A few weeks ago the company Carbon Coco contacted me to review their Ultimate Carbon Kit* that contains their popular Activated Charcoal Tooth Polish, Activated Charcoal Toothpaste, Bamboo Bristled Toothbrush, Tongue Cleaner, and Satin Pouch. I have been having my own oral health struggles for a bit, and have actually have been eyeing their products for quite a while on Instagram and Facebook, so the opportunity to test out and review these products could not have come at a better time!
“Made from 100% certified organic coconut shell charcoal, Carbon Coco not only brightens your smile, but also improves your overall mouth health. Our medical grade activated charcoal powder removes toxins, stains, and plaque from your teeth through a process called adsorption, in which activated charcoal binds with these particles and flushes them out of your teeth and mouth. The super finely milled polish won’t damage your enamel or gums and also contains bentonite clay, a natural ingredient that helps remineralise teeth plus a hint of lemon myrtle, which has gentle and non-acidic antibacterial properties.”
I have been using the products for two weeks, day and night. They claim that results will be seen in 7-14 days, and I wanted to really put it to the test to see if it works. Please be sure to read the additional information to fully understand how this product worked for me, and how it may benefit your oral health.
DISCLAIMER: I’ve tried my best to explain activated charcoal in relation to oral health how I understand it myself. Please note I am NOT a professional in dentistry or any types of sciences. The information I am presenting is based on my own research and is NOT to be taken as medical advice. Please consult a professional on your concerns and personal use of activated charcoal products.
BITS OF INFO
ABOUT ACTIVATED CHARCOAL
What is Activated Charcoal?
– NOT charcoal from the BBQ
– Derived from natural sources, in this case for Carbon Coco, coconut shells
– Tasteless, odorless, fine powder
– Typically used to treat poisoning and drug overdoses
– Shown to be effective as a natural alternative to whiten teeth
How does it work?
-Activated charcoal removes toxins by adsorption; Adsorption is defined as ” the adhesion in an extremely thin layer of molecules (as of gases, solutes, or liquids) to the surfaces of solid bodies or liquids with which they are in contact.”
How it makes sense to me (High School Science Flashback included)
Think about our red blood cells: they have a protein called hemoglobin which carries oxygen to the cells of our body, and removes CO2 from the body. So if activated charcoal is oxygenated charcoal, it’s also creating an unsuitable environment for toxins in our mouth. Activated Charcoal is negatively charged, binding with the positive charges of gaseous, liquid, and/or solid toxins in our body. (Note: if ingested, activated charcoal can tamper with the efficacy of your prescriptions, supplements, and absorption of nutrients from food.)
The extra ingredients
Bentonite clay also functions like activated charcoal: it is oxygenated and negatively charged to bind to toxins in the body. However, bentonite clay also has an abundance of minerals, such as silicon, sodium chloride, potassium, calcium, thus helping with the remineralization process in the mouth.
Lemon myrtle is a tree that grows in Queensland, Australia. Surprisingly (to me anyways), despite it having a citrus scent and flavour, it is not acidic. It is a powerful anti-septic, anti-virus agent, AND antioxidant high in minerals like calcium, zinc and magnesium, and a natural derivative of vitamin A and E. So you can imagine the multi-functional use of lemon myrtle essential and its potency in topical and oral products to treat ailments!
UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF OUR MOUTH AND TEETH
Carbon Coco‘s description of their Tooth Powder dropped the words remineralize and non-acidic. I’m just going to zoom in on why these are two very important words in regards to our oral health.
Just like our skin, our mouth has an optimal pH level to maintain a healthy environment from preventing bacteria from growing (pH 6.3 or greater). Alongside good oral care habits, eating a balanced diet with tons of veggies and keeping hydrated increases the salivation in our mouth, which in turn also helps maintain the pH balance of our mouth.
Our saliva has sodium bicarbonate (oui oui, the scientific name for baking soda), which is a major buffer in neutralizing and maintaining the pH balance in our mouths. The higher the concentration of sodium bicarbonate, the higher the pH of our saliva, and its effects in alkalizing our mouth and remineralizing our teeth. Additional minerals in our saliva like calcium, phosphate, and fluoride also assist with remineralizing and strengthening our enamel.
So, if our mouth becomes too acidic (around pH 5.5 or lower) by not practicing the following habits, it will in turn make our saliva more acidic, and create a state for bad bacteria to thrive, causing a build up of plaque, tooth decay, and/or gum disease.
Do I still have you? Are you okay? Good, because now I’m moving on to the state of my teeth and mouth, and what I expected on Coco Ultimate Carbon Kit.
