12 Medicine-Cabinet Staples and Tips
for Detoxing Your Bathroom
Gerda Endemann, our senior director of science and research, has a BS in nutrition from UC Berkeley, a PhD in nutritional biochemistry from MIT, and a passion for cherry-picking from our wellness shop. She would love to hear your feedback; email her at [email protected].
Your toothpaste and toothbrush go in your mouth every day—hopefully more than once a day—so ideally you know what they’re made of. For this edit, I’ve rounded up medicine-cabinet items that are clean, highly effective, and aesthetically pleasing. Also nice: Most of them don’t break the bank.
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1
Clean smile
Toothpaste and brushing weren’t always as popular as they are today. There’s a nice story about that—how toothbrushing didn’t become really big until someone figured out that they could hook people with mint flavor. The tingly sensation and clean, fresh taste of mint have become something we crave. Ela Mint Toothpaste has a subtle combination of peppermint and spearmint with a little wintergreen, green tea, and cardamom. And you’ll appreciate the absence of artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, and mouth-irritating sodium lauryl sulfate. What this toothpaste does contain is hydroxyapatite—a calcium complex to gently remineralize teeth. The cap is special—you’ll like it every time.
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2
Bamboo
SurpriseI didn’t expect to enjoy holding this toothbrush as much as I did. I guess bamboo is nicer to touch than plastic. The bristles are perfectly dense and firmly soft, but not too soft—just right. And the Olas Bamboo Toothbrush comes in a pretty box with a bamboo case for storage and travel.
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Between Teeth
This pretty light-blue mint-flavored floss comes in a translucent white case. A tiny bit of vegan wax and coconut oil makes it slippery enough to get between crowded teeth (I can attest). And the ideal multifilament texture loosens and catches all that stuff you would rather pretend doesn’t exist. Cocofloss was designed by dentist and artist sisters.
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Fresh Breath
This is a unique mouthwash—very different from the drying, alcohol-based ones with propylene glycol and artificial flavors and colors that you may not want to be putting in your mouth. Olas Mouthrinse contains extracts of rosemary, chamomile, myrrh, and thyme and oils of frankincense, tea tree, orange, echinacea, and lemon. If you like a powerful mouthwash, use it straight, or if mouthwash tends to be too strong for you, add a tablespoon to a tablespoon of water and make it last twice as long.
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5
Satisfied
The little handles, the smooth horseshoe shape, and the curved blade make the Asana Tongue Cleaner super easy and smooth to use. It feels satisfying scraping the bacteria off your tongue—especially knowing that they can cause bad breath. The practice is from Ayurveda, and the stainless steel is clean and modern. It comes with a cute breathable bag for storage and transport.
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The Mint Treatment
I specialize in fat nutrition, and in classes I’ve taught on healthy fats, I’ve extolled the virtues of plant oils, so you might think I’d be eager to swish oil around in my mouth. But the concept of oil pulling seemed, well, strange to me. Then I read about its traditional use and the research on its benefits for healthy gums and teeth and fresh breath, and I decided to try it. I’m glad I did, and I’m especially glad I tried this kit: Keeko has taken organic, cold-pressed coconut oil and added peppermint, spearmint, lemon peel, and chamomile oils to up the game. The minty flavor fits right into your oral-hygiene routine, and the sachets are convenient. The fourteen sachets take you through a full treatment (or stretch it out—one sachet lasted me two days). If you want to make your dentist or your close friends happy, this is a good move.
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DIY Relief
Hegu Acupressure Rings are the ultimate clean alternative to your medicine cabinet when you have an occasional, minor headache. They’re designed to stimulate a point between the thumb and forefinger called Hegu, also known as “joining valley.” In TCM, this spot is treated when you’re experiencing discomfort anywhere, including the head. Click here to figure out which of the three sizes to buy for your hands. Use a larger size on your foot.
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Medicine
Cabinet FixHeartburn Fix is essentially calcium carbonate—the standard, effective antacid used for heartburn and indigestion. What makes this product special is that the other ingredients and flavors are organic. And it doesn’t contain lactose, gluten, artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. (It’s made by Genexa, a pharmaceutical company founded by two dads who wanted to make clean products for their families.)
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9
A Beauty
Our executive beauty editor, Jean Godfrey-June, loves Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum, with its luxurious combination of plant oils and extracts. She says: “If you really want to see a change in your skin—whether you’re prone to breakouts, wrinkles, dry skin, dullness—this is the serum to splurge on.”
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10
Glowing
I fell instantly in love with GOOPGLOW Microderm. Maybe it was just knowing that the physical exfoliation comes from quartz, garnet, alumina, and silica—how cool is that? Or the texture that’s somehow both fluffy yet rich and dense. Or the gentle glycolic acid for chemical exfoliation. Then I read the ingredients and appreciated it even more: nourishing oils of olive leaf and mandarin orange and lime and lemon. But you might love it just because it leaves your skin soft and smooth.
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11
Spray It
A fresh-scented room spray is so much nicer without any artificial ingredients. Sandoval makes Captain Interior Aromatic in California from distilled water and essential oils: bay, lavender, sandalwood, patchouli. Each elegantly solid glass bottle contains a crystal—we did say California.
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12
Period.
Lunette’s Menstrual Cup is made of reusable medical-grade silicone. You never have to worry about running out of tampons—just wash and reuse. And this model for light to normal flow can stay in for up to twelve hours at a time.
This article is for informational purposes only. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. To the extent that this article features the advice of physicians or medical practitioners, the views expressed are the views of the cited expert and do not necessarily represent the views of goop.
