Raising Men

Hi Maryann! I got my wonderful box from you today and your products are awesome! I'll e-mail you later with my raves... About the tooth soap...The shreds are very convenient to use and more sanitary. You only need one shred per brushing. With the jar of soap I bought, there were 2 sets of instructions for using it, one in the book and one on the jar. One said to place one shred on your wet toothbrush and run water over it, then start brushing. The other said to place a shred on your back teeth, bite down, then start brushing. I've tried both ways, and I prefer the shred-on-toothbrush approach. No reason really, except that it's a little less time consuming for me. Also, acc'd to the research, we should brush our teeth no longer than 2 minutes, and use a soft toothbrush with a light hand. I really would like to read the book again, but I lent it to a friend. Fascinating stuff.

Rebecca, you've read some of the same things I have. Regarding the glycerin and rinsing the teeth, according to the Tooth Soap book, the "natural" glycerin in homemade soap is not as "sticky" to the teeth and washes off after about 2 rinses. I have instructed my sons to rinse twice after brushing. You're right about the teeth re-mineralizing. One other thing the book recommends is rinsing the mouth with water after eating anything. Another thing is AVOIDING the harsh tooth-scraping you get at a dental cleaning. Apparently it destroys the coating the teeth have built up, and punctures "holes" in it, allowing for more cavities. Using tooth soap, however, prevents the toothpaste-stickiness which causes plaque to stick to your teeth like glue, which prevents the need for the scraping altogether. Who knew tooth stuff could be so fascinating??

At Wal-Mart today I saw stainless steel stick blenders on clearance. They're normally $19.95, but were on sale for $5.00! It's a Kitchen Selectives 300 watts, SM-80. Here, I just googled it and this is it. OK, just looked again, and it's the same one Kris posted about in this post, and she included a picture. I purchased 2 of them. (Yeah, I might see cp in my future...) There were about 4 or 5 left. Check it out! HTH!

Well, I would definitely NOT use Splenda. As a purchaser of tooth soap, I wouldn't buy one with Splenda in it. To me, you might as well put flouride in it if you use Splenda. It's considered pretty unhealthy, just as bad as aspartame, etc. Most purchasers of tooth soap will probably be health-concious, and would steer clear of it. If I were going to try to sweeten it somehow, I'd probably lean toward something like Xylitol. It's natural, safe, healthy, and is actually GOOD for your teeth. It helps prevent tooth decay. It comes from sources like fruit. Many chewing gums now prominently display the fact that they contain Xylitol. I have it in my cabinet and use it for sweetening some of our drinks. It's in white powder form and I get it from my health food coop. I don't know how it would react in soap, but I guess it's worth a shot, eh? I suppose you could use Stevia too. I use Stevia everyday in my morning cup of tea. Healthy, natural. If I were to choose, I'd probably go for Xylitol in a tooth product I was buying over Stevia, but either one would have label appeal for me. HTH! Your friendly consumer

I'm a tongue-brusher too, so I just brush my tongue with plain water. It works fine for me. The book recommends using a tongue scraper or some other method for scraping the tongue if it bothers you. I haven't had a problem with breath, and my mouth tastes fresh. My kids say they like tooth soap because you can eat or drink something in the morning right after brushing, and it doesn't taste nasty like toothpaste did.

MaryAnn, her ingredients, which are listed on her website, are saponified coconut, palm, and olive oils and essential oil. That's it. I would think you could use any basic soap recipe. I guess you could add flouride if you wanted, but the main reason many people use tooth soap is because it doesn't have flouride in it. (Because flouride is toxic, and one of the main thrusts of her book is that it is believed flouride actually contributes to cavities.) Controversial, to be sure, but there it is. She also makes many other suggestions for healthy teeth. This is all based pretty much on her research of the dr. who someone linked to earlier in the thread. (Can't remember his name...) Very interesting reading. HTH! Becca

