Make your own squeeze tube for homemade toothpaste.
I like the idea of homemade toothpaste. What I don’t like is keeping it in a jar and dipping my toothbrush into the jar. Even if I’m the only one using that toothpaste, it just doesn’t seem sanitary to me. Yes, you could buy a refillable toothpaste tube like this one, but it’s easy to make your own. Here’s what you need to do to make your own squeeze tube:
Beg, borrow or steal a store-bought empty toothpaste tube. Make sure it’s the kind with a two piece flip-top cap. The only other item that you’ll need is a small zip-lock bag. Use a heavy duty freezer bag, not just a sandwich bag. Trust me, a sandwich bag will not hold up. Don’t ask how I know that.
Cut the cap from the toothpaste container. Just use regular scissors; the tubes cut easily. Give the cap a good cleaning. Now make a small hole in the zip lock bag by cutting a small triangle off of one of the corners. Don’t cut too much; you can always make the hole larger, but you can’t make it smaller. But you knew that.
Now, poke the male part of the cap into the hole, and then screw the female part onto it. Oh, boy, this is not going well. I need to find some new terminology. Let’s just move on.
Fill the bag with your favorite homemade toothpaste, squeeze out any air and seal the bag. Your homemade squeeze tube is ready to use!
And if you’re looking for a recipe for toothpaste, here are a few you might like to try:
Cinnamon Nutmeg Toothpaste from Nourishing Joy
DIY Whitening Peppermint Toothpaste from Happy Healthnut
DIY Clay Toothpaste Recipe from Raising Vintage Kids in a Modern World
Homemade Toothpaste Recipe: Remineralizing from Food Renegade
Make Your Own Toothpaste from Homesteading Hippy
Do you make your own toothpaste? What recipe do you use?
Thank you for visiting Learning And Yearning. May "the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." Num 6:24-26
heather says
thanks for sharing! this idea is genius!!!
Susan says
Thanks, Heather!
Amber says
Great idea! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Susan says
Sure thing; thanks for visiting!
Carol says
Very clever!!
I will try this!
I love clever homemade stuff like this idea!
Thank you!
Susan says
You’re quite welcome, Carol!
Kristi@The Mind to Homestead says
Perfect! Sharing this today and will definitely be trying it, Susan! Thanks for the idea!
~Kristi
Susan says
Thanks for sharing, Kristi!!
Angi says
What a great idea! I’m sharing and pinning.
Susan says
Thanks!!!
Sharon Burress says
What an ingenious idea! I made my tube, now I am off to buy some xylitol. I have run out.
I have HATED dipping my toothbrush into my jar of toothpaste! I ordered an empty plastic tube online, but to my dismay, there was no way to fill it with anything as thick as toothpaste. I managed to get a small amount into it, but it was so difficult and frustrating cramming thick toothpaste through the tiny exit hole!!! I had assumed it would have the back end of the tube open to be rolled and crimped after filling. Nope.
Thank you for this idea. Ithe solves my dilemma.
Susan Vinskofski says
Glad to help, Sharon!
Mony says
you would have needed big machinery to seal the ends of the tubes you’re talking about anyway – those aren’t for small scale stuff like homecrafting. Just saying in case that’s encouraging. Cheers! 🙂
Dawn says
Great Idea!
Anni says
Good idea! I like this a lot better than just having a small container of homemade toothpaste and everyone dipping their brushes in the container.
Aubrey says
Genius! Ill have to try this next time.
Kathy @ Mind Body and Sole says
Pretty cleaver! I’m really glad you shared this on Wildcrafting Wednesday! 🙂
tessa says
So pinning this, Susan!
christina says
are there any problems with essential oils and the bag? I would love to do this but don’t want to waste a batch of toothpaste .
Susan says
Good question, Christina. Undiluted essential oils should not be stored in plastic, but a few drops of oil along with other ingredients should not be a problem.
Kari says
Love this idea! Thank you so much! Now I will have to buy some freezer bags since I just switched to beeswax wrappers, but for a good cause!
Susan says
Oh, I love beeswax wrappers! Do you make your own?
Naomi says
Brilliant! I’ve been trying to figure out this issue, and the last solution I came up with didn’t work out so well. This will work, as long as I can keep the toddler twins away from it!
Summers Acres says
Great idea. Thanks for sharing with us at The HomeAcre Hop!
Please join us again Thursday at:
http://summers-acres.com
~Ann
Ron Roberts says
Awesome! I gave a first try of homemade toothpaste this morning and soon found it quite difficult to use in a jar. Now problem solved!
Daniel Wright says
This is a nice idea to have this container to keep the toothpaste clean. I also like to use homemade toothpaste because I know that the ingredients are natural and organic. Sometimes I am getting nervous of using commercial toothpaste after I heard of the risks of fluoride and other ingredients.
MJ says
That is so simple and obvious and brilliant I feel dumb for not thinking it up myself! I also really hate the whole dipping my toothbrush into the tub thing and using a butter knife usually ends up with the knife hitting the floor (and I hate washing it every time I use it as well). I have re-used toothpaste tubes before (hard to get my tp into those little tubes) and the seems always split after the first re-use. This fixes everything!
Thanks so much!
Kristin says
Congrats on being nominated for the Wildcrafting Wednesdays 2015 People’s Choice Awards! Thank you for sharing your wonderful post with us and many happy wishes to you in the new year.
http://www.herbanmomma.com
Dawn says
Love this genius idea! I really wanted a toothpaste tube with a cap when I started making my own toothpaste and I tried one tube after another, but they all wound up falling short of my expectations. Either it doesn’t squeeze well, or you can’t get the last bit out, and don’t even get me started on the struggle of getting all the toothpaste into a tube that has a small opening! I resorted to the zip-loc bag route, but then this leaves the problem of the exposed squeeze end, & having to store it inside a second zip-loc to keep things clean….the struggle is real, friends! This simple, yet brilliant idea sounds like the answer to all my toothpaste problems! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Mony says
Susan, this is a great idea and I may try this for passing samples to other family members etc, but it needs to be said that this should NOT be used with a CLAY Toothpaste. Clay is a drawing agent (which is why we use it in diy Toothpaste) , to draw infection etc out of our mouths. But it will also draw the chemicals out of the plastic, and the product will soon taste like plastic. Even if you don’t taste it, the leaching would still happen. Clay should only be kept in glass or ceramic – no metal or plastic at all! It’s challenging finding something for these as even a glass jar will have with a plastic or metal lid, so either you have to be careful, or find something brilliant with a wooden or ceramic lid. Hope this helps.
Susan Vinskofski says
Yes, thanking you for pointing out this great information!
Rebecca says
I’m so late the this post, but I had a question, I’m wanting to create less waste so I love this idea of not using the traditional tubes. However, I’m not up for home making my toothpaste, is there somewhere I can buy a Costco-type 100oz jar of toothpaste and refill the Ziploc bag as needed? Thank you!
Susan Vinskofski says
Hmmm. Great idea, but I’ve honestly never seen or heard of such a product!
Malcolm Berke says
I use 3 Tablespoons of Organic Virgin Coconut Oil with 4Tablespoons of Baking Soda and 30 drops of Peppermint Oil.
Place the ingredients into a small saucepan and put it on low heat. Stir until the coconut oil is melted and well mixed. Let it cool stirring occasionally.
It will clean, whiten and polish your teeth while handling plaque in your gums. Best ever!
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you for sharing, Malcolm!