I've been making a homemade mouthwash of Peppermint, Eucalyptus, and Rosemary EO. Just wondering if you guys think these are safe to swish around in the mouth? It is hard to find good data on the safety of EOs.
I've been making a homemade mouthwash of Peppermint, Eucalyptus, and Rosemary EO. Just wondering if you guys think these are safe to swish around in the mouth? It is hard to find good data on the safety of EOs.
I only would if it's food grade personally. Also I would dilute it quite a bit, I don't go above 10% EO. I use food grade peppermint oil for my homemade toothpaste.
I'd say you're pushing far past the limits of what I personally would be comfortable putting into my mouth, if only considering the issue of overly intense flavor. I wouldn't dream of putting 1 tablespoon of peppermint extract in 2 cups of frosting to cover a whole sheet cake. And peppermint EO is considerably more concentrated than extract.
Furthermore, these EOs will not dissolve in the carrier you're using -- water I assume -- so you're going to get a variable dose of EOs unless you're really careful to agitate the mixture before use or use a solubilizer.
I hope you store this safely away from young fingers -- ingesting eucalyptus has caused serious illness and even been fatal to children. I can see some potential for harm in adults too. According to Robert Tisserand in Essential Oil Safety, "... Eucalyptus oil appears to be more toxic in humans than would be expected from the animal data..." Severe illness has occurred in adults who ingested as little as 1 teaspoon of eucalyptus oil. Tisserand also reports rosemary can cause mouth ulcers. I know you're not swallowing these EOs, but you are applying them to delicate, porous mucous membranes, not just to regular skin, and you're doing this on a regular basis if you use this mouthwash at least daily, as most people do.
I'd say you're pushing far past the limits of what I personally would be comfortable putting into my mouth, if only considering the issue of overly intense flavor. I wouldn't dream of putting 1 tablespoon of peppermint extract in 2 cups of frosting to cover a whole sheet cake. And peppermint EO is considerably more concentrated than extract.
I'm just asking about safety now because I never realized EOs could be dangerous until recently. I see there's controversy over it the more I read so I wanted to hear opinions.
"...Many commercial mouthwashes use alcohol, which is probably much more toxic than EOs, and people seem to think they are fine..."
Um, okkaaaaayyyyy..... Take a class from a qualified teacher in essential oil safety and use and see what you think after the class.
*I have only made the toothpaste twice now and it's great at cleaning the slow buildup that occurs, to me at least, while using store toothpastes. I make it with coconut oil, baking soda, sea salt, and peppermint EO.
I started off with 1 tsp in my 1/2 to 1 cup of toothpaste blend and barely could notice it in there. I moved it up 1 tsp at a time until 3 and it was perfect. This is an estimation -- I make my toothpaste like I make my food no precise measuring. Personally I would just go by flavor for peppermint EO, especially since you aren't completely ingesting it. You will absorb quite a bit in your mouth. But I would be surprised if it's over 25%, you sure can smell it strongly in what you spit out. I put far more repulsive and possibly deadly food in my mouth fairly often and swallow it into my belly for digestion. You probably do as well -- search around for foods/additives that cause cancer, heart disease and other ailments. I'm not very worried about the levels of peppermint EO i'm absorbing through my toothpaste.
That sounds like a great toothpaste, and one I considered making. I have a hard time figuring the abrasiveness scale because baking soda is very low, yet many claim it strips enamel. Yet they don't say this about toothpastes that are much higher on the scale. This could be big industry trying to hide data, but I'm not sure what is up. Have you noticed any issues with baking soda on your enamel? How does it feel? Abrasive or no? I've read calcium carbonate is also excellent and alkaline.
Would steeping eucalyptus leaves into water be a better idea? We actually have many of those trees where I live in California.
smee;
Be careful with eucalyptus. Some excerpts from webmd.com:
"Eucalyptus oil should not be taken by mouth or applied to the skin full-strength. It must be diluted for safety. The diluted oil is taken by mouth for pain and swelling (inflammation)
So it sounds like it's okay if diluted. The question is just how much.
That is my take. And, Dr. Tichenor's has been around a long time. Unfortunately I look up every ingredient, even xylitol is known to cause cancer. So, I leave you a Joe Jackson song "Everything Gives You Cancer".
And I may experiment when I make my own, or a company states food grade, most don't for good reason, so make your own. In the old days birch branches were tooth brushes, and xylitol (spelling) can be made from birch and other things according to the non specific labels.
If I had fresh Eucalyptus, I would try one day. If I got high, I would know I was not a koala bear, lol, lol, lol.
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