Current Favorite Products

I've been updating this post as I think of things to add to it, and I may continue to update it. These are my current favorite products!

Lauren Brooke Cosmetiques

The whole entire brand. I've written about natural and organic make up before, including Lauren Brooke lip colors (I never finished that post because... fatigue and sickness making me not look camera ready), Mineral Fusion, and MyChelle. MyChelle no longer makes make up. I don't understand why, because they had this awesome foundation cream stick that I loved, but the company decided to focus on skin care instead of cosmetics. Such a disappointment. I switched to Mineral Fusion pressed powder foundation. I like it a lot, but I find it's a bit dry and I broke out to their liquid foundation. I learned that Mineral Fusion is not 100% trustworthy and only some of their products are safe, but the safe products are excellent and I highly recommend. I decided to finally try Lauren Brooke's pressed powder. I'm never going back. It's the bomb! It's not drying, applies really smoothly and evenly, and has this radiance to it that Mineral Fusion didn't give me. I don't feel it on my skin. It looks so natural and feels so natural, but covers the perfect amount and warms up my skin tone nicely. It also neutralizes my undereye bags without concealer! It doesn't hide them like concealer, but it masks the purple color so it looks like I'm not wearing make up or trying to hide them.

I just purchased two new items from them (as in minutes ago, have not arrived yet.) One is their lash conditioner. They sent me a sample of it last time I ordered. I never really thought I wanted a lash conditioner until I tried it, but the sample of it convinced me. It helped tone down my itching and my lashes did act stronger - as in, not falling out at the normal rate. What I would actually like from regular use of it is to regrow lashes. I have a "bald patch" in my lashes that drives me nuts. This conditioner has horsetail in it, and from my understanding, horsetail is the only herb known to create new hair growth (as opposed to helping the hair you already have grow more.)

The other new item I just bought is their creme concealer. I have an issue with eye shadows creasing on me - all brands, doesn't seem to matter if it's powder or liquid. Reviewers said this concealer mixes really well with eye shadow and prevents the creasing. I'm going to test this out and see if it's true! As it is, I tend to wear very light amounts of eye shadow so that when it ends up creasing it's not as obvious. I want to be able to rock a normal layer of eye shadow for hours!

I'm wearing Lauren Brooke Cool 20 Pressed Powder Foundation in this photo (along with Honeybee Garden eye liner, and Mineral Fusion mascara and blush.) I took this on a day when I was feeling badly and tried to get ready for work, so I did my make up, but wasn't strong enough to actually work. I never expected to use the photo, lol, but you can see how it makes my skin look natural with a glow. My chest skin was more pale than normal. I love it!






Biokleen Laundry Powder and Oxygen Bleach Plus

This has been a miracle worker for me! I use the Premium Plus one because it doesn't have corn products in it like the Fragrance Free one does (I'm allergic to corn.) I can use the Fragrance Free liquid from them, but I prefer this powder. It has Zeolite and hydrogen peroxide in it, both of which are excellent ingredients for KILLING perfumes and other fragrances. I might have to wash 2-3 times to get rid of badly contaminated clothing, but the majority of the time one wash is enough to completely remove any trace amounts of fragrances that stick to my clothes. It's awesome!!! It also cleans really well and keeps whites very white. This is the lowest effort most effective laundry product I've ever used.

The oxygen bleach is on the same page I link to. It's like Oxyclean, only with trustworthy ingredients. I use this in toilet tanks and to soak my bath tub with. The toilets have less grime and my tub that is stained a bit brown from using Redmond's Bath Salt Plus turned white. With no scrubbing. :D


This handmade turtle from a Fair Trade store in Minneapolis
...that was on clearance for $4 and I finally found a small succulent for.





Sierra Trading Post

Their website. It's part of the TJMaxx chain of stores, but is for outdoor and recreation enthusiasts. They sell a good variety of organic clothing and eco products. It may not be GOTS certified sweatshop free organic clothing, which is my preference, but I only work 12-16 hours a week. I can't afford my standard unless it's on clearance. I have a small variety of GOTS certified sweat shop clothing in my closet, but it was all purchased on good sales. When I need some article of clothing and I can't find what I need on sale elsewhere, going simply for organic cotton from Sierra Trading Post is amazingly helpful. It's all liquidation, so their selection is constantly changing, but their prices are fantastic. I've bought both organic clothing (brands like Prana, Patagonia, United By Blue, and Adventura) and natural leather with rubber shoes from them at huge savings. I can't rely on them to have what I need, but I've scored great deals from them. And it's excellent for men too! The focus on organic clothing is on women, but they actually have a good variety for men!