Oh yes, I've been using Tooth Soap for a few weeks now. I got it from here. But I paid $40 for a little jar of tooth soap shreds plus her book. (You have to buy the book with your first order.) That woman is making a killing. I'm not paying $20 for a little jar of tooth soap in the future to keep up this habit. I know I said I'd never make my own soap, but I would learn how just to make this. I love using tooth soap. I will never go back to toothpaste. I love the fact that it contains no flouride. It makes my teeth feel so clean, and I don't have morning breath! It's much more gentle to my mouth, and it doesn't leave that filmy coating that toothpaste does. Even my kids use it. My oldest son(13) read the book, (he even read some of it aloud to his little brother(10) and then he went and threw the toothpaste tube in the trash! It's not too bad if you try to keep it off your tongue. The shreds look like shredded cheese, and you use one shred per brushing. Very cool! BTW, your soap is lovely, and I love the labels! *Edited because I think I sounded too harsh towards the Tooth Soap woman and I didn't mean to! *And* to add what I thought of your soap, which was the whole reason for this thread in the first place...

I bought a small jar of unrefined shea butter from Abanga Karite, and I love it. But I don't like the smell and I would like it to be easier to spread. I've "heard" you all talking about body butter, and wonder if this is something I could do. I've seen that some of you whip shea with monoi, and I actually have some that a friend gave me a few years ago. It's not pure, 100% like you all probably use...here, I just looked it up and found it at this site. I know it's not the same stuff, but could my shea be mixed with this to make it more spreadable and smell better? And if so, how? Can you mix just the two ingredients? I do have a kitchen aid stand mixer I could use. As I said, I'm not a soap-maker, and don't have any other ingredients. Thanks in advance for your help!

Wow, thanks ladies! All so welcoming! But it's funny, you're all talking as if I'm going to be making soap someday. LOL Nope! Not gonna happen. Not *this* chick. I don't have the time nor the inclination. Uh-uh. I'll leave it to you pros. I just want to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labors! Now I need to go look at your sites. Decisions, decisions! Maryann - Hiya Coastie! I tried to PM you but my access was denied. I guess I'm too new. I didn't try and see if I could e-mail you, but I'll do that next. I love the way this shea makes me feel, but the smell is not all that. Luckily, I can't smell it anymore after I put it on. My 10 yr old son has some pretty scaly skin, so I bet it would do wonders for him, if he can get past the smell! It's not *horrid*, just not pleasant. Anyway, I'll try to e-mail you now.

Cool! Robin, thank you so much! And no, I will definitely NOT be hooked on making my own stuff. (Knock on wood) Just toying with the idea of buying some essential oil to mix with my shea to make it smell better wears me out! Besides, I may be a SAHM, but I homeschool, and that's a full-time job already. Whew! I appreciate the information. I will check it out! Glad to know I got good stuff. Thanks!!!

I'm sorry if this post is innapropriate here. I wasn't sure where to put it. I'm not a soap maker. I found this place because I recently "discovered" that people actually make their own soap. And that it's better for you!! WOW! I was googling unrefined shea butter one day and this site was in the results. (BTW, I did order and just yesterday received unref. shea butter and shea/wild african honey soap from Abanga Karite!) I am in awe of you folks! I looked at some of the pictures of your soaps in the Gallery--gorgeous! I want it all! So, here's why I'm here. I will never make my own soap. I do, however, want to enjoy homemade soap. I can't find it around my area. (I live on the Gulf Coast of FL - hurricane country) I also would prefer to support you ladies (& gents) with your own home businesses, rather than large corps. I love the feel of the shea products I have, but I'm not thrilled with the smell. I would love this quality in something prettier and nicely scented. (Ooh, especially something with lavendar and vanilla, or lemon verbena, and on and on...) Just reading through here I am thrilled with the pride and care you take in your products. The quality you provide is what I want for my family. I never want to buy store-bought soap/lotion again. SO... Where can I buy your wares? I can't see where you have websites listed anywhere. Oh, maybe you're not supposed to advertise here? Again, I'm sorry if this is inappropriate here. I'm a forum newbie, so I hope I haven't broken any etiquette rules. I'm sure I probably overlooked something, either links or rules somewhere. It's all a little overwhelming! THanks!!! I'm Raising Men (SAHM of 2 boys ages 13 and 10)