Saturday, July 3, 2010

Day 19: Et Tu, Toothpaste?

Since I began this adventure into naturalness, I have been sharing with Mom about the various ingredients we need to avoid in our skin care products. She is fully on board with the eviction of hazardous ingredients, which should not surprise me at all given that she has always supported my efforts wholeheartedly, no matter how crazy I knew I was being. One day during our discussions on the topic, Mom casually uttered, “Well, don’t even look at your toothpaste box.” I snickered and we went on to trying to find a suitable makeup replacement.

But her words stayed in my head. So yesterday at one of the grocery stores (I did not hit all three on Thursday night as I had planned) I decided to scan the ingredients in toothpaste. OMG! My favorite brands did not even have suitable alternatives. The ingredients I found in every variation included triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate, Blue 1, Yellow 5, Red 33, Red 40 and saccharin, for Pete’s sake. And I’m brushing my teeth with it twice a day? And not just me, but my kids...the very people for whom I’m doing all this research!!! Enough of that! Out with the Colgates and the Crests; in with something better for us.

WalMart had a small selection, two to be exact, of natural toothpastes: Burt’s Bees (I’m starting to love Burt) and Tom’s. I bought Tom’s just because I haven’t tried their stuff yet. And I do love that these natural products I am finding are made in the good ol’ USA. Both Tom’s and Burt’s have kid versions of their natural toothpastes. My kids have used the adult versions for a couple of years now, so I bought the tube with them in mind. But I only bought one tube. So I’ll be going back today to buy a new tube for me and Dom. By the way, Tom’s also had a mouthwash, which I bought because I have a compulsive desire to complete the set. That’s how I roll.

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