Homemade lavender and lemon mouthwash recipe

June 7, 2009

I’m not a big fan of lurid coloured, sugary tasting mouthwashes. They are mostly far too strong and I always seem to get an outbreak of mouth ulcers after using them. I found this fantastic recipe for a very mild homemade mouthwash in my Neal’s Yard Remedies: Recipes for Natural Beauty book.

This is an all natural, antiseptic and healing mouthwash that relieves sore gums and freshens your breath.

What you need

• 15ml/3tsp lavender tincture
• 15 ml/3tsp calendula tincture
• 50ml/10tsp vegetable glycerin
• 2 drops of lemon essential oil
• 2 drops of orange essential oil
• 5 drops of peppermint essential oil
• Dark bottle – Ideally glass. I reuse blue a bottle from Neal’s Yard
• Mouthwash cap – I saved one from an old bottle of mouthwash

These ingredients will make 90ml and will keep for up to 6 months. I bought the tinctures and glycerin from the Neal’s Yard website.

How to make it

Blend all of the ingredients together and pour into your bottle.

How to use it

This mixture is concentrated and should be diluted. Dilute 1 teaspoon of mouthwash mixture in a little water. I found it best to do this in the mouthwash cap to avoid lots of mess.

Do not swallow!

Image source: Chiots Run on Flickr.