ABOUT MY TOOFIES
– I drink coffee everyday. Sometimes twice a day if I’m struggling
– Thinned out enamel, dentin colour more visible (dentin colour is naturally yellow fyi)
– Fangs are pretty stained
– Haven’t worn deep coloured lipstick, particularly red lipstick, in a long time, because of the stains
– My dry work environment has dried me out with my skin and my mouth; So I had dry mouth problems = bad breath = unhealthy oral state
I was hoping with consistent use of this product, it would help:
– Reduce the dry mouth
– Increase remineralization by increasing my salivation and its pH level, which in turn help rebuild my enamel, thus reducing the visibility of my dentin
– Obviously removing stains I get from loving coffee.
USAGE
Carbon Coco’s recommendation is that I use both the Activated Charcoal Tooth Polish and Toothpaste for 3 minutes each. Truthfully, this was too much for me. My gums were giving me hell at the time, so I did it 1.5-2 minutes max with each product.
The Activated Charcoal is very finely milled, and I don’t feel a scratching sensation at all when I brush it on my teeth. Very little goes a long way, it doesn’t even look like I made a dent in the jar.
The Activated Toothpaste is probably my favourite item. A little bit on the brush foams up so much! However it’s easier to use this up than the polish, so I’m using the bare minimum to make it last.
The Bamboo Bristled Toothbrush is dyed black, and is VERY soft. Softer than the other soft toothbrush I was using. I was instantly happy with it.
I use the Tongue Cleaner after all the brushing and it is the perfect size for my tongue; it is also very gentle when scraping off the excess plaque. A cheap one I bought at the local Korean supermarket was a bit harsh and made my tongue bleed easily, where as the Carbon Coco one was very gentle.
When going away for work, I used the Satin Pouch to stow the items in my suitcase. It already frayed a bit at the hem line, but I’m happy that it just works at keeping dry.
RESULTS
– Fangs less stained
– My teeth are not super amazingly bright blinding bleach white, but they are most definitely whiter, considering I drink coffee everyday.
– My mouth is actually more comfortable during the day, especially when I’m at work. I don’t feel like I have to gulp down water every 5 minutes
So I didn’t have the craziest of results from using the product for 2 weeks, and truthfully, I didn’t expect to. I didn’t change my eating habits (although it’s already fairly healthy), I just have a too deep of a relationship with coffee to give it up, and it prooooobably takes more than 2 weeks to help rebuild my enamel, especially when fluoride is taken out of the equation.
However, this product has merit. The fact that I see a difference of the state of my teeth and mouth from using little product show that the Carbon Coco products work. I’ll definitely continue using the products, because overall I am happy with the results it’s giving me and how it’s rid me of dry mouth.
Some things I don’t like:
– What else is in the toothpaste? There’s not much information on the website, not even an ingredients list.
– Why is the Tooth Polish alone so esspenssive? Like… Here in Canada, 40g of activated charcoal from Organika is ~$11. I know even drugstore products are ridiculously expensive in Australia, so maybe that could be the reason?
Now you’re probably wondering…
Why didn’t you just use the cheap activated charcoal?
Well, just to confirm why I stopped using it in the first place, I used regular activated charcoal the day after Carbon Coco’s and here’s what I noticed right off the bat:
– The one I originally bought felt scratchy on my teeth the entire brushing process, even when using a little. As I mentioned earlier, Carbon Coco’s Tooth Polish didn’t do that.
– The Tooth Polish most definitely doesn’t stain my teeth as bad. With the original, it was lined between my gums and teeth, and the Tooth Polish just rinses off more easily.
FIN
This product is a HIT!
Despite my peculiarities with the ingredients list and how messy the powder is, the products performed, better than any other fluoride or non-fluoride product I have tried! I will most definitely continue to use this until the end. Despite it’s price point, a little has been going a long way and I have not reached halfway into the powder or paste.
Things to consider if you’re interested in this product:
-It WILL get messy. My poor new white shower curtains are victim to the mess. And definitely my sink. Make sure your sink isn’t grout and you’re not wearing light-coloured clothes, this WILL stain.
– Do not buy one product. You really get a better bang for your buck when you buy multiple products: the Tooth Polish alone is $49.95, the Ultimate Carbon Kit is $89 (I’m not sure about the currency) – you get a 20% off deal on your first purchase, and it’s free international shipping.
– Be patient. As with all natural products, the results you’re looking for may take time. If you have bad eating habits, it’ll be even slower.
I hope you found this post helpful! Carbon Coco’s ads have been haunting me and working their damn magic in upping my intrigue.
xo, M
*The product was sent to me for review purposes. This post is definitely not sponsored. No affiliate links.