I'm going to start this post out with a confession. My name is Britt, and I'm addicted to tea. Earl Grey, Jasmine, Turmeric....you name it, I have it. I never let my stash run out at home, I keep an emergency bag in all of my purses at all times, and since we've moved away from all of the suppliers back home that we know, I've actually debated making my own.
While tea may not be bad for you, one negative side effect is that many kinds will stain your teeth. For a long while I didn't really notice how bad they were, but this month I received a super red lipstick in my Ipsy bag. As soon as I slapped that puppy on my lips, it looked like my teeth instantly turned to little post it notes. No bueno!
I had used the drug store variety whitening strips in the past with much success, but after learning more about all of crazy stuff in there I decided I would turn to the all knowing Pinterest to see if there were more natural alternatives to restoring my pearly whites. Now, I don't want to seem like I'm disparaging any other Pin Bloggers out there, but I have tried several "miracle fixes" based on before and after pictures with zero results, so when I read about the turmeric mix, I was pretty skeptical.
I know not everyone is as tan as a sheet of printer paper like me, but every time I have cooked with turmeric ( which is a lot...sooo tasty!) I always manage to get the telltale yellow stain on my skin, so I was really worried about how this was going to make my teeth whiter.
One of the great benefits is, not having a job yet, I didn't have to worry about being anywhere with stained skin, and being in the middle of replacing shower heads, I had some time to kill.
So, after comparing several recipes I compiled this one:
1 Tbsp of Coconut Oil
1 Tsp. Turmeric Powder
Drop of Peppermint oil (optional)
Here is the mix after I made it. It looks slightly like peanut butter
After you make the mix, grab a dollop of the mixture on your toothbrush (you will probably want a dedicated toothbrush as it will stain) and brush as usual. Let sit on your teeth for at least 5 minutes and brush/wash away mixture to reveal whiter teeth.
For reference, this is the picture of me after brushing this stuff all around my mouth. I will give a warning, since there is so much coconut oil in this, it will melt, and you will be drooling turmeric, which may stain your skin. I tried to keep it all on my teeth, but had to spit several times while trying to remove/replace the shower head. Fortunately there was a drain right below me.
So here is the immediate before and after with the 5 minute span. There was a little difference, but no where like the pictures in the blogs that I had seen. Granted, seeing that there was some change, I decided to repeat the process and keep the mixture on for 15 minutes.
After having it on for that long, I did get some of what I can only describe as "Pavlovian Cheetos mouth" at the corners of my lips, but I did manage to cover some of that up with the red lipstick/concealer that I put on to test how less yellow my teeth were looking. Here I am showing off the lipstick, one of the new shower heads, and more impressively, the fact that I finally managed to not screw up a liquid liner for the first time.
I don't want to sensationalize this though. While me teeth did look whiter, they didn't go from "tea stained" to "red carpet ready" in no time flat like many of the blogs (and potentially my photos depending on your calibrations settings) show. I will note though, I have been doing this treatment every week or so, and have been seeing a slight change over the past few months. If you want whiter teeth, you don't like chemicals, and you have some time though, I would recommend this 100%, but don't expect immediate life changing results.
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