Friday, June 14, 2013

Product Review: Natural Toothpaste War (Tom's, Jason's, Kiss My Face)

It's time for the Toothpaste War! I wanted to review three different popular natural brands so that I can tell you which is the best!


I've been using Tom's Cinnamon Toothpaste for over a year and I have really enjoyed it. 

The flavor is nice, not too overpowering and it comes in a paste, which I prefer over gel. I've tried the peppermint version too, but I find it too pepperminty for me. The cinnamon is perfect. It requires the normal amount of paste to get a good brushing-- so no extra points for longevity. 

This toothpaste did contain fluoride. 

What I really appreciate about Tom's is that they make sure that you have access to all their ingredients. You can look up items individually on their website so you know what those fancy names mean. The only problem is that they use carrageenan in their paste and gel toothpastes. 

Carrageenan is made from seaweeds, but so heavily processed that the structure is damaged and it's been shown to likely have carcinogenic affects. Some of the big organic companies are pushing for the FDA to remove carrageenan from the organic list. That's reason enough for me to stay away from it!

I was also a little sad that Tom's has Sodium Laurel Sulfate-- it has been known to be irritating and it's not exactly natural.

So, for those reason's I will sadly be giving up Tom's of Maine Toothpaste.

The Skin Deep Cosmetic Database gave it a score of 1 (0-10 and 0 is the best)



JASON'S Jason's Orange, Cinnamon and Mint toothpaste sadly also has carrageenan and it's not even at the back of the list of ingredients: it's near the top.

The flavor is mild and kind of wonderful and my teeth feel really clean, but I can't get past the carrageenan being such a high ranking ingredient. I read that they recently changed their formula and they were using a different thickening agent, but now they are using carrageenan primarily. 

I did see that they do NOT have carrageenan in the gel toothpaste so I ordered cinnamon and  tea tree gel toothpaste by Jason. I found it quite good-- a bit more tea tree than cinnamon, but it was refreshing and mild. You don't need much to get a good clean feeling so this might last quite a while. 

I was a bit concerned about the number of products in the Jason's toothpaste-- many which I didn't know what they were. They did note that their aloe and their tea tree are both certified organic and I appreciate that. They listed stevia in their list of ingredients which I'm not excited about. It's a "natural" sweetener, but it's such a new product so I'm a little iffy about it. I think it's definitely better than sugar, but do I need it in my toothpaste? 

There was no fluoride list in this toothpaste. 

I cannot recommend Jason's paste toothpaste, but do try their gel toothpaste! In my opinion, it is a better natural product that Tom's. 

The Skin Deep Cosmetic Database gave this toothpaste a rating of 3

KISS MY FACE
I purchased the peppermint flavor "Triple Action" toothpaste and it was surprisingly refreshing. It was sweeter than other peppermint toothpaste's I have tried and when I looked at the label I wondered if it was because of the licorice or stevia that was in the ingredient list. Maybe both. I'm still not thrilled about the stevia, but what's a girl to do!?

They also had quite a bit of ingredients that I weren't exactly sure what they were, but many of the same ingredients were used by Kiss My Face and Jason's. Only the aloe is certified organic in the Kiss My Face Product I sampled, but nonetheless, I really appreciated that it has tea tree oil (a natural anti-bacterial oil) and aloe in the ingredients. There was no carrageenan.

This toothpaste was a gel and not a paste, which isn't my preference, but I found that I didn't mind. It required very little gel to clean my teeth so I think this product would last a long time.

There was no fluoride in this toothpaste and it do NOT have carrageenan. Update: It may have carrageenan. It is questionable what "Irish Moss Extract" is, but it is something carrageenan can be derived from! 

CONCLUSION:
Out of these three products I would be comfortable using and recommending Jason's

The Skin Deep Cosmetic Database gave this toothpaste a rating of 2

But I also recommend making your own toothpaste! It's fun and you know exactly what is in it! 

If you would like to know more about the Skin Deep Cosmetic Database check out my post explaining their rating system: How Safe are Your Beauty Products?
Or
Go to their website to see how your other beauty products stack up: Skin Deep Database

Disclaimer: I have not been paid or compensated in any way for this review. This is my opinion of the product. 
Sherri Griffin
Sherri Griffin

Thanks for checking out my blog. I get serious about a few things in life: animals, chemicals, and food. For the rest I can't promise anything so keep the bar low. For more about me check out my "About Me" page! Happy DIYing!

2 comments:

  1. By the way- Kiss my face does have carageenan. They are tricky and label it "Irish Moss Extract" which is what carageenan is derived from

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whhhaat! Shut the front door! That's so deceptive! Luckily I've been making my own recently!! I'll amend this review with the new info! thanks!

      Delete

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