If you’re taking part in Plastic Free July to reduce your plastic use, one of the unexpected places to look is at your toothpaste. Yes toothpaste is another one of those hidden places that pesky plastic manages to lurk – not just the packaging but in the actual toothpaste too. Plastic microbeads are found in many beauty products including toothpastes. Thankfully the UK ban on microbeads comes in to effect this month and many manufacturers have committed to stop using them.
Anyway it seems a good time to share my thoughts on a zero waste solid toothpaste I’ve been using the last few months. I was mega excited to find the Lamazuna zero-waste solid toothpaste in the Birchbox Going Green Box. I love everything about the look of this product from the all natural ingredients list to the logo. Lamazuna’s logo features a Zebra, one of my favourite animals and I mean anything that looks like a lollipop has to be good right?
LAMAZUNA SOLID TOOTHPASTE REVIEW
The Lamazuna solid toothpaste comes in packaging (both the wooden stick and box) that is all plastic-free, recyclable, biodegradable and compostable. The exterior box is made with vegetable inks and non-toxic varnish.
LAMAZUNA SOLID TOOTHPASTE INGREDIENTS:
Made in France with 100% natural and/or organic, vegan friendly ingredients.
Calcium Carbonate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Stearic Acid, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil*, Coconut Fatty Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Aqua (Water), Limonene**, Linalool**( *=certified organic, **=naturally present in essential oil)
As it contains peppermint essential oil, it is not suitable for use by children under the age of three and pregnant women. Also people using homeopathic remedies are advised to wait 30 minutes after brushing teeth.
Before you even open the box, a delightfully minty scent leaps up at you. To use you run your wet toothbrush against the solid toothpaste. The instructions say you don’t need much but at first it’s hard to tell how much is enough. A swipe is enough. However I did find it a little messy to use. Running my toothbrush across the solid toothpaste resulted in a bit of white splatter on whatever I was wearing.
The mintylicious smell distracts from the fact that this solid toothpaste tastes like soap. C’mon don’t tell me you haven’t had to wash you mouth out with soap at least once in your life 😂. I didn’t quite get that squeaky clean feeling I’ve been accustomed to with mass-market toothpastes, but the Lamazuna does leave teeth and mouth feeling clean.
I found storage to be a little bit of a issue. The solid toothpaste is antibacterial so you could just leave it on a soap dish but that just feels a little icky to me. I ended up storing it in a mini jam jar. I had thought it would be perfect for travel. However it didn’t survive intact in my travel bag and crumbled. Now there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t use the broken bits, which I did but just be mindful.
None of these are deal breakers if you’re really committed to using a solid toothpaste. So in summary, I love the concept and mintylicious smell but using it was not quite up to my expectations. Just sharing the tooth and the whole tooth.
Have you used a solid toothpaste? How did you get on with it? If you’ve got any tips on great solid toothpastes do let me know. Or do I need to look at powders?
Lamazuna Solid Toothpaste www.lamazuna.com RRP €8.50
Wonderlusting 