Natural + Organic Skincare Review: Skin Muk

July 21, 2021April 13, 2022 / Primal Influence / Leave a comment

There are so many natural and organic skincare products on the market these days, ranging in price and sustainability, with some being marketed and advertised as “natural” which in fact aren’t! No one wants to waste their money when they’re trying to do good for their skin, their health and for the planet.

So how do we know what to buy and try?

I often choose the DIY route when it comes to skincare as I don’t use a lot of different products and I’m extremely budget and eco-conscious.

Making skincare concoctions from scratch is rewarding but can be time-consuming and hard to sustain. So when I met the maker of a local skincare range who guaranteed me all of her products are totally natural and sustainable I had to try them!

Not only am I looking for good products for myself, but also to recommend to my Primal Health Coaching clients and Clint’s Private Kids Coaching client parents.

Introducing… Skin Muk!

I met the lovely Serenity at the first 2-day business coaching workshop a couple of months ago, she was sitting next to me for one of the days so I found out about her business and could tell right away how passionate she is about creating quality, effective and clean skincare products.

Not long after, she gave me a box of samples to try and OMG, I was instantly impressed, the packaging and the products looked so beautiful! I felt like I was being spoiled, which is a rare experience for me, but one every girl should have regularly I think!

Local ✔️

Natural ✔️

Sustainable ✔️

Luxurious ✔️

Face oil, sugar scrub and 2 different clay samples arrived at my door step looking as pretty and well-presented as anyone could want. I was already impressed just opening the box!

CASSIOPEIA MINI – FACIAL OIL

I usually use a pure rose hip oil on my skin at night which absorbs in easily and never feels heavy or ‘oily’ after, so I was interested to see how this face oil would compare.

Really well actually! It definitely smells nicer; it has a beautiful aroma. And made my skin feel super soft after gently applying a few drops.

I really like this product. It doesn’t leave my skin feeling oily and it’s luxurious but so simple.

The dropper bottle is good quality and travels easily (no leaking!).

This can easily be for daily use, even before applying makeup, or used occasionally as a self-love pamper day treat.

MOON DUST – CLAY MASK + STAR DUST – CLAY MASK

My go-to clay mask option is just boring old bentonite clay but it always leaves my face feeling dry. Ugh.

Neither of these do which is a nice change! I tried the Moon Dust first and definitely noticed the incredible softness the powder has just dry in the hand before adding a bit of water. After rinsing off my skin felt soft and not dry at all.

Serenity says this one can be used as a quick cleanser or mask left on for a few minutes.

I tried the Star Dust powder last night, as a mask left on my face for about 10 minutes, and besides absolutely LOVING the colour (pink!!), I loved how my skin felt afterwards, and even today, it still feels really nice.

I noticed, too, that my skin isn’t breaking out today which it normally would after eating some not-so-great foods after camping on the weekend! Yay!

Very little clay powder is needed when, combined with water, to cover the face so this product goes a long way.

It’s a definite tick of approval from me for these two! ✔️✔️

Now for my favourite of al the Skin Muk goodies I’ve tried…

PINK NEBULA – SUGAR SCRUB

Absolutely dee-vine!

As a body scrub to exfoliate my skin I always use DIY coffee and coconut oils scrub. It’s great on my skin but boy it’s messy! It’s something I only use right before housework day otherwise it leaves my bath and shower (combo) oily and with tiny bits of coffee grounds everywhere!

When I first opened the tub of Pink Nebula I was pleasantly slapped in the face with the most gorgeous aroma. Strawberry + vanilla = yum. Even better than coffee and coconut oil, if you can believe it!

I used it on my legs, torso and arms and was so happy with how it worked. The sugar dissolves after a bit of scrubbing with the hand but not too quickly that it doesn’t do it’s job of exfoliating.

Also, it didn’t leave ANY mess. None whatsoever. Woo!