The only problem? Their return policy. You'll have to pay to return, which can make returns not worth it on some items. But their prices and discounts make up for it. Just make friends who will buy items that don't fit you.

Choice Mental Focus Tea and Choice Vanilla Roobios Tea

I drink a ton of tea. I can only drink water and tea, no juices or coffee or sodas. I'm limited in which teas I can drink due to medicinal properties of some teas and herbs, but thankfully both of these work for me. I use caffeine sparingly and I plan out when to drink it. I'm sensitive to it, so I have to be careful. Both of these are caffeine free, but work great in the day time! The Mental Focus tea is awesome when I'm wanting to lift brain fog without using caffeine. It really does help! The Vanilla Roobios tea just has this silky smooth dark flavor, and I love dark green and black tea. It's my caffeine-free dark flavor replacement. Sooooooo good!



GoWise USA Blood Pressure Monitor

I have blood pressure issues. I haven't written much about it yet, but I appear to have POTS (doctor tested). POTS is a heart rate issue, but in my case it's a blood pressure issue too. I'll get into this someday when I'm ready to write about the things stressing me out again, lol. Anyway, I bought this last year to monitor myself so I could learn when I was fighting low blood pressure instead of having another issue, like hypoglycemia. It has been really insightful. This monitor uses an arm cuff, which is much more accurate than the write monitors. It's not perfect because it's a machine, which uses averages to calculate. My doctor measures my blood pressure manually and spends a lot more time measuring it to be accurate and see how it fluctuates. This machine won't show fluctuations. But for an at home tool it actually is accurate enough to be helpful. I didn't get excited about it last year because it didn't ever seem to be accurate, but it was my fault. I was measuring incorrectly. I fixed my posture and arm position, which made all the difference in the world!

It does measure heart rate too. I think a normal person could trust the heart rate reading on it, but it doesn't read long enough for someone like me. My heart rate jumps all over the place within seconds. I think it give me an average, like Fitbit does (I'll get into why Fitbit is the wrong tool for people with POTS later.) But what it does tell me is when my resting heart rate is simply too high. Mine is often in the 80's, sometimes in the 90's. That's really not good.






This Shark Vacuum

Vacuuming has always been an issue for me. I get allergy issues if I don't vacuum, but I get allergy issues if I do. It's because the vacuum we had before just kicked up dust and only collected part of it. My husband came to me and said he wanted to get me a better vacuum, but didn't want to get it for me for a holiday or birthday because he didn't want to imply that I'm just an objectified house maid. lol! So he got it for us "for Memorial Day." Ha! He was teasing, because I'm not sensitive about such things, but I enjoyed the laugh.

Anyway, this vacuum sucks! It actually sucks hard without kicking dust up into the air! It has 2 more amps (power) than the last vacuum, and it has a HEPA filter built in to prevent any dust from leaving through the exhaust. It's not only collecting a lot more from our carpet, it's allowing me to vacuum as much as I want without even needing to wear my face mask! All the other features are wonderful on it too, but the fact alone that the suction is powerful and it has a HEPA filter is enough to make me fall in love with it. If you need an allergy friendly vacuum, I highly recommend this one!



This was after a quick vacuum around the upstairs to try out the new vacuum. I had just vacuumed the week prior with the old vacuum. Clearly the old vacuum wasn't picking up very much...



Om Pure Air mask

I've been using Vog Mask, but suddenly I couldn't find their organic cotton version anywhere for sale. My old 2 from them are too worn out and they're not refreshing in the sun. It's hard to breathe through them. So I was forced to find an alternative to buy. I bought this mask, and despite it taking 4 weeks to ship to me, I actually like it better than Vog Mask. It's easier to breathe through it, it fits my face better and seals better, and it's more effective. I think they have a better carbon filter than Vog Mask uses. I'll want to write a full review on this later, so stay tuned for that.





