was tempted. It's that good. But, alas, I just couldn't make myself buy that much plastic. So, until I find myself in a rich person's hotel bathroom, I will try to recapture the flavor in my own mouthwashy brews.
First try: Cardamom and Clove Mouthwash. It's basically just cardamom and clove tea. Supposedly, cloves have antiseptic properties, so it's not just for tastyness. It leaves a similar spicy tingly sensation, but it's much more subtle (I probably should have left it steeping longer).
Maybe for my next try, I'll attempt to get a hold of some actual marsh mallow root.
I bet you can get marshmallow root from my mom.
ReplyDeleteMy brother-in-law and his wife were in Turkey last spring, and they loved the toothpaste there... said it tasted like Ouzo and left their mouths feeling way cleaner than mint toothpaste here. And then I was in a Eugene grocery store the other day looking for a new tube of toothpaste, and among the 30 variations of Toms, Jason, Kiss My Face, and other toothpastes that claim to lack either flouride, SLS, or other potentially icky things, I saw one made by Nature's Gate that is anise flavored. I wonder if it is similar (though I didn't buy it this time round.)
ReplyDeleteAmber - I may try that! I tried to plant some Marsh Mallow, but it didn't take.
ReplyDeleteMiriam - Anise and fennel seem to be popular hippie toothpaste flavors. It's certainly much better than mint.
Making homemade toothpaste is quite challenging. This way, the makers are assured they are using chemical-free toothpastes. Also, baking soda is very useful in teeth whitening.
ReplyDelete