It leaves my skin feeling so soft, not oily at all after use, and a small quantity really does go along way which is a bonus. I am in love with this product and my jar of homemade coffee scrub isn’t getting used at the moment while I enjoy this much nicer scrub tub!

Thank you so much Serenity for gifting me these gorgeous creations. They’re perfect for eco-conscious ladies wanting to look after their skin naturally, and feel a little pampered without much cost or effort.

I’m more than happy to recommend these items, this company, and I hope you check out the full range here ❤️

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If you have any questions for us regarding these products or what other skincare products we use, email us at info@primalinfluence.com or comment below.

I hope this information and our perspectives and experiences help you and your family on your journey to better health!

Aimee

Primal Health Coach

Visit our website: Primal Influence | Follow us on socials: Facebook + Instagram + TikTok

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Natural Skincare: Avoiding harmful chemicals for healthier skin + a healthier you

March 13, 2021August 31, 2021 / Primal Influence / 1 Comment

What does ‘natural skincare’ mean to us + why is it even something to consider?

As you’re probably aware, we live in a highly toxic world. Chemical and toxin exposure has a massive impact on our health and well-being; from mucking up our hormones to causing skin problems, allergies, contributing to ASD symptoms, and lowing our immunity.

Some toxins we can’t do much about, while some we definitely can (and should!).

Those we have control over include what we put on our skin; understanding what’s in the products we currently buy and use and becoming more educated to make better buying decisions.

To us, natural skincare is about using natural ingredients, and as few as possible, on our skin (in our mouths, on our heads, every part of our external environment).

It’s not natural for humans to be bombarding our skin and system loads of different ingredients and compounds, when in our most natural existence would we have done that?! Other than clays, dirt, plants, ash, water etc… we weren’t exposing ourselves to anything that wasn’t simple and basic.

Today there are loads of ‘natural’ skincare and beauty products on the market but if you go into a store, have a browse, pick a few items, read the label we can bet you most contain a long list of ingredients, some you won’t even recognise or understand. We know, we’ve been there!

We believe what goes on the skin should be as simple and as minimal as possible and of course, as natural and the least likely to have a negative effect on our health.

𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙪𝙥, 𝙢𝙤𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚, 𝙨𝙤𝙖𝙥, 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙤, 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧, 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨… 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙡𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙 + 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚!

Let’s try to turn around some of societies health issues by choosing healthier skincare products that not only help us and our families but also the environment! ♻️ 🌏

Natural products we use – DIY and store-bought

𝙈𝙤𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙧:
– I make a really simple tallow moisturiser (recipe coming later this week) which I especially love using in winter on my legs and arms.
– We looooove Ecology Skincare tallow creams because they smell amaaaazing, are so fluffy and luxurious! And so minimal of ingredients which is really important to us. Clint uses this on his face when his skin under his beard, in winter when it gets a bit dry.

𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙪𝙥:
– Clint wears… just kidding! I’m budget-conscious when it comes to cosmetics so even though there are loads of natural options on the market now I don’t buy the high cost products and prefer to stick to affordable brands such as ECO Minerals , MooGoo Makeup , benecos , Nude by Nature + more in the video below.

𝘾𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙨/𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨:
– I use coconut oil soap on my face to get makeup off
– We wash with pure homemade coconut oil soap and I use it to shave legs
– Liquid soaps from Ecostore

𝙏𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙝/𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙮𝙜𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙚:
– We brush with handmade pure coconut oil soap (yep, true!) and use a natural whitener from Nourished Life without glycerine (super important)
– Clint tongue scrapes sometimes
– We add bentonite clay to our toothpasty brush every so often and definitely when we feel any signs of decay or teeth problems (very rare but happens occasionally)

𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙘:
– Homemade coffee scrub to exfoliate skin
– Olive oil in my hair to help soften curls and reduce frizz
– Shampoo/conditioner combo bar in the shower or homemade ACV and rosemary tea
– Bites, scrapes, bruises, burns etc… homemade plantain or comfrey balm, aloe vera, manuka honey or tallow cream
– Rosehip PLUS pure rose hip oil for scarring and uneven skin tone
– Perfume is a natural roll-on from One Seed organic perfumery
– Sunscreen: very rarely do we use any and we buy various brands but the one we have at the moment is MooGoo Skin Care

Check out all the natural things Clint and I have in our bathroom.. from makeup, to shampoo, to cleaning and more….

