My zero waste teeth brushing routine: Recyclable toothbrush heads, toothpaste, floss ♻️

Hi all 👋🏻I seem to have gained quite a few new bloglovin’ followers recently, and as I currently have more free time with the current crisis I thought it would be a good time to crack a new blog post out. I’m still vegan after my last blog post detailing how veganuary 2019 went for me (celebrated my one year veganiversary earlier in the year!), and always looking for new ways to up my zero waste game.

I recently made some new replacement purchases for some of my everyday toiletries so thought I would breakdown what I've been using for my teeth brushing routine recently - all vegan, cruelty free and as zero waste as possible.

Humble Brush (gifted, £3.99 for one)

Firstly, I use manual brush and an electric brush interchangeably. My dentist advised I have some very early signs of gum receding on my bottom canines which could be easily reversed with going in less vigorously with an electric toothbrush (at least I'm brushing thoroughly ey) and using a manual toothbrush for one of my daily brushes instead.

As I also wear teeth straightening aligners daily, I need to clean these between wears and I find this hard to do with the shorter bristles on the electric brush - so I use the manual brush for this too. I was very kindly gifted the Humble Brush, which is an eco friendly solution to plastic toothbrushes. The handle is bamboo which can be composted, and the bristles are nylon. The handle can be composted and returns to soil after 6 months. The bristles either go into general waste or can be recycled too, if your local recycling services have the capability. I've been using my Humble Brush for a few months now and it's still going strong! The only thing to keep in mind is to keep the brush dry between uses (i.e not in a toothbrush pot that can collect water at the bottom) so the wood handle isn't affected.

Oral B Braun Electric Toothbrush with Live Coco recyclable electric toothbrush heads (£9.99 for a 2 pack)

Electric toothbrushes get a little tricky when it comes to being zero waste with the plastic involved for electrics. I believe there are some options now though so worth a research! I wanted a zero waste solution to cut down on the waste of the disposable toothbrush heads for my Oral B brush. I came across the Live Coco Recyclable Electric Toothbrush Heads on the Holland and Barrett website and visited THREE locations in central London until I found them (someone give me a zero waste award please for effort). These are only compatible with Oral B brushes with a circular head, and the bristles are made from charcoal. When they've run their course you can send them back directly to Live Coco and the brand will recycle them.

Georganics Natural Toothpaste in Tea Tree flavour (£8.90 for 120ml)

This is my first jar of plastic-free toothpaste and sadly I'm just not keen on the taste of this one from Georganics (I don't know why I picked the tea tree flavour as I really strongly associate this with hair and shower gel products), however you get a lot in the jar and I can see this lasting a while. They do other flavours including peppermint and orange which I will probably try after this one! The jar is also a good size and I can see if being easily repurposed.

If you're looking for an even more eco-friendly option they do a Toothsoap which comes in a completely cardboard tube, sadly the flavour of this made me gag (it very literally tastes like soap) but I kept it to clean my aligners and it lasted for ages! The reviews on their website for this aren't bad however, so worth a try.

Tevra Dental Floss (30m for £4.90)

I found I had to do a lot of googling to find a zero waste, cruelty free AND vegan option for dental floss. Normal floss comes in a plastic case and is made from waxed nylon, which takes 50-80 years to decompose. There are also zero waste options which are made from silk instead (usually harvested by boiling or crushing silk worms alive, I found versions made from 'peace silk' but there are reports of this being dubiously cruelty free). I use this floss by Tevra, which is made from corn and comes in a recyclable class and mental container which is also reusable with the brand's floss refills.

I hope this is helpful for anyone trying to tackle the plastic in their teeth brushing routine! Let me know if there's any good products you've tried and would recommend :)

Georgie x