Hemp Organic Life Etsy store

This shop is awesome. All the products are made from organic hemp and linen, and they are high quality. I bought an organic hemp sleeping bag from her to use when I need to travel and sleep in beds that aren't my safe organic latex bed. I bought it as a barrier between me and the bed so I wouldn't have skin contact, at the very least, with the flame retardants, polyester, and other synthetics. I'll review this sleeping bag after traveling with it later this summer, so stay tuned for that, but snuggling with it at home is wonderful! It breathes so well, but also traps in enough body heat to keep me comfortable. The fabric is strong. It's mildly scratchy the same way wool is, but it's softening up with washing. I actually really like that slightly rough texture, I think it feels good on my skin. Anyway, she did a fantastic job with this sleeping bag. She's from the Ukraine, so shipping almost made me cry, but it was so incredibly worth it! You can see how comfortable it is:



She also sent me a free gift of these linen socks, which are so perfect. They're very breathable, but keep me warm. They feel cozy on my skin. These are the best free gift I've received with an order!






Redmond's new Tooth Powder in Black Licorice

So... normally I'm an advocate of making your own toothpaste from scratch in order to save money and save plastic. It's really easy to make with bentonite clay and charcoal. But in this case, Redmond made theirs better than the DIY version. How, you ask? By making it very powdery. It's so much finer than any toothpowder I've made from scratch, and therefore it feels so much softer on the teeth. It brushes better and is much easier to rinse out of my mouth. But the best part? The black licorice flavor. It's awesome. It's so good. I accidently bought the peppermint version and I don't care for the flavor of it.

Also, for those of you who really don't want to do DIY, this is a great option, even though it's in plastic, because the tooth powder lasts about 3x longer than their Earthpaste in the tubes.



Avocado Oil Spray

I'm not sure I have to justify why this is a favorite thing of mine. It's a super healthy fat in spray form without aerosol. I just spray it on salads and it's perfectly evenly distributed on the leafs. I spray it on chicken before it goes on the grill and it means I don't have to massage the chicken with oily hands to get a nice thin coating of oil on it.



Badger Face Oil Set:

Organic oils in a glass pump bottle - they're perfect! I don't react to any of the sets except the Argan oil one, which has orange essential oil in it. I don't do well with citrus oils. They're so gentle, take off make up way better than just coconut oil, and moisturize very well. I wear the face oil under my make up and it doesn't leave me greasy whatsoever. I can't say enough good about this set! My skin looks much more supple with regular use.



Vitamin C and Glutathione IVs (and my Mom.)

I had two of these on my last trip to see my doctor. They made me really nauseous and gave me some nasty headaches. I wanted to throw up, but was made very thirsty from them at the same time. I felt like a trillion micro explosions were happening in my body all at once. Why do I like them so much, then? Because they seriously help a lot after my body calms down from receiving the IV. Better energy, better mood, much less severe reactions to things, better digestion, clearer head and clearer thinking, less overall body pain... they're helpful! But the effect doesn't last long enough. I need to have them done regularly.



Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild Soap

This soap is fragrance free, doesn't dry out my skin, is organic and doesn't irritate my skin, and is very travel friendly. I accidently left my container of it in the bathroom where my Chiropractor and Acupuncturist are. As you can see that building stocks heavily scented soaps - it's hard for me to use their bathroom and I need to slip on my mask to go in there (it's a shared building and they don't choose the soap.) My container was mostly full when I left it there, and exactly a week later it was only a quarter full. People were choosing my fragrance free soap over the fake scented cancer causing soap! That gave me a lot of hope for humanity, lol.

I buy the large 32 oz container of it and keep refilling this little one. I keep this small container in my purse so that I have safe soap with me in public.






Wokamon App

I got myself the cheap Fitbit Flex 2 because AT&T was having a special on them. I wish I had researched fitness trackers before impulsively getting it. At the time I didn't think I wanted to spend more for a heart rate monitor, and I was wasn't wrong to think that since Fitbit's heart rate monitoring isn't detailed enough for people with POTS, but some monitoring would be nice. It also doesn't have a GPS, so I can't map my walks with it. I was mostly interested in the sleep tracking feature, but as it turns out, it's not accurate. I think it's sleeping when I'm laying in bed with my eyes open wondering when I'll ever finally drift off to sleep.

