I have always been self-conscious about the whiteness of my teeth. When I was 6 years old, a boy I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW on the playground took one look at my teeth and told me to brush more. After inspecting in the mirror, I realized that it wasn’t that I needed to brush more – I just had stains on my teeth. While I was also a child, I was well aware of the honesty of children. A child approaching a complete stranger with a comment is nearly always right on the nose.
Thus began my teeth whitening journey.
Before prom, I used the semi-effective but impossible tube to squeeze Arm and Hammer Whitening Booster for weeks. Price-wise, that was in my 2-job high schooler budget. I liked the results, but I hated the packaging.
I tried my first white strips in college – a knock-off brand that moved around my mouth and hardly stuck to my teeth at all. They were mildly ineffective. A whitening toothpaste (of which I have used many) created the same results. Around this time, I also tried the beauty-blogger recommendation of dipping your toothbrush in baking soda before adding toothpaste. I kept a small tupperware of baking soda next to the sink, seriously. After months of doing this, and hardly any result, I went back to brushing my teeth like a normal human.
I finally moved on to the Crest Whitestrips a few years back when I realized I could get them cheaper on Amazon.com than at my local drugstore. But das esspensive. And I’m not about that. The results are flimsy, not long lasting.
I have poor habits with my oral hygeine. While I try to wear my retainer, I often fall asleep without it. I stain my teeth frequently with red wine, coffee, Diet Coke, and the works. I’m not helping my teeth out at all, but let a girl live. I’m not living my entire life without another Diet Coke, I’m sorry teeth.
This brings us to today – my GO SMiLE review. I started this process as soon as the company sent the product to me, and I will be brutally honest with the results. Let’s go over the products I was given, and get to my results down below.
First Impressions
I’ve already gone over the pros and cons of using a fluoride-free toothpaste. This here is a fluoride-free toothpaste. However, it is intended to be a short-term whitening system. On their site, they even state “we recommend you use fluoride toothpaste to get the health and anti-cavity benefits of fluoride” – which is great. I like brands that boost awareness. How much would it have killed the formula to add fluoride to this, though? It would be nice to have a whitening toothpaste that also helped to benefit oral hygiene and health. $8 is also a little steep for toothpaste, especially for a toothpaste that is formulated to go alongside a $29 whitening gel. I’m spending $37 to brush my teeth? …You’re right, I’m not. As soon as this trial is over I’m likely going back to my usual fluoride toothpaste.
GO SMiLE Teeth Whitening Gel, 3.4 oz (GO SMiLE, $29.00)
This product very much reminds me of the Arm and Hammer Whitening Booster. The big difference between the two products is that this is in a squeezable tube: point one to GO SMiLE. Though, it looks like they’ve changed their packaging since I used it 8 years ago. And A&H boasts a $8 price tag, versus the $29 for this product.
I appreciate that I can just add this to my favorite toothpaste. This works exactly like the A&H product. While I’ll be continuing with their toothpaste for the sake of my results, I would probably switch the toothpaste for something with fluoride. First impression, this is the only one of the three GO SMiLE products I would consider repurchasing. Even then, I was unable to find information on their animal testing policy (which leads me to believe it is not cruelty-free) and the $8 A&H is hard to beat.
This is a tampon touch up for your teeth. No, really. It is this small applicator with a cotton…I don’t know any other word to use than tampon…on one end. You rub this tiny tooth tampon on your mouth to make it feel fresh. The freshness is mostly from the wiping things off your teeth, the clear fluid provides little to no added experience. It is less freshening than gum, and it is single use. 0/5, who is spending $25 for this?
Corinne DeCost 