🧪 What harmful ingredients should we be on the lookout for?

There are many nasty ingredients in common skincare products that can do harm to yours and your kids health and if you want to look into it thoroughly and for links to specific symptoms there are plenty of resources available, we wanted to list a few key players here for you as a go-to reference…

– 1,4-DIOXANE
– PABA
– ETHOXYLATED INGREDIENTS
– HYDROQUINONE
– PETROLATUM, PETROLEUM JELLY
– ETHANOLAMINE COMPOUNDS (MEA, DEA, TEA AND OTHERS)
– COAL TAR
– PHENOXYETHANOL
– CARCINOGENS IN COSMETICS
– NANOMATERIALS
– TALC
– CARBON BLACK
– PARABENS
– FRAGRANCE
– BUTYLATED COMPOUNDS
– FORMALDEHYDE AND FORMALDEHYDE-RELEASING PRESERVATIVES
– BENZOPHENONE & RELATED COMPOUNDS
– ACRYLATES
– MICA
– HOMOSALATE
– LEAD
– METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE AND METHYLCHLOROISOTHIAZOLINONE
– NITROSAMINES

There are A LOT more with a full list and details available via Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

Many of these are known to cause cancer, allergies and an increase in symptoms, disrupt hormones, effect ASD symptoms, impair growth and development of infants, lower immunity, effect pregnant women and more. Some are found in common trusted household brands, they could very well be lurking in your bathroom cupboard right now.

From sunscreen to talc powders, to nail polishes, and makeup and creams… unless the ingredients are listed as 100% natural and safe, preferably organic, the ingredients list is small, and you can get full transparency from a manufacturer of the sources and possible effects then the chances are the products you’re using contain nasty chemicals.

𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙩 www.safecosmetics.org 🧡

🧼 🧴 Making the transition to using more natural safe skincare products

There are many ‘natural’ products in many shops these days and as with most things, ‘natural skincare’ has been over-marketed and over-commercialised. Even regular toxic brands now have ‘natural’ items in their range! But how clean are they really?

It can be so confusing and stressful to pick the best options for you and your family!

𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚:

– Use the info in our earlier post to find out what chemicals to look out for and avoid
– Look for certified organic ingredients/products when possible
– Simple is always best! Usually the whole-plant version is far more beneficial than a product made using it and a zillion other ingredients. Less processing, fresher, more of an impact. E.g. aloe vera gel direct from a leaf as opposed to highly processed aloe gel in a bottle on the shelf.
– Again re simple… look for products with short ingredients lists. If you can understand what the ingredients are and there aren’t many of them, that’s a good sign!
– Look into the manufacturers of products you think could be suitable for you and find out their processes, sources etc. If you can get access to all the info and you can then trust them, go for it.
– Choose one item at a time to swap so it’s not overwhelming and expensive. You might want to start with toothpaste for example, or your makeup, or your kids sunscreen. Pick one, find a suitable alternative, pick another, repeat.
– Ask for tips from friends and family who are already into natural alternatives, they may have already done the leg work for you and can give you great info
– Stay within your chosen budget. You don’t have to buy ‘top shelf’ brands, there are plenty of more affordable brands and products to choose from
– DIY. Make your own for as many items as you can, it’s so much cheaper!!

🧼We we use soap as toothpaste!

You read that right! We brush our teeth with actual SOAP! We started many years ago and have never stopped, it’s so good!

Check out this blog post to read all about our experience using soap to clean our teeth.

