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Charcoal has traditionally been used as an antidote to toxic poisoning particularly in the case of drugs and food poisoning. This isn’t your everyday kind of charcoal used for barbecuing, its point of difference being it’s porous texture. The pores are created by an ‘activating’ process of heating the charcoal at very high temperatures. These pores enable the charcoal to bind to toxins, so they can be eliminated via the digestive tract.
Recently charcoal has generated a lot of hype surrounding more everyday uses such as skin treatments, reducing the severity of hangovers and teeth whitening. Specifically in the case of teeth whitening, whilst there isn’t any specific research on it, it us suggested that charcoal binds to plaque and other teeth-staining compounds such as coffee and tea, which are washed out upon rinsing. Leaving behind a pearly white smile.
Being a Nutritionist naturally I am conscious of what I put into my body and minimising my exposure to toxins and harmful chemicals. A large part of this is being aware of the ingredients in the hygiene and beauty products I use. Many of the commercial toothpastes on the market contain harmful chemicals such as fluoride which is toxic at high levels, synthetic preservatives, surfactants and artificial sweeteners which pose endocrine disrupting, inflammatory and/or carcinogenic health risks.
So I decided to give NUMY’s all natural Charcoal Whitening Toothpaste a go.
What I absolutely LOVE about this product is that it is 100% free from artificial flavours, bleaching agents, colours, fluoride, glycerin, parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, sugar or artificial sweeteners. These are massive ticks for me given the ability for these chemicals to easily enter the bloodstream via the mouth. The toothpaste also has fresh minty flavour which is what you want in a toothpaste.
If you are used to traditional toothpastes which I have to admit I am, it is definitely a very different experience and not the most attractive one. Thankfully teeth brushing isn’t a public practice so no real issue there. As I oozed the paste out onto my toothbrush, I was a little reluctant at first due to its jet black colour. This made sense though given it’s made on activated charcoal. So I proceeded to put it into my mouth and start scrubbing. As I stared back at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t help to fixate on by big black grin. Not glamorous, but teeth brushing never really is. The texture is also grainy and doesn’t foam up like your everyday toothpaste but that didn’t bother me so much.
As I rinsed away the charcoal remnants, I was relieved to see my pearly whites. Were they noticeably whiter…I’m not 100% sure. However given that it was only one wash and I have the piece of mind knowing I wasn’t exposing my body to all those nasty chemicals, I will definitely keep using it to find out.