#reviewsdaytuesday: Oil Pulling

There are many British stereotypes that I adhere to: my love of tea, my over use of the word 'sorry', and, sadly, my teeth. I've always had wonky teeth because my mouth is ridiculously small (as in, I've had to have 6 adult teeth removed and worn braces for two years and my teeth still don't fit right), and due to lackluster dental hygiene they've always been a bit on the yellow side (probably due to all that tea I've been drinking).

So, when I saw Kylie Jenner advertising 'Coco White' on Instagram, I googled the company to see what they were about. As far as I could tell, they were advertising sachets of flavoured coconut oil, which you're suppose to swill around in your mouth for 10-20 minutes each day. The result, they claim, is whiter teeth, healthier gums, reduced bad breath and better all around oral hygiene. All for the somewhat extortionate price of £19.99 (without shipping).

After a little more research I found out that 'oil pulling' is actually an ancient Indian medical practice and has been used in oral hygiene for thousands of years. The theory is that the oil draws out toxins and bacteria in your mouth. Needless to say, Coco White wasn't around in ancient India, they just used whatever oil that could, so I decided to save the money and just use the oil I had around in the house anyway! Coconut oil was the most appealing out of my options, so I tried that.

I took a small tablespoon, poured the oil out (I had warmed it in the microwave first as coconut oil is solid at room temperature), and spooned it into my mouth. I'm not going to lie, it felt really strange.

At first the hardest thing to do was not to swallow. You have to hold the oil in your mouth for a really long time and it feels very unnatural. On the first day I only did it for 5 minutes before spitting out into the bin (not the sink, it can really clog up your pipes!), but my mouth did feel cleaner afterwards. I made it part of my routine to pop a tablespoon of oil in my mouth before my shower each morning and spit it out afterwards.

The oil grows in size as you use it (partly due to your own saliva, partly due to the stuff its pulling out) and you can really see it working (it turns milky with gunk). I haven't noticed a huge difference in the whiteness of my teeth, but looking at the pictures they certainly look whiter!

The lighting change makes it a bit hard to tell how much whiter my teeth have actually got, but it does showcase nicely how small my mouth is...

Everywhere I've read says that you're meant to use this technique for two weeks. Today is day 14, so that means my oil pulling experiment is over. I'm thinking about keeping it up for a little longer though to see if I can see more effects from it, and I'll update on Twitter (@VickiMaitland) if I stop or notice any huge changes.