If you’d like to learn how to make natural soap bars, to brush your teeth with or just use to wash your skin, and you live on or near the Sunshine Coast, feel free to come along to one of our workshops!

I hope this information and our perspectives and experiences help you on your journey to better health! Please comment if you have any questions.

Aimee

Natural Fitness + Lifestyle Coaching | Visit our website: Primal Influence | Follow us on socials: Facebook + Instagram

Disclaimer:

NO information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition.

Welcome to our Natural Bathroom: it’s all about makeup and skincare!

June 3, 2016May 11, 2021 / Primal Influence / Leave a comment

In the last Our Natural Bath blog: The Theme is Clean we showed you all the ways we naturally clean in the bathroom; ourselves and the room itself. This time ’round we’re talking all things natural skincare and cosmetics!

Women often ask me what natural makeup I use so I’m excited to finally be talking about it! Included too is what modern caveman Clint uses, so there’s something here for both the ladies and the gents!

Let me just point out.. how fricken hard it is to find natural cosmetics on the market that are not sell-a-kidney kind of expensive and natural body products that contain ingredients we can actually understand when reading the list on the label! Shopping for these items is a nightmare! Am I right or am I right?!

It certainly has been challenging for me on this journey to natural health and wellness to transition over to natural skincare. It’s been the last of my paleo lifestyle standard-to-healthier changes because 1. the cost involved and 2. the difficulty in sourcing products that actually work well

I will admit right here right now that my makeup items are still not 100% natural. I have a selection of eyeshadows that aren’t even close to being natural, but I use them very rarely. And a couple other products I think are semi-natural; not quite what I want but better than the standard chemical alternatives I used to use. The main thing for me is.. MOST of the makeup I use is natural and good quality. The rest of what I use on my skin definitely is, so I’m in the right direction I think!

Skincare, I think, is easier to get a hang of than makeup. Looking for “natural” is so overwhelming because there’s just so many products in stores and online claiming to be natural when in fact they’re not. Or the ingredients are ‘derived’ from natural sources but after all the processing and manipulating, are barely a resemblance to their original state. Plus, so many products have so many ingredients! Have you noticed? You’re reading the label of a moisturiser product on the shelf in your local health food store and can’t fathom why there needs to be 30+ ingredients just to moisten skin?! I find that a little crazy and unnecessary to be honest.

But.. when I decided I wanted to go more ‘Paleo‘ when it came to what I put on my skin, I found the process of choosing products and concoctions so much easier. I thought to myself.. “if I don’t want to put grains into my body, why would I want to put grain oils on my body?” and this concept has really worked for me. Instead of simply looking for ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ options (which can be so full of so many ingredients they still cause nasty reactions and symptoms or just don’t work at all) I started looking for paleo-friendly ingredients.

Basically, I’m looking for oils, fats, and other ingredients that could be classed as “Paleo”. This leaves out a whole stack of natural products on the market but it suits me better because I’ve found paleo-friendly products have very few ingredients, which I really like.

My makeup tray

With most of my skincare, I stopped buying actual products almost all-together. Instead I use plain oils. Oils I had in the kitchen! Seriously! Olive oil, coconut oil.. so many edible oils are great used topically. I mentioned in the last blog how I use olive oil to remove makeup from my face every night, well I also use the same jar of it as my arms and legs moisturiser! I did start out using coconut oil, because alllll the natural wellness blogs and social media allllways rave about how coconut oil is the answer for eeeeevery health condition under the sun and has a zillion uses… ok that’s a slight exaggeration but you get my point here. We’re basically being told to put coconut oil on everything.

So I used it as a makeup remover, moisturiser, hair gel, everything. But with my skin, I found it to be too greasy. It didn’t absorb in well enough, it would immediately rub off onto things I touched and my skin would feel dry again before the end of the day.

