I think its safe to say we’d all love to have a bright, white smile amiright? What most of us DON’T want though is all the chemicals that may come with achieving it conventionally.

The most popular means of an at home whitening system are the infamous Crest White Strips. While they may work, the important question is how do they work?  Lets take a look at the ingredients in them to get a better understanding.

-PVP: synthetic resin

-PEG-8: a petroleum based compound that is made from ethylene glycol (ethane-1,2-diol). It is also the main ingredient in antifreeze

-Water

-Hydrogen Peroxide

-Acrylates Copolymer: artificial binder and adhesive.

-Sodium Hydroxide: a white chemical also know referred to as lye. IT is found in soap, liquid drainers and paper.

-Sodium Saccharin: an artificial sweetener.

-Carbomer: polymer used as a gelling agent.

-Disodium Pyrophosphate: a buffering agent used for discoloration.

 

After taking a good look at this ingredient list I concluded that it was just not worth the sketchiness for me. This prompted me to look further into natural alternatives and is when I first read about Activated Charcoal.

Activated Charcoal is basically Carbon that has been “activated” through a process that minimizes its low volume pores to increase its absorption levels. Simply put- it allows for the charcoal to absorb the stains from your teeth and when swallowed in capsule form it also absorbs the toxins/bacteria from your body. I was curious to try this for myself and was stoked to find some really great options on the market.

Purity Smiles is a company I came across on Instagram that offers the activated charcoal powder and takes it a step further by adding bentonite clay and organic spearmint oil. Bentonite clay is awesome because its properties help to remineralize teeth aka prevent cavities and in some instances reverse them all together! Their formula is non gmo, vegan and gluten-free for anyone who may have an intolerance 😉

I decided to try this powder out everyday for a week and share the results here with you. I want to note that in addition to this product I still brushed my teeth with my normal products (Oral Wellness tooth oil & Dr. Bronners tooth paste) and partook in my occasional oil pulling routine too (I’ll be doing a separate blog post about this soon!).

Before I get into the before and after pics lets talk about how to use the product.

First things first – this stuff is MESSY. The powder is of course black, odorless and very fine. I recommend designated a specific toothbrush for this because it will definitely stain you bristles (if their clear) after repeated use. My little red guy here is my charcoal brush and we’ve got a routine down pact.

Step 1.  Open your jar very carefully so the powder doesn’t fly everywhere. Wet your brush under the faucet and dip your brush in the pot lightly. A little goes a long way so this jar will last you a good couple of months.

Step 2. Once your brush is coated, begin brushing your teeth in your normal motions. Be sure to take a few seconds in each section so that the charcoal can really do its thing.

Step 3. Once you’ve brushed your teeth evenly its time to rinse. If you have a white bathroom sink like me you definitely do not want to rinse your mouth there or you’ll be spending a good amount of time scrubbing with baking soda. I speak from experience. The easiest and best place to rinse is in your kitchen sink (if its stainless steel). The charcoal doesn’t stick and can be easily washed away.

Step 4. After rinsing you’ll notice that there’s still some powder between your teeth so I typically floss now and follow-up with my Oral Wellness tooth oil. Your normal toothpaste will also do.

After doing this just once on the first day I noticed a difference in my teeth not only in appearance but also how incredibly clean they felt after. Here are the results from Day 1 to Day 7.

 

DAY 1

DAY 7

 

My conclusion is that I would certainly say there is a difference in my smile and plan to continue using this stuff daily! Granted the first picture is a little darker compared to the second so the change seems a bit more drastic than it does in person (I would never lie to you all!) but in all honestly it really did make my teeth whiter!! Much like anything, with consistency I know this will get my teeth to the brightness I want and in the mean time I’m loving how clean and healthy my teeth look.

Maybe I’ll report back in a month or two to with an update on longer use – Leave me a comment if you’d like me to!

Want to try Purity Smiles powder out for yourself? The kind folks are offering my readers an exclusive discount until Sept. 25th for 15% off with code “CHANTEL15” so don’t wait!

Click here to shop —–> Shop Purity

This is totally worth the buy and I hope you guys found this helpful <3

Til next time,

~Chantel