But it's not all a disappointment! I know I can't challenge myself to do more exercise with it in my condition, but it's actually been helpful to see how much walking I do on a normal work day vs normal non-work day. I can see how active I really am when I tell my doctor how much exercise I think I'm getting.

The best part? Wokamon and Achievemint, two apps that are weirdly motivating.

Wokamon is the modern day smart phone Tomagachi, lol! You must take care of your monsters by leveling them up with steps from your fitness tracker. When it tells me I only need 156 more steps to level up, I actually want to get up and get those steps in, even when I'm feeling lazy and tired. I am too motivated by reward systems in video games. :) But hey, it's fun and it's working! I might only average 3,000 steps a day (so I can't compete), but my monsters are leveling up!

Achievemint pays you for using a fitness tracker. You can earn up to $10 a month for all the activity you do with your fitness tracker. It's going to end up being more like $10 every 6 months at the rate I earn points, but hey, I'll take the $10 when I finally earn it!




30% Grain White Vinegar

This stuff works amazingly for killing weeds. It burns weeds, but leaves the roots. After the weed shrivels up you'll have to spray again to burn the roots. The fact of the matter is that it's non-toxic and highly effective! That said, it does burn the skin. Cover your skin when applying!

It IS made from corn, but it's non-GMO corn. The company doesn't verify if the corn was sprayed with Round Up or not, but they do claim the corn is non-GMO and Round Up is mainly used on GMOs. It's also just the acid from the corn, so it doesn't seem to cause me allergic issues (I'm allergic to corn.) I'm not consuming it, just spraying it on weeds.


These reusable organic cotton produce bags

I've been using these for years now, but they're still one of my favorite things. They are fantastic for buying fresh produce with because they weigh nothing, they're breathable, and they keep produce fresh and clean. They wash very easily.

But I discovered a new use for them! They're perfect for washing bras in and other delicates in! Instead of a nylon mesh bag designed for bras, I just stick my bra in one of these, tie the top loosely, and throw it in the washer and dryer. My bras are coming out cleaner than when I used the nylon mesh bag, and I'm guessing the cotton allows more soap through. These bags make my life so much easier!


Alaffia Bubble Bath

This bubble bath is by far the best Alaffia product. It bubbles really well, the bubbles last a long time, it's effective soap, and it's great for washing hair with! I like to mix Starwick Botanical's Kelp powder, baking soda (to neutralize chlorine), and this bubble bath together. I'll wash my hair in the bathwater and soak in it for a while. Then I'll even shave my legs in the bathwater. The bubble bath stays soapy enough to keep my legs lubricated enough to shave with. I rinse in the shower after, of course. I don't particularly care for this brand's shampoo or conditioner (I loved them at first, then it started leaving residue in my hair that wouldn't wash out), but this bubble bath couldn't be better!


Mantra Sports Pilates Ring

I had to let this off gas for a while before I could use it - it's not safe right out of the box for MCS people like myself. But after it stopped being smelly I was able to play with it. The reason I like it is because it allows me to use my muscles even when I'm stuck in bed on my back. I just put it between my legs and squeeze. I put it between my ankles and lift it with my legs. I hold it in my hands and squeeze it and pull it apart. The simple resistance it offers helps me a lot when my muscles feel restless but I'm not feeling strong enough to stand up and walk around. There are probably other great similar products, but this is the one I chose and I really like it!



My acupressure mat - I still love this thing so much!!



....And more. I'm forgetting plenty of things I want to share with you, I'm sure of it, but I've been working on this post slowly all day. I'm done. :) I've leaving out obvious things I've already reviewed, such as my new organic latex bed, which I can't say enough good about! Seriously, your bed matters. A lot.

How I Avoid Plastic

I've made it very clear throughout this blog that plastic is a hazard. It's endocrine disruptive, doesn't biodegrade, is being eaten by fish that we later eat, etc. But looking around, plastic is everywhere! I haven't been able to go 100% plastic free, but I have reduced most of the plastic in my life. I'm also not sure I want to be 100% plastic free. I like my keyboard, computer monitor, mouse, phone, etc. My problem is with single use plastic (like straws,) plastic on our skin (like clothing,) and plastic used to store food.