I tried olive oil instead, because if you do a bit of searching on the internet you’ll find out it’s pretty much just as useful as coconut oil! I use a Coles brand organic olive oil in the kitchen and in the bathroom, just in a jar. I don’t need to use it on my arms and legs during Summer, but I do all Winter because of the dry weather.

The ONLY moisturiser I do buy is the Ecology Skincare range. Why do I bother when I already use oils that are so inexpensive? Because it’s one of the only paleo-friendly products on the market and it’s absolutely AMAZING!

Based on grass-fed beef tallow, which is really similar to our skin, these tubs of fluffy, creamy, soft, delicious-smelling moisturiser are just heavenly. Clint and I both use them! Clint suffers from dryness under his beard because of gut issues (which he is sorting out, don’t worry) and finds Ecology really helps reduce redness, dryness and itchiness. Especially when he’s trimmed his beard, the skin seems to get really irritated by that and becomes really red and sore very quickly. So he puts some Ecology cream on and it helps a lot.

We’ve been trying the new Pete Evans range lately too and are happy to report they are just as good as the original range Crystal makes! We prefer the scents of the originals, but as moisturisers, they are on par.

My non-makeup skincare collection

Ecology Skincare creams are really fluffy and soft

Oh and I also use Ecology Skincare on my lips at night! I used to use Paw Paw cream until, as with many products I used to use, I found out it’s incredibly toxic and stopped using it.

In the mornings after my shower I like to apply a few drops of Kosmea rosehip oil to my face. I have bad skin, I always have, due to my chronic health issues. So the blotchiness and scarring is quite bad and I’m trying to minimise it as much as possible. I used to use Bio Oil every day, for a few years, until I read how toxic it is. Oops. But then I stopped using it and switched to rosehip oil. I’ve tried a few brands, cheaper options, but this brand is by far my favourite because it definitely works well. It’s also great for stretch marks.

That sponge-ish looking thing in the image above is a new foot scrubber I’ve been trying out. It’s a SAFIX brand and made from coconut fibre. I find it way too scratchy on my arms and legs but it works well on knees and feet for exfoliating. Being barefoot 95% of the time my feet are pretty nice but sometimes it’s handy to exfoliate, especially my knees due to Winter dryness.

I don’t use anything to exfoliate my face apart from a wet face washer while in the shower.

As for deodorant.. that’s another tricky one for many people. Natural options have been on the market for a long time, but really, has anyone ever found those crystals to actually work?! I don’t know anyone who has and they never have for me! I use the same principle with deodorant as I do with moisturisers.. I look for paleo-friendly products that have few ingredients and actually work.

The reason for going natural in the pit region is mainly to avoid using aluminium there which is in all standard deodorants on the market. But again, many of the natural varieties are full of confusingly-named ingredients or contain a whole bunch of things I just don’t think I need on my skin.

The only product I’ve tried that contains minimal ingredients, is Paleo and works extremely well is Simple Chemistry. Erika from Brisbane makes terrific deodorants, we both love using them. But recently I decided to try making my own as an experiment. I’ve just melted together aluminium-free bicarb soda, arrowroot powder, coconut oil and lemon essential oil. It works really well, but it’s grainer than Erika’s products, so I prefer hers!

There’s loads of websites with DIY options but my advice is to remember to buy the bicarb that doesn’t contain any aluminium, as if it’s a brand that does, it may cause a reaction to your skin.

Mineral makeup combo. Terrible lighting in the bathroom made for a terrible photo.. sorry!!

Makeup I don’t use the paleo-friendly concept with, it’s too hard to even worry about that, I just want as natural as possible.

Foundation and concealer are what I use the most of so I want them to be natural and safe. I’ve tried a few brands, including Nude by Nature which I don’t think is totally natural but it was affordable for me for a long time. And it worked well!

