*This post was written before the tragic events in Manchester on 22 May 2017. I am deeply saddened by the events and my thoughts are with the family and friends of all of those affected.*

Beauty trends come and go, but the thirst for whiter teeth has made this a billion £ market driven by our celebrity culture. Googling reveals thousands of teeth whitening products that you can buy, DIY at home or seek professionals for. They are everywhere and one ingredient that I come across, again and again, is charcoal. Recently there has been an outburst of celebrities on social media posing with a black toothpaste and pearly whites! “What is this thing they are holding and what does it do?” After looking into it a bit more, I found out that it’s a teeth whitening product call “Mr Blanc Teeth Bamboo Charcoal Whitening Polish” and it’s available at Boots and on Amazon!

Being a mum, I can no longer justify sitting in front of a mirror spending 30+ minutes putting on makeup and doing my hair (unless I really have to). Time is of the essence and frighteningly short. Therefore spending so much time putting on my face and then letting grubby little hands wipe all over them just didn’t appeal to me. BUT brushing my teeth, well I do that every day! So I decided to research a bit more…

Charcoal Whitening Polish: Ingredients

• Sorbitol: Sweetening agent
• Aqua: H2O
• Calcium Carbonate and Silica: both are abrasive substances used to remove stains and debris, they are odourless and tasteless and when combined together are used to remove plaque safely.
• Glycerin: prevents the toothpaste from drying up and also prevents bacteria from growing.
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate: foaming and wetting agent allowing the paste to spread more easily
• Aroma: flavouring???
• Charcoal Powder: Activated charcoal is extremely effective at binding with toxins and removing stains
• Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate: foaming and cleansing agent
• Xanthan gum: thickener
• Sodium Saccharin: Another sweetener
• Sodium Benzoate: prevents the growth of bacteria, mold, and other microorganisms
• Menthol: giving it its minty taste

It doesn’t specify the quantity of each ingredient, and most of them are actually widely used in regular toothpaste, so is it just the Charcoal powder that gives it its magical whitening results?

Description from their Website:

“MrBlancTeeth Bamboo Charcoal Whitening Polish targets teeth staining tannins found in a variety of different foods such as coffee, tea and wine. Low in abrasion, the Activated Charcoal helps remove tannins from the surface of the teeth without harming the enamel, resulting in whiter teeth. MrBlancTeeth Bamboo Charcoal Whitening Polish keeps your enamel strong and healthy and leaves you with a long-lasting feeling of cleanliness and freshness.”

The product states it targets staining tannins such as tea, coffee and wine. I hardly drink any of those, so I don’t really know what results to expect, but I do eat a lot of sweets and I’m especially fond of my alcoholic gummy bears at the moment! So I had to give this product a try and this is how I got on:

After 1 week:

I think my teeth are slightly whiter but I don’t know if this is because I’ve been brushing my teeth longer each time as I’ve used both the charcoal toothpaste and my regular one to finish it off.

After 1 month:

Please don’t judge my poor wonky imperfect teeth, I’ve only put it up for you to see the before and after! And I must say they definitely appear whiter than before. This is especially visible on the bottom central incisors. I have read some reviews that claimed it made some people’s gums more sensitive, but I never experienced this at all. So would I continue to use it? Looking at the photos above, yes! However, I may also experiment with using activated charcoal powder/capsules directly from the health store and see whether I get the same results as well. Why? Because firstly, it won’t contain ingredients such as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Sodium Saccharin, Silica etc and secondly, it would work out much cheaper.

Would you give this product a go? You may not get whiter teeth overnight, but if you persist, there’s really no harm in trying for a month to see if brushing alone can get them a shade or two whiter, right? Please let me know if there are other products or techniques that you would recommend?

Until next time…

Love, MsMamaBean x

*This post contains affiliate links, but all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own and not influenced by the developing company, and/or its affiliates, in anyway.

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