Here are my solutions so far:

1. Water Bottles
I invested in a few glass and stainless steel water bottles. Two of the ones I purchased are this glass bottle and this insulated stainless steel bottle (for hot or cold liquids.) Both of my glass water bottles are protected with a sleeve or silicone cover. I've put them to the test, putting them in rough situations, and they have not broken. 

2. Water Filters
I installed a reverse osmosis water filter at my kitchen sink and stored the Brita pitcher away. I fill my glass and stainless steel water bottles with the RO water, which is delicious! Now, don't get me wrong, it's better to use a Brita pitcher than no filter. The Brita will filter out the harmful chlorine from your water. Even though it's storing the water in plastic, plastic is the greatest threat when it's heated. Don't heat your Brita! There are numerous reasons why an RO filter is a much better filtering method (and not much more expensive,) but a Brita is better than nothing.

3. Toothbrush
I searched high and low for non-plastic toothbrushes. What I found is that there aren't many options. I also found that there are natural teeth cleaning products that do not use a toothbrush, claiming that toothbrushes are too abrasive. I'm not linking to these products here because I'm not familiar enough with them to suggest them. I still wanted a toothbrush.

I only found two on the market that that are totally petroleum plastic free. One is made from vegetable plastics, the other from recycled materials, such as wood or paper currency.  There are, however, many toothbrushes that have non-plastic handles with nylon (plastic) bristles. There are also several that use boar hair bristles with plastic handles. I have no idea why I can't find a toothbrush with a natural handle and boar hair bristles. This makes no sense to me. Apparently even natural brands buy into the theory that nylon bristles are simply the best. I disagree, because the bristles are tiny bits of plastic that will never biodegrade. Tiny plastic is the most dangerous against wildlife.

I did try natural boar bristle toothbrushes, sourced from very well-treated boars who were not hurt in the process. What I quickly found out is that they are softer than nylon. A "medium" natural bristle is equivalent to a "soft" nylon bristle. I was unable to find any "hard" natural bristle brushes. They cleaned well for about a week, then the bristles started to bend and loose their shape. It's my fault, because I tend to be a scrubber. The point, though, is that they do work!

4. Clothing
This one is easy: Simply stop buying clothing with polyester, nylon, acrylic, or spandex. All of these fabrics are made from petroleum-based plastics.

Okay, not as easy as it should be. You will most likely pay more for your clothing by avoiding plastic clothes. You also may need to get creative about where you shop. I have had great luck with TJMaxx, as they've often had organic cotton, hemp, wool, and bamboo clothing. They've occasionally even had some non-organic 100% cotton clothes. I'm starting to find that I really need to buy my clothes online to ensure I get what I need. I can find good deals on Amazon.com, SierraTradingPost.com, and Rodales.com, but I've also found that sometimes it's best to order directly from the company that makes the clothes. WearPact.com offers free shipping on only a $25 purchase!

I admit that due to the difficulty of finding affordable non-plastic clothing, I will buy natural fiber clothing with added spandex. Sometimes, that's all that's available. For instance, I wear Pact's organic cotton underwear, but it does have about 5% spandex added (and the band is elastic.) But, what choice do I have? Hanes has 100% cotton underwear... with added chemicals (anti-bacterials, fabric stiffeners, etc) and non-natural dyes. No thanks. (You might be just fine with their underwear, but these things can make my skin itchy - I'm sensitive!)

5. Trash Bags
This one is really really hard. It's also probably the most important one to change! We put our biodegradable trash inside non-biodegradable containers. Then we send it off to the landfills, which are growing bigger and bigger. We're running out of room to put our trash, and those landfills won't shrink as long as we keep putting plastic into them. Plastic never goes away.

But what's the alternative to a petroleum-based plastic trash bag? Either a biodegradable bag or a compostable bag. Both of these should be great options, but they're not good for everyone. Biodegradable bags biodegrade. Sometimes too quickly - as in, while you're trying to use it as a trash can liner. Sometimes you can't finish a roll of biodegradable bags because they started to biodegrade before you even pulled it off the roll. There are a few brands claiming they've fixed this, but until the reviews are better, I hesitate to invest in them. They're expensive bags! The problem with compostable bags are that not everyone can compost (I can't do it where I live.) The other problem is that the bags are very flimsy. They rip, tear, and fall apart pretty easily, meaning they can't take much weight. These bags are good for small trash cans that get emptied often. They're not so good in your standard 13 gallon kitchen trash can.

