As a child, I traveled a great deal with my parents, mostly to Europe, the Caribbean and Middle East. Whenever we arrived at our destination, the first thing my mother would do was take my brother and I to the local pharmacy (or pharmacie). Whether we were in Tel Aviv, Paris, St. Barths, Berlin or Florence, somehow my mother always knew which pharmacy was the best. These outings felt like an adventure: The pharmacies overseas were different from those in New York City. They were fancy and old world and I loved them.

It Was All About the Toothpaste

I was always fascinated by the toothpaste. Each country had different colored and shaped packaging, with writing in different languages that made them seem so much more special than tubes of Aim, Crest or Colgate. My mother would buy 5 or 6 tubes each of several different brands to take home. In fact, I don’t remember a time when we had American toothpaste in the house. I usually brushed with brands like Elgydium, Elmex, Tayadent and Inaden. (At that time you could not purchase Elgydium in the U.S.)

Banish Hairy-feeling Teeth for Good

These exotic toothpastes contain ingredients that have successfully helped me defeat that morning hairy-feeling teeth phenomenon. Not literally hairy. You know the feeling – you wake up with your teeth feeling coated in gunk yet after you brush they don’t feel all that clean. They feel cleaner, but still a little hairy.

Each Toothpaste Has Its Own Specialty

Elgydium, from France, makes a whitening or Blancheur version, as well as one for sensitive teeth and gums. Elmex, from Germany, makes a sensitive formula as well but also has a special travel kit with a handy dandy put-it-together-yourself toothbrush. It is incredibly charming! Inaden hails from Greece with a uniquely minty flavor. Tayadent is an Israeli two-in-one toothpaste and mouth wash that comes in a plastic triangle-like box…in liquid form. It suds up like soap in your mouth! You have never seen anything like it. Many Israelis make fun of me for liking this toothpaste; they would rather use Colgate or Crest. But again, this is another toothpaste that banishes that not so fresh, hairy teeth feeling. If you really want to boost the efficacy of these babies and pack an extra fresh punch, use a Binchotan Toothbrush (Its infused with Binchotan Charcoal from Japan). Spray a schpritz or two of Vine’s Negative Ion Care Water on the toothbrush and squeeze some toothpaste on top. You won’t believe how clean your entire mouth will feel.

Insider Travel Toothpaste Tip

Most full size toothpaste is actually TSA travel size. Remember any product that is 3.4 fl oz or 100 ml or less is technically travel size. Most toothpaste tubes are 75 ml or less.

Everyone Wants What They Can’t Have

I guess everyone longs for exotic, hard-to-find products from overseas. The grass just always seems greener on the other side of the ocean, and if brushing with toothpaste from around the world makes me feel a little more special, well, aren’t I a lucky girl!

By: Alyssa Barrie Weiss, Twitter: @AlyssaBarrie

If you travel — even occasionally — you’ve likely experienced the dread accompanied by the realization that you’ve forgotten to pack your toothbrush and/or toothpaste. Depending on where you are and where you’re staying, running out for replacements may be an option – but it’s not always.

What to do? As I pride myself on my resourcefulness and um, creative off-label uses for various products, I have some brush and/or paste-less solutions to just such a situation. They’re found —where else? — in your beauty bag!

First things first: have you started tongue scraping yet? I have been singing the praises of tongue scraping for years now, and have written a post that is basically an ode to the practice. If you regularly tongue scrape morning and night, I promise your mouth will feel significantly less gnarly over the long term. Also, as a tongue scraping zealot, if I were to forget my toothbrush and/or toothpaste, I would still have yet another mouth cleaning tool in my quiver. (Since a tongue scraper is A LOT harder to purchase in a pinch, I make sure to always have it packed!)

Though nothing replaces that so fresh and so clean clean feeling that a thorough brushing brings, once you scrape all that gunk off your tongue, you won’t feel nearly as bad about your mouth. And don’t get me started on flossing — a much more mainstream way to keep your mouth feeling fresh. Accost me on the street and you will find no less than two types of dental floss in my handbag.

Heaven Skincare’s EllaJane Celebrity Skin Wipes are so big, soft and strong that a recent first-time user elatedly exclaimed “you can do an entire whore’s bath with one”! (Not that we know what that is…but it sure sounds impressive.) These wonder wipes have also become the official skin wipe of Travel Beauty expert Dara Liotta M.D.’s practice.

That’s all swell, but did you know you can also CLEAN YOUR TEETH WITH THEM? Yup, these organic wipes can be used to wipe down those chompers anytime, anywhere. They are super soft and “taste” very mild. Infused with taste bud-friendly honey, peppermint and apple pectin, they are almost good enough to eat (but don’t eat them, please.) Just take a wipe and gently wipe along the outside and inside surfaces of your teeth, focusing on the gum line to attack that plaque, and viola! Your mouth and breath will feel totally refreshed in seconds flat. I can tell you first hand that there is no weird taste or aftertaste…if anything the almost imperceptible flavor is pleasant!

