Is your tooth paste vegan/cruelty-free?

Tooth paste is one of the basic components we all use for oral hygiene. Since our teeth starts growing till we die, we use tooth paste regularly. Those who have dentures, they too use tooth paste. So I guess now you can understand how basic it is in our life. Few months back, at a pharmacy, I saw Colgate has launched vegan tooth paste for children. That encouraged me to do the required research and write this blog post for you all.

I could have posted this few months ago, when I saw the tube of the vegan tooth paste. But I couldn’t as I was busy for my ailing late mother. Its never too late to bring something to everyone’s attention. I always believe that, whoever will understand the importance will follow every important update.

What is vegan tooth paste?

So let’s start with the basic question. The answer is extremely simple, a tooth paste or any other oral hygiene product is vegan which does not contain anything extracted from animals. There are numerous brands available in the market which are not vegan. They are made from the ingredients extracted from animals. Tooth pastes like, Aquafresh (GlaxoSmithKline), Sensodyne (GlaxoSmithKline), Crest (Proctor&Gamble), etc. are not vegan.

What makes your tooth paste NOT VEGAN?

To put it simple, if your tooth paste contains something from the animals or are being tested on animals, it cannot be counted as vegan. If the manufacturing brands are using products like, glycerin, propolis, colours and flavours in your tooth paste, then most of the chances are that these ingredients are extracted from animals. 

Brief history of tooth paste

Egyptians are already being credited for so many things in this world. Egyptians are also to be credited for the introduction of tooth paste. They started using powdered tooth paste back in 5000 BC which was made from ox hooves and burnt eggshells. That’s why, the teeth in the excavated mummies are still intact which were probably done in 2000 BC or between 2000 and 5000 BC. Later on, post 18^th century things started to evolve. British started using charcoal powder or powdered chalk mixed with salt to clean and enhance the teeth enamel.

As British and rest of the Europeans were fond of eating breads quite often, they decided to use burnt breads as an active agent of tooth cleaner. Breads also consist of baking soda, which made the cleaning job easier. The first known record of tooth paste came into being in 1880 by Dr. Sheffield named Crème Angelique Dentifrice. In 1986, Colgate and Company was launched with their iconic tooth paste product. 

Tooth paste gained popularity all over Europe gradually as it was easy to apply and quick to wash. By 1920s, tooth paste became popular all over the world. During World War I, tooth paste gained a major popularity in Europe, as the soldiers were using it. They were not living in convenient environment and the commercial tooth paste was quicker to use. Fluoride was added as one of the tooth paste ingredients post the World War I. Slowly, Colgate built the multi-million dollar brand with a sole product. 

Vegan and cruelty-free tooth pastes

Finding vegan and cruelty-free tooth pastes for you could be daunting. But here are some suggestions available for you. Firstly, you should check the ‘vegan’ and ‘cruelty-free’ logos on the packaging of the tooth pastes. This would help you to choose the right one.

‘Colgate Smile’ is one of the most popular vegan and cruelty-free tooth pastes available in the market within your reach. This is the only vegan and cruelty-free product from Colgate and they are proud to mention that this is the only tooth paste made responsibly with natural and organic components. 

You can also trust brands like, Vicco, Sri Sri Ayurveda and Patanjali which make tooth pastes with the natural ingredients. All these three brands are easily available in India at the shops and supermarkets. Even Himalaya also launched their vegan tooth paste named, Sparkly White, available for the mindful customers and consumers. 

As a practitioner of vegan and plant-based lifestyle, I recommend you all to use tooth paste very carefully. You need to see all the instructions and information on the package and then purchase. Some of the brands and their products mentioned in this post are available in India. So the buyers won’t have to break their head while purchasing. Take care of your oral hygiene very carefully.