By this stage into my toothy tabs exploration, I'm pretty sold on the range of flavours that are now available, and very happy to continue using these for the foreseeable future. While on paper some of them don't immediately jump out at me as potential favourites, I've learnt to enjoy and relish in the weird and wonderful concoctions that Lush have come up with as alternatives to toothpaste.
Boom! Toothy Tabs is one for the brave - a product that doesn't initially look or sound like it's going to do much in the way for your oral health. Presented as powdery charcoal-coloured tablets, this product actually looks more like it's going to do more damage to your teeth than clean and whiten them. In fact, images of Calypso's pearlies in the Pirates Of The Caribbean films sprang to mind when I originally began to use these.
Containing a strange combination of chilli and gunpowder tea, these tabs are supposed to cleanse and freshen your whole mouth - leaving your teeth sparkling white and your breath equally refreshed. Aside from prolonging life, boasting your immune system and strengthening your heart, gunpowder tea (and green tea in general) is known for it's ability to reduce and remove unwanted bacteria in the body.
Containing a component known as catechins, the tea uses this to inhibit the production of an enzyme called gyrase, which is needed by bacteria to flourish and multiply in the body. Gunpowder tea helps to eradicate this enzyme, reducing the chance of getting an infection as well as helping to alleviate existing bacterial infections that may be present in the mouth.
These particular tabs feature a number of ingredients that I was unsure about and had to research before trying them out for myself - not only to understand how and why any or all of Lush's toothy tab works, but also to educate others about the benefits they hold in this product; dicalcium phosphate anhydrous is the main ingredient in these toothy tabs and is a component used to help supplement the body's calcium intake, not to mention preventing the build up of tartar in the mouth; sorbitol is a natural alternative to sugar, which allows Lush to add flavour to this product without adding anything that'll rot your teeth; Lauroyl Sarcosine not only helps the product to foam up in the mouth, but is also used to remove unwanted bacteria that may cause problems in the future.
Featuring both lime oil and black pepper, these toothy tabs have a strange flavour that takes some getting used to. In the bottle, Boom! smells heavily of the lime with an almost powdery charcoal element alongside this. In the mouth, these tabs are very similar - tasting rather citrusy with a gentle homage to the black pepper and an even subtler chilli element that can barely be registered at all.
To use them you simply pop a tab into your mouth, crunch down using your front teeth, wet your toothbrush and begin to brush your teeth as normal. The powdery mixture reacts with the water and the cream of tartar creates a foam that freshens your mouth and cleans away any stubborn pieces of food that may be lingering around. Unlike some of Lush's other tabs I have tried, this one melts almost immediately upon contact with moisture and you won't need to crunch these at all.
What I liked about these tabs was that they produced a rather generous foam when in use - something that some of the newer toothy tabs do not do. I found that I could continue brushing my teeth for a good 5 minutes without running out of product and they left my mouth feeling thoroughly clean.
Unfortunately, these tabs do tend to stain your tooth brush a little and by the end of the first week I was left with a blackened brush in the bathroom. However, they definitely do not stain your teeth or indeed your skin so you don't have to worry about any discolouration happening while these are in use.
While these tabs won't leave you with amazingly minty-fresh breath, and this may be something you'll have to get used to, it does leave a pleasant taste on the palette and provides you with clean-feeling teeth. Out of all of the new flavours that have made an appearance this year, these happen to be one of my favourites and I would definitely recommend that you try them out for yourself.
Containing enough tabs for three months of daily brushing once or twice, this small bottle will last you a long time. And while they may work out a little more expensive than a tub of toothpaste, they're definitely worth the price tag - if only for the novelty of trying a flavour that is far more interesting than the hum drum of mint that you may be used to.
Quantitative Ingredients: Dicalcium Phosphate Anhydrous, Sodium Bicarbonate, Charcoal, Cream Of Tartar (Potassium bitartrate), Lauroyl Sarcosine, Sorbitol, Kaolin, Fine Sea Salt, Flavour, Persian Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Aniseed Oil (lilicium verum), Black Pepper Oil (Piper nigrum), Benzoin Resinoid (Styrax tonkinensis), Powdered Gunpowder Tea (Camellia sinensis), Organic Ground Chilli (Capsicum frutescens), Sodium saccharin, Citral, Limonene.
Vegan?: Yes.
2015 Price: £5.95 each.
Year Of Original Release: 2015.
Ah would have been handy to have instructions on the bottle as the "nibble between your teeth" ive just been eating them
ReplyDeleteThese are probably my favourite toothy tabs, they make my teeth so clean and white! Although they're probably not something I would use with other people around, the black foam around my mouth is not the most appealing look.
ReplyDeleteI think they smell more like cherry cola in the bottle.
one of the things i dislike about lush is its inability to be friendly about products. ( or so my experience has been.) i teach emergency prep and asked them for samples and information on shampo bars and tooth paste tabs. they resoundingly said i was to poor and living in the rural universe and not up to the standards they wish the rest of the world has. or so the email explained to me. still think its a good idea. to bad i cant teach the 16000 students i have access to that lush is a good brand.
ReplyDelete