They have also become the official skin wipe of our resident Plastic Surgeon, Dara Liotta, MD’s practice.

One of the most versatile products we carry is Vine Minus Ion Care Water. (We’ve shared all the reasons to love this water here.) You can (and should) spray it anywhere! Face, skin, hair…and even your teeth.
Last but not least: Morihata Binchotan Charcoal toothbrushes! We are so excited to add these unique brushes to Travel Beauty’s virtual shelves. Each bristle of these toothbrushes contains active Binchotan Charcoal to deodorize, prevent bad breath and remove plaque. The activated charcoal gives off negative ions and prevents harmful bacteria from growing within the brush. Rememebred your brush but not your paste? In a toothpasteless pinch, using this brush alone definitely beats brushing with any old Oral B.

By: Claire McCormack, Twitter & Instagram: @clairemcmack

If you travel — even occasionally — you’ve likely experienced the dreaded realization that you’ve forgotten to pack your toothbrush and/or toothpaste. Depending on where you are and/or where you’re staying, running out for replacements may be an option – but not always!

What To Do?

As I pride myself on my resourcefulness and, um, creative off-label uses for various beauty products, I have some brush-less and/or paste-less solutions for just such a situation. These solutions are found — where else? — in your beauty bag! Allow me and my inner-MacGuyver show you how to clean up your dirty mouth – toothbrush or no.

First Things First

Have you started tongue scraping yet? I have been singing the praises of tongue scraping for years now, and have written a blog that is basically an ode to the practice. If you regularly tongue scrape morning and night, I promise your mouth will feel significantly less gnarly over the long term. Also, as a tongue scraping zealot, if I were to forget my toothbrush and/or toothpaste, I would still have yet another mouth cleaning tool in my quiver. (Since a tongue scraper is A LOT harder to purchase in a pinch, I make sure to always pack it, and haven’t forgotten it yet!)

Though nothing replaces that so fresh and so clean clean feeling that a thorough brushing brings, once you scrape all that gunk off your tongue, you won’t feel nearly as bad about your mouth. Tongue scraping is an ancient ayurvedic cleansing ritual that’s so much less nauseating than oil pulling and still incredibly beneficial. Seriously, people get on my level with this.

A Note on Skin Wipes & Travel

Heaven Skincare’s EllaJane Celebrity Skin Wipes are so big, soft and strong that a recent first-time user elatedly exclaimed “you can do an entire whore’s bath with one”! (Not that we know what that is…but it sure sounds impressive.) These wonder wipes have also become the official skin wipe of Travel Beauty expert Dara Liotta M.D.’s practice.

That’s all swell, but did you know you can also CLEAN YOUR TEETH WITH THEM? Yup, these organic wipes can be used to wipe down those chompers anytime, anywhere. They are super soft and “taste” very mild. Infused with taste bud-friendly honey, peppermint and apple pectin, they are almost good enough to eat (but don’t eat them, please.) Just take a wipe and gently wipe along the outside and inside surfaces of your teeth, focusing on the gum line to attack that plaque, and viola! Your mouth and breath will feel totally refreshed in seconds flat.

Wonder Water

One of the most versatile products we carry is Vine Minus Ion Care Water. We’ve shared the myriad reasons to love  — and ways to use — this miracle water in a previous post that should not be missed! You can (and should) spray Care Water anywhere, at any time: Your face, your skin, your hair, your boo boos…and even your teeth. The negative ions in Care Water give it its superb cleaning abilities. Here’s how to use Care Water as a teeth cleaning tool: You can spray it directly onto your teeth, swish around and then spit it out (be sure not to swallow it!); you can also spray it onto your toothbrush (if you remembered to pack one) and brush with. Now if you want the full-on unconventional Care Water mouth cleaning, you can tie it all together and spray Care Water onto an Ella Jane Wipe and wipe your teeth down. Not ready to buck oral hygiene tradition so thoroughly? Here’s another way to harness the teeth cleaning capabilities of negative ions…

Coming Soon to a Travel Beauty Near You!

We are so excited for this new addition to hit Travel Beauty’s virtual shelves: Binchotan charcoal toothbrushes! Each bristle of these stylish brushes contains active charcoal to deodorize, prevent bad breath and remove plaque. The activated charcoal gives off cleansing negative ions and prevents harmful bacteria from growing within the brush. In a toothpaste-less pinch, using this brush alone definitely beats brushing with any old Oral B. Lookout for the launch of these brushes, as well as several other Binchotan charcoal infused beauty and grooming products.

BY: CLAIRE MCCORMACK Twitter & Instagram: @clairemcmack