So what is the solution? Reduce the amount of trash you create, recycle as much as possible, and try to make one of those eco trash bags work. Or, if all of your trash is dry, you can use paper bags from the grocery store. I know that some people use cloth liners in their cans, then washing the cloth every time it gets emptied. Our city wouldn't like that, though, as they ask all residents to use plastic bags for their garbage so that the trash isn't loose. I don't have another solution.

I currently am working on finishing a box of Seventh Generation trash bags. They're made from recycled plastic, which is only slightly better than new plastic. The reason I went with them is because my husband and I create so little trash. We fill our can about once every week and a half to two weeks, and it's often filled with what the vacuum cleaner picks up. I don't think a biodegradable or compostable bag would work for us because they'd both start to break down before the bag is full.

6. Food Storage
This one is easier than you'd think. Glass, stainless steel, unbleached parchment paper, and aluminum foil all work well as alternatives. I've purchased these glass storage containers from TJMaxx and Big Lots for $6 for 3. New Wave Enviro has a few different stainless steel food containers available. Buy nut butters in glass jars and reuse the jars. Use mason jars.

But what about replacing the Ziplock bag? What I found was that I was seriously over using ziplock bags. I could use glass or stainless steel for 85% of the things I was using them for. For the other 15% of the time, I've learned to wash the ziplock bags and reuse them OR switch to cloth bags. That said, be careful not to reuse them too many times. The more they get washed, the more chemicals the plastic releases. I try to get a 2-3 uses per bag. The main thing I use Ziplock Bags for now is to freeze food. For instance, the only way for me to get organic asparagus in this town is to buy a frozen case of it. Each box I open doesn't reseal. I've been using the same Ziplock bag for this asparagus for close to a year now. I never wash it because it stays frozen all the time.

7. Menstrual Products
I've already written on this subject here and here.

The quick answer is this: Switch to a menstrual cup or use cloth pads. There is no reason to use disposable products. If you're going to a third world country without clean water to sanitize these products in, there are organic cotton tampons and pads without the added dyes and chemicals.

8. Shaving
I also already wrote about this here.

The quick answer is this: Metal safety razors not only use zero plastic, they work better than plastic razors!

9. Body Care Products and Cleaning Products
This is where it starts to get tricky. Want a bottle of shampoo? It comes in plastic. Want a window cleaner? It comes in plastic. Want liquid body wash? It comes in plastic. You get the idea. While many companies do package their products in glass or metal, such as many Badger Balm products, most use plastic.

Solving this problem requires lifestyle changes - changes that many people may not be comfortable with. But it is possible, and very liberating! There's no need to be a slave to all the products that line the shelf at the store. That said, I still buy several products that come in a plastic bottle. Why? Because I'm making my changes one step at a time. I really don't feel like making liquid bubble bath at home, and it's so much easier to just buy it and recycle the plastic container (I know, I know... there's a good chance it won't actually get recycled since recycling centers are overloaded.)

This topic requires a post to itself, as there's a lot to say. Some quick suggestions are:
-Try out soap nuts for washing your dishes, clothes, and body.
-Clean with white vinegar (you can buy it in glass jars!) It's especially great for glass, but it disinfects any surface.
-Buy or make shampoo as a bar.
-Buy soap as a bar without packaging (Sappo Hills is found in many health food stores and never comes wrapped.)
-Use baking soda to clean when you need extra scrubbing power.



...And I'm out of time! While there is more than can be said about reducing the plastic in your life, I wrote this as a way to get the conversation started. I'm challenging you to think in non-plastic ways. It's a challenging topic, but the more consumers avoid plastic by voting with our dollars, the more companies will listen. We can reduce plastic pollution in our world. We have the power.

