Vegan Floss?
Posted by Allychristine on Mar 08, 2008 · Member since Dec 2007 · 15438 posts
Well, unfortunately a couple of days ago..I ran out of my flossers that I have had for a while (before going vegan), and I need some vegan floss!!! I've searched several times..and I can't find anything conclusive. There were a lot of questions about ecodent's ingredients..and everything else that I know of uses bees wax. I actually really prefer the flossers b/c I've never gotten comfortable with floss. Does anyone have any suggestions?!? I don't know anything about waterpicks..and those seem like they could get expensive. Help! I need to floss!
Can't you just use unwaxed floss? I use unwaxed floss--if there is no wax, then I don't see what the "nonveganness" would be. Unless they put beef fat in floss, too, in which case I will just take the risk of cavities :P
Well, apparently the "questionable ingredients" involved in some flosses don't have anything to do with the wax. From what I've read, the problem lies in the enzymes used to coat the floss (lactoperoxidase-dairy derived). Also, unwaxed is just annoying! If there are no other suggestions..I might just have to stick with some brand of flossers. I haven't looked for floss at my local natural food store..so I'll check there too (but those products are organic/environmentally friendly..not necessarily vegan-but, better than nothing). Thanks for the help so far!
Well, apparently the "questionable ingredients" involved in some flosses don't have anything to do with the wax. From what I've read, the problem lies in the enzymes used to coat the floss (lactoperoxidase-dairy derived). Also, unwaxed is just annoying! If there are no other suggestions..I might just have to stick with some brand of flossers. I haven't looked for floss at my local natural food store..so I'll check there too (but those products are organic/environmentally friendly..not necessarily vegan-but, better than nothing). Thanks for the help so far!
Gross. Why do we need dairy enzymes on floss? That's super gross. I want my teeth cleaned, not covered in dairy enzymes :P I've just been using unwaxed generic stuff...must explore this dairy enzyme crap. As if dairy isn't in enough stuff...grrr... >:(
Yeah, I know..I don't know how reliable these comments are..but this is where I got the information:
http://veganrepresent.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-9349.html
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According to this article, Jason's has a vegan floss:
"Jason’s floss qualifies as vegan because it is coated in vegetable wax rather than beeswax, Green says. In addition, it contains Co-Q10, Ester-C and tea tree oil for bacteria protection."
http://www.newhope.com/naturalcategorybuyer/ncb_backs/Winter_04/clean.cfm
And here is another vegan brand, Eco-Dent :
"All floss is not created equal! Eco-Dent floss is not only the most economical floss, but it has real benefits, such as being vegan waxed, and made with a blend of natural essential oils and enzymes to reduce plaque and help you maintain healthy teeth and gums. Eco-Dent packages their floss in a cardboard carton rather than a plastic case to cut down on ecological damage done by plastic and the disposal of plastic. Good for you, good for the environment. Premium Dental Floss GENTLEFLOSS Reduces Tooth Decay Freshens Breath Gentler Flossing No Plastic Box Travel Introductory Size with All Natural ESSENTIAL OILS and ENZYMES Helps Eliminate Plaque 100% Vegan Waxed 40 yds (36.57 m)
http://www.shopping.com/xPC-Eco-Dent-Eco-Dent-Dental-Floss-Gentle-40-Yards"
I can't find the Jason's floss. I couldn't find it from that link..and it's not on Jason's site. Eco-dent is the questionable brand..I read a few forums that talk about questionable ingredients, as I said before. I appreciate all this help! It doesn't seem like it should be this difficult..
:(
Have you tried contacting Jason's to find out about floss and also Eco-Dent to verify if their floss uses all vegan ingredients?
No, I haven't tried contacting Jason's yet..it seems maybe they discontinued floss though..I'm going to check my local organic store..and see what they have. A couple of people on the source that I'm reading from did contact eco-dent, and this is what one person received from the parent company:
Thank you for your interest in Eco-Dent products. There seems to be some
confusion about a "substrate" and a 'source'. A substrate is the basis upon
which the enzymes are grown. They are then separated from the substrate.
They are as such not dairy "source" but rather use a dairy "substrate". They
are not part of any dairy product.
Before our company purchased the brand, this question was taken up by the
former owners with the various vegan / vegetarian organizations and they
determined that in their opinion, based on the fact that it is not a "dairy"
product, and the enzymes are "harvested" off the substrate with minimal if
any residue, that they did not consider this to be a problem.
