I was delighted to read a recent article about Alicia Keys and her #nomakeup position. As someone who is a belly dancer that wears make up and blogs about make up that may seem strange. I love make up but there is a time and place for it. The thing is, there is a lot of pressure on women to be something else, not just on stage, but all the time. I can relate to her comments about wearing masks and hiding. There was a time in my life when my skin was often red and angry and I never left the house without a full face of make-up. Thankfully after many years of work with natural therapies and deeper self-development that problem passed. I now feel I have a healthier relationship to myself. I can accept and love how I look without make up and do the same with it. So despite me vowing to publish all the half written make up reviews I have been accumulating on my computer I will jump this piece forward. This is about trialling oil pulling as a tooth whitener - something natural, easy to do, cheap and looks good, with or without make up.
When I first heard about oil pulling, I was like "Yuck, seriously?".
After I heard it mentioned many times, I decided to look into it a bit. From the numerous websites and forums I looked at, oil pulling has been claimed to cure everything from ingrown hairs to arthritis. I can't attest to its curative abilities but the one thing everyone agreed on was it does make your teeth whiter so I decided to try it. It was super cheap compared with the $400 chemical shit storm the dentist offered to whiten my teeth.
So what is OIL PULLING?
It is putting a spoonful of oil in your mouth and swishing it for about 20mins or so and spitting it out.
It is said to draw out toxins (hence its claimed healing benefits). It may or may not help with health issues but in accordance with what every one else said online, it did make my teeth whiter. You do this on a daily basis for 2 weeks. I was a bit sporadic with it so my results were not as strong as my son's. He tried it and was much more disciplined and his teeth became super white, my daughter tried it too and it temporary fixed an enamel discolouration she has on one tooth (it stayed white for many months and goes white again when she does the oil pulling, her dentist was impressed with the results).
What oil do you use?
Well the first articles I read about it in years ago recommended organic sunflower oil which I tried and did not really like. The next site said sesame oil was the ancient way, so I tried that too. I preferred the taste but it was strong. The oil of choice for most modern oil pullers is organic coconut oil. This was the best flavour in my opinion. If yours is solid just scrape out a spoonful, it melts really quickly in your mouth.
What is it like?
I won't lie to you, I don't like the texture of that oil in my mouth. It took me many attempts before I could tolerate it for the full-time frame but you do get used to it and some people don't mind it at all.
Results
Whiter teeth! It really worked for me, my friends and family. Some people do it in the shower (just remember to not spit it into your drains), some while reading, doing yoga or meditating.
Where to get it
Everyone is crazy about coconut oil in Australia these days and you can buy this stuff at woolworths, coles, go-vita and probably any health food shop you go to. For locals - it is also stocked in Kombu in Bellingen.
I would love to hear form my overseas readers if organic coconut oil is easily available where you live too.
Have you tried it? How did it go for you? Comment below.
Disclaimer:
The information contained here is for information purposes only. You should always seek advice from a qualified health care professional before you change, start or stop any part of your healthcare plan including physical activity and exercise.
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