Not-So-Natural Dental Care?
I was stumbling through the ‘net as usual recently and got very excited over a natural toothpaste and mouthwash range that I’d not seen before from a company called Sarakan. I’ve used natural toothpastes in the past and haven’t been very impressed with them - they usually taste yucky and, more importantly, don’t seem to clean my teeth particularly well.
Even more exciting was that these products are available at my local Holland & Barrett. It’s not often I can just walk into a shop and pick up a truly natural product, so I was looking forward to popping into town and buying some.
However, one thing concerned me. The product page on the manufacturer’s website has the following statement:
SARAKAN Mouthrinse comprises the main ingredients of the toothpaste together with a well recognized anti-plaque bacterial agent.
Hmm… what could that be then? And why was the name of this ingredient not disclosed? I decide to look up the products on some other websites and finally found the full ingredient list:
Aqua, glycerine (vegetable), witch hazel, polysorbate 20, Salvadora persica, CPC, oils of peppermint, geranium and clove, chlorophyll.
After doing a little research, the “anti-plaque bacterial agent” appears to be CPC a.k.a Cetylpyridinium chloride - a chemical which is very toxic when swallowed or inhaled.
In addition to this, check out the ingredients for the toothpaste:
Glycerin (non-animal), aqua, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, talc, Salvadora persica natural extract, Mentha piperita, Mentha arvensis, Eugenia caryophyllus, geranium, hydroxyethylcellulose, sodium phosphate, Methylparaben, CI 77491.
Oh dear, this one includes a paraben! That’s such a shame as the rest of the ingredients hold up well.
To be fair to Sarakan, their products are still a lot nicer than many of the common alternatives available on supermarket shelves and effective oral hygiene does require something with a bit of oomph. I would have felt a lot happier though if Sarakan had chosen to list the full ingredients on their own website - to exclude such information automatically generates suspicion on my part.
Skincare Diary | Becky | November 14, 2008
