NATURAL MOUTH WASH
Small changes make a big difference
Today we will be sharing with you one of our beloved recipes. A fresh, natural, and homemade mouthwash that we prepare at home. It’s tasty and if you prepared too much, you can even enjoy it as tea! Those are the amazing things of natural and organic life. You realize that everything that you prepare is edible and safe for all! For adults, kids, pets, and Mother Earth.
Safe to: drink it, water the plants with it (once it has room temperature), added to your compost, send it through the drainage, you name it.
Before arriving on La Gomera, we have done many changes regarding our consumption and habits. We have started to analyze our days, what we bought, why we bought it, and if we are able to make it ourselves. We realized that most of the things that are available in the market are easily made at home.
We started to read and investigate more, educate ourselves about what surrounds us, how to help ourselves and of course without affecting Mother Nature in the process.
Of course, if you want to go deeper into the changes, you need time. But life is busy and sometimes we don’t have the time to do all these things. Been there, done that!
While we were living in Barcelona, we were working for a call center, so we spent plenty of time in front of a computer.
Our lifestyle was basically work and home. I had so many DIY projects, ideas, recipes pending because the type of life that we had. So many Pinterest pins saved…
But never had the real time to do them partially, unless it was related to food.
That’s why we share with you what have we learned and if you feel like trying these small swaps, go for it! You have NOTHING to lose, right?
A little bit of background information.
A small but important tip.
The first time we made the recipe, we went crazy and prepared tons. Don’t do that, unless you have a big family or want to also drink it as a tea! It gets damaged after the 3rd-4fth day and you won’t be able to consume it all.
This recipe we don’t use it on a daily basis, just to be clear. We use it only when our gums are swelling or perhaps some bleeding, nothing serious. So in case you see that your issue persists, you should consider visiting a specialist. We are no doctors or any similar… we share the knowledge acquired by reading a lot.
We have the opportunity to grow our herbs at the land that we take care of at Be Conscious Travels, so everything is organic and taken care of with extreme LOVE. We have our HerbGarden open and available to all our guests and visitors.
In this batch, we have used cinnamon bark, sage leaves, rosemary, echinacea tincture*, and propolis.
*A tincture is useful for bitter-tasting herbs and also to prolong the life of your herbs. We will show you in the future how to prepare one, in case you want to make a First Aid Natural Kit.
Why these herbs? What do they do?
We chose these herbs for the healing properties and flavors (cinnamon LOVER!) that they have. Take into account that they have many more properties, but we are mentioning only the ones related to the specific and wanted effect.
Cinnamon: is antiseptic, astringent, demulcent, and hemostatic. This means that it kills and prevents the growth of bad bacteria and counters sepsis, dries up secretions, and if your gums are bleeding, it makes it stop.
Sage: is astringent and antiseptic, similar to cinnamon.
Rosemary: is astringent and anti-inflammatory.
Echinacea: is alterative, antiviral, antibiotic, vulnerary, stimulant, antiseptic, antibacterial, and antiviral. Improves the condition of tissues, perfect for inflammation. One of our favorites herbs! Almost MAGIC.
Propolis: is antibiotic and antiviral.
WHAT IS A WASH?
What is the difference between infusion and decoction? When should you use one or the other?
I have a clear image of me being a young kid, running around the backyard of my abuelito’s Cosme house, and accidentally touching with my hands the chili plant and afterward my eyes… My eyes were almost popping out of my face, tearing, and of course, the burning feeling was unbearable. Afterward, someone from the family putting two Chamomile teabags on my eyelids to relieve the burn and pain. This is a typical way of using washes, but using what we had available.
THE NATURAL MOUTH WASH RECIPE.
Our suggestion is to make only 1/3 of a cup of water, so the amount of herbs is directly related to that. The usual amounts are 1 ounce (28,3 g) herb per pint (2 cups = 500 ml) of water.
For this amazing natural mouth wash recipe you will need:
- 1/3 of a cup of water
- 4,53 g per herb wanted
- 10 drops of echinacea tincture
- 10 drops of propolis (optional if you want to keep it vegan)
- measuring cups/ spoons
- 1 small pot with lid
- 1 sieve
- 1 airtight glass jar
Put water into a pot, add the cinnamon bark, and cover it with a tight lid. Let it boil for about 10 minutes and afterward turn off the fire. Add the herbs wanted; in our case, we used Rosemary and Sage. Let it cool down, filter the liquid already inside the jar, add the drops, close the lid properly, and shake that booty!
Don’t forget to keep it cool all the time. Shake before using and if there was some mouth wash left, give it to your plants when it has room temperature.
This recipe we don’t use it on a daily basis, just to be clear. We use it only when our gums are swelling or perhaps some bleeding, nothing serious. So in case you see that your issue persists, you should consider visiting a specialist. We are no doctors or any similar… we share the knowledge acquired by reading a lot.
We really hope that you enjoy this recipe. We share it with all our love and if you liked it, or tried different herbs, let us know! LEAVE US A COMMENT!
Let’s share love and knowledge <3