This is however a question that you obviously need to determine for yourself
as to how you feel about it. The strong benefits for plaque reduction from
this product, the environmentally friendly packaging and the vegan wax with
essential oil blend all provide unparalleled benefits.
So, as I said.it just seems "questionable," but if I can't find anything else..and it seems to be the best product, I might go for it...
Do you use anything?
Ok, so after shopping today at our Good Food Store, I had the option of purchasing some regular organic floss (100 yards for like 2.50), Ecodent which was like $5 (and I'm not at all convinced that it's vegan), and some others....but the one I decided on is desert essence tea tree oil waxed floss (50 yds, waxed). It is naturally waxed, no animal ingredients or testing, nothing artificial, and antiseptic with tea tree oil.
"At Desert Essence, we believe that natural health is important inside and out. So we use natural and organic ingredients to ensure that consumers get pure, high-quality personal care products they can trust. Following our established tradition of excellence, we are very proud to introduce our new Desert Essence Organics line. With its pure ORGANIC and NATURAL ingredients, it is certain to become another Desert Essence classic. Our new Desert Essence Organics line is 100% Vegan and is wheat and gluten free. It has NO parabens, NO Sodium Laurel/Laureth Sulfates, NO Phthalates, NO Artificial Fragrances or Colors, NO Silicones, NO EDTA, NO Glycols and NO Petroleum based ingredients. Our products are Cruelty Free and Biodegradable. They are good for you and good for the planet."
I can't find anything bad about it (except it was about 3.50 for 50 yds)...so, I'll try it tonight and let you know how it is!
desert essence also makes tea tree oil toothpicks. you can just stick em entirely in your mouth and chew. though i dont think this works as well as floss >:D
as for the flavored flosses... i once used some strawberry flavored ones. dang, it was yummers! :)>>> but i can only now imagine what was on it! :-\
Yeah, I saw those..dental picks I think they were called. They were a bit tempting (for ease), but I don't think those would work nearly as well..I just have to get used to using floss instead of flossers!
that's interesting. i'm trying to think of other parallel in the 'vegan world' where something is used but isn't in the final product. the only thing that comes to mind is I THINK wine/beer clarification when they use the fish bladders or whatever to filter/clarify.
hmmm... maybe another parallel is growing probiotics and acidofolis on a milk substrate? or getting whey from the process of coagulating milk to make cheese w/ rennet. *and though its not vegan any way, it may be a question for vegetarians.
This website discloses all of the ingredients of the EcoDent Vegan Dental Floss.
http://www.ethicalplanet.com/ecvefl.html
And most companies will not claim that something is vegan without ensuring that it is vegan, as it would lead to some serious backlash.
I've been to a lot of Asian restaurants where they include shrimp, chicken, etc. in their "vegetarian" menu though; I believe that's an issue of linguistic/cultural barriers.
Anyway, that's the site I found with the vegan floss. Those flossers that are individual wreck the environment, so if you don't find a suitable floss that is vegan, please don't go back to the flossers at least.
Also, there are these water shooting devices that use a thin stream of water to clean between teeth instead. Water flossers or something.
Last I checked, water is vegan. (:
on a kinda related note - Wisps - those little mini disposable toothbrushes with the paste built in that you can buy 2 in a pack and keep in yr purse or whatever, contain gelatin.
I'm bringing back my old thread to tell everyone that I found out (through someone else messaging the company) that the Desert Essence tea tree oil floss is not vegan. I guess it's coated in tea tree oil, but still waxed with bee's wax. Very misleading.
I will be moving on to EcoDent probably.
I sent an email to confirm. Response:
"Hello:
Thank you for contacting Desert Essence. Yes the floss contains beeswax. No bees or hives are harmed to obtain the beeswax."
THEN DON'T PUT 'NO ANIMAL INGREDIENTS' on everything about the floss. Ugh. Yeah right.
did you respond saying that? i hope you did. srsly.
did you respond saying that? i hope you did. srsly.
I said that, but not in caps. I said something like, "then please don't put no animal ingredients on everything regarding the floss."
that's ridiculous - i just looked at mine and yeah - right on the back it says 'no animal ingredient or testing'. that's so annoying.