Now I use a combination of 2 shades of Claytime foundation powders mixed with, wait for it… olive oil! Yes, yet another use for olive oil! haha

I get a lot of sun now, with no sunscreen on, so in Summer my skin colour darkens and in Winter, even though I still do get lots of sun the UV is lower so my skin lightens up a bit. So to ensure I can get my makeup to match my skin tone (and there’s nothing worse than a lady wearing totally the wrong makeup tone for her skin) I mix my own colour! I use a light shade powder and a darker one, mostly the darker one now that my skin is tanned, shaken into a spare tub I had, then I add a few drops of olive oil and stir to get the right consistency. I always check it on my face and adjust as I need. Claytime and olive oil together give me excellent coverage (I often get complimented on how nice my skin is!), the tubs are not expensive to buy, and even though I’m doing some work to get the foundation created, it doesn’t take long at all.

To make concealer I just use a bit of the lighter powder in the lid of the foundation mixture tub and some of the foundation, to give me a slightly lighter – but too much – mixture to then dab onto the spots I have on my face and for under my eyes.

I’ve tried other brands as well, and am a big fan of Eco Minerals. Nourished Life is a great website with a few brands to choose from. When buying natural foundation and concealer, look for mineral makeup but do some research as to how natural they really are. I’ve heard stories of ladies stopping to use those pop-up consmetic brand stores in shopping centres, advertising ‘mineral’ and ‘natural’ makeup then asking to look at the ingredients to find out they are not at all totally natural. So be careful and do some research!

With my eye colours, I’m a natural-look kinda gal, opting mostly for brown and black shades so I don’t buy a lot of different eyeshadows. Plus when you’re buying mineral options you’ll notice there aren’t anywhere near as many colours available as with regular options.

I use Claytime (brown, black and light purple) as well as Nude by Nature (browns and a cream colour) eyeshadows, Claytime black mascara (which I LOVE!), Claytime brushes plus a packet of regular plastic (not at all natural) eyeshadow pads, and very-not-natural eyeliner pencils. I’m yet to be able to afford quality pencils, they are just so expensive and unfortunately Claytime don’t make any 😦 I figure though because I only use them on the edge of my lids, it’s not much and can’t be doing too much damage to my health.

My eyebrows are brown but lighten really easily from the sun, so I like to define them using the Nude by Nature dark brown eyeshadow I have. You can see below the difference it makes!

Right side eyebrow is without colouring. Right side eyelid has the Claytime black eyeshadow

Claytime brown eyeshadow gives a nice soft colouring which I usually define more with the brown pencil

The Claytime mascara applies really well and gives me the amount of definition I like

Most of the time I use an Eco Minerals bronzer powder as my blush, because it’s a nice colour on me and a quality product. I also own a pink Claytime tub and darker pink Nude by Nature which I rarely use. The brush came in the set of Claytime natural brushes.

Eco Minerals bronzer. I shake a little into the lid then lightly dab my brush into it

The Eco Minerals bronzer gives a nice colour and contour to my cheeks

The Claytime pink blush is nice and subtle. It’s what I use when I’m wearing a ‘pretty’ outfit

I think that’s about all we use as far as skincare and makeup goes! As you can see, I’m not totally there with 100% natural but I’m very close and that suits me at the moment 🙂

What natural products and DIY do you use? I’d love to know!

Stay tuned for the next instalment of Our Natural Bathroom! It might be about our oral health and we think you’ll find it pretty interesting actually.. 😉

Bye for now!

Aimee x

Wash your mouth out with soap… literally!

December 18, 2014March 13, 2021 / Primal Influence / 5 Comments

Some of you will have heard us talk about how we use soap as toothpaste. For those of you who haven’t heard this before you’ll be saying “Soap, wtf?!” and yes, it’s true!

It sounds really weird, I know. But we absolutely love it!

We use coconut oil soap to brush our teeth with twice a day. We started about 1.5 years ago when Clint had been to the dentist to check what was going on with his teeth after what he thought was a huge chunk of tooth chipped off one night. Turned out it was actually plaque build-up! Yuck!