I would like to bring your attention, again, to my friend's project in India. Please support him. Every little bit helps! His plan will reduce the plastic pollution in India by turning the plastic into roofs:
https://kriticalmass.com/p/ecoblocks

Teeth and Tongue Part 1

A couple of weeks ago my teeth started to grow sensitive... again. The sensitivity has come in waves for a few years, and the wave have picked up the pace and intensity since starting the Candida cleanse. I also noticed that the inside of my two bottom front teeth were turning black. Black like cavities, without the decay or sensitivity (it's my molars that grow sensitive.) I thought about what I could do. I know that oil pulling does work with sensitivity and whitening to some degree, but it's so inconvenient.  I wanted to try a different method. I looked at my container of hydrogen peroxide and remembered that it used to help with any tooth issue when I used it years ago.

I swished hydrogen peroxide for about 3 days before I noticed that my tongue had turned black. Yes, black:

If you're not too grossed out, expand the photo. You'll see that the black is actually fuzzy hairs. I immediately got a hold of my doctor, but I didn't think to tell him about the hydrogen peroxide at first. It was my mother who told me that the same thing happened to her tongue when her dentist told her to swish hydrogen peroxide in her mouth. Apparently hydrogen peroxide draws bacteria out of the mouth in such a way that these hairs form, collecting more bacteria and dirt, essentially turning them black. A bit later, I had noticed that I was developing some mild thrush on my tongue too. I never noticed that I had thrush in the past, which is one reason that I assumed I didn't have Candida before. This was the first time I saw it on my tongue, and I can only assume that the hydrogen peroxide pulled out some candida too, causing it.

My doctor had me swish plain yogurt once a day in my mouth for a week so the good bacteria in the yogurt could replenish my mouth. This was the first time I'd had dairy in my mouth in about 2 years (I quit dairy before I started working with my doctor.) This was the most disgusting thing I've done in a very long time!! Why did I use dairy? Frankly, because I live a town that doesn't sell any dairy alternative yogurt without added sugar. Dairy was my only choice, so I used grass-fed whole fat plain dairy yogurt. It tasted so disgusting that I've now lost all interest in dairy products ever again - not even cheese sounds appealing. How can any of you stand the taste?! I digress. The immediate problem was that it made me congested in my sinuses and throat (I never swallowed the yogurt.) Again, because I couldn't find an alternative yogurt, I kept using this, despite the allergic reaction it caused. The later problem was that my acne increased around my mouth. I can only assume this is in relation to the yogurt. All problems aside, it worked. My tongue is back to normal again! Well, normal for me, anyway.

But what about the black on the back of my teeth? No change. It's still there.

I have a few theories about what's causing it, but my guess is the quality of our water. When we used to live in a very old industrial building that was converted into an apartment, the water came through old pipes. We brushed our teeth with this water and it turned our teeth colors. I strongly question the quality of the water in out house at times, which is why I use filters on the water for drinking, showering, and bathing. Teeth brushing is the only time I use unfiltered water. I'm going to try to come up with a solution.

In the mean time, the next thing I'm trying is something that might seem very strange to those of you who don't already know this trick. I'm brushing my teeth with clay and charcoal. Here's the recipe:

Clay Toothpaste:

-1 part bentonite clay

-1/3rd part activated charcoal

Optional:

-1/8th part pure stevia powder for sweetness

-Ground cloves (For calming sensitive or painful teeth)

-Ground mint or cinnamon (for astringent properties and flavor)

Directions:

Mix together in a glass bowl. Do not use a metal bowl, which will deactivate the clay. (Plastic is technically fine, but I do not advise using plastic for any reason when a sustainable non-petroleum based product is available.) Wet your toothbrush, then dip it into the powder mixture. Scrub your teeth. Yes, it turns black! But it does not stain - I promise! It rinses with water very easily. For extra disinfecting and whitening power, leave in your mouth for 5 minutes after you're done brushing before you rinse with water.

(Non-petroleum plastic toothbrush)

In my experiment I'm just using the clay and charcoal. This isn't much different from the toothpaste I've been using and love: Redmond Earthpaste. The difference is that their toothpaste is a bit abrasive and does not contain charcoal. My DIY toothpaste is significantly cheaper and is not abrasive against the teeth at all, protecting the enamel. My hope is that the charcoal is gong to bring an extra level of cleaning power and help draw out whatever is making my bottom two front teeth black.

(This is "Part 1" because I'm going to say more about oral care and toothbrushes in another post. I plan to update this blog with the results of this toothpaste, as I've only brushed with it once.)