Being more into natural health and everything, he wasn’t too keen to follow the dentists suggestions of how to fix it conventionally and remove the remaining plaque. So he did some research on natural alternatives and came across using olive oil or coconut oil soap.

The next day we went to the health food store and grabbed a bar of Banaban pure coconut oil soap and started using it that day. We haven’t looked back since!

The reason for this? Well without going into tonnes of detail (feel free to do your own Google’ing on the subject, there’s plenty of info out there!)… pretty much all toothpastes, even the natural varieties, contain glycerine which coats our teeth. This supposedly stops food from causing decay. But, humans are meant to eat food and if we’re eating GOOD FOOD then we shouldn’t need a barrier up all day. Also food is nourishing for our teeth as it is the rest of our body, it actually helps strengthen them, not harm them. So by placing a glycerine barrier up all day we’re causing more harm than good to our pearly whites.

Because we’re so used to brushing our teeth to remove any bad breath smells, and to remove the furry feeling from food, we wanted to keep brushing but not let anything coat our teeth. And at this stage we were mostly paleo so we knew we were eating good food that humans are meant to be eating, therefore we were not at all worried about switching from a fluoride-free glycerine-filled conventional toothpaste tube over to a bar of soap.

And when you think of coconut oil, what comes to mind? Cleaning! It’s a natural cleaner and healer, so brushing with it has similar effects to oil pulling. Which by the way, neither of us can be bothered doing.

When we started using coconut oil soap we were shocked at how little we needed on our toothbrushes, because it froths up so much. Also, how quick it was to brush before our teeth felt all shiny and smooth. We were noticing these positives within the first few days, so we were sticking to this new thang!

Over the next two weeks Clint noticed plaque was actually coming off his teeth! With no effort at all, nothing unnatural, from just using this soap! He also realised he was no longer getting gingivitis. Which by the way I had no idea he was even getting! He’d thought it was totally normal all those years.

So the soap was removing his plaque build-up, stopping his bleeding gums, and… I myself noticed improvements too. My tooth aches all went away! Over the year and a half we’ve been using this soap, neither of us have had a single tooth ache again, bleeding gums, no new cavities, nothing bad at all! We feel our teeth have actually strengthened and improved!

AND to add to the already long list of amazing benefits of this… our teeth feel cleaner longer throughout the day, AND… it’s insanely cheap!!! Can it get any better!?! The bar we bought was about $5.50 at the time and it lasted us over a YEAR! So instead of paying $9+ on a tube of natural toothpaste every few months, we’re now paying next to nothing for something even better. Yay!

After a few months of our experiment we had mum onto it. She experienced the same results as us and also loves using her coconut soap on her teeth every day.

The only thing is, once you start, you can’t then go and use a glycerine toothpaste because it coats your teeth again for a long time. So we’ve actually not once used toothpaste, we take a little piece of our soap with us when we stay at other people’s houses or go camping. Just in a travel soap container. Easy!

So if you’ve been wanting to switch from using a nasty chemical-ridden toxic conventional toothpaste over to something natural and also beneficial, then this might be a good option for you! Remember though to check ingredients before using, you’re looking for a pure coconut oil soap, and if you have any kind of adverse reaction when using, stop immediately.

If you have tried this, or you do try this, please let us know how you go!

There are stacks of articles on the net talking about natural dental health for humans, how healthy our ancestors teeth were, what foods can help strengthen teeth, etc etc but if you can’t find anything just ask Clint, he’ll be happy to share the articles and info he’s come across.

We actually teach people how to make pure coconut oil soap bars! Find out more here

Happy brushing!

Aimee

Natural Fitness + Lifestyle Coaching | Visit our website: Primal Influence | Follow us on socials: Facebook + Instagram

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NO information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition.

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🧼We we use soap as toothpaste!

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Wash your mouth out with soap… literally!

We actually teach people how to make pure coconut oil soap bars! Find out more here