Since most of health and beauty take place in the kitchen and the bathroom, this covers both of those as well!

Baking soda is an amazing agent for cleaning and de-odorizing things and objects, but it can also be amazing for cleaning yourself. The specific properties of baking soda also mean that it can help your hygiene and beauty products too.

Homemade Toothpaste

You can easily use baking soda alone as a toothpaste and teeth whitener. It’s cheaper than any commercial tube of toothpaste and just as safe if not safer.

You can simply sprinkle some baking soda onto your toothbrush, run it under the faucet to get it wet, and then start using it normally. Or, you can put a pinch of baking soda into a small bowl of water and combine before putting the toothbrush in your mouth.

You don’t have to worry about bad breath because baking soda is great with neutralizing odors.

Many people have made a fuss about baking soda being too abrasive by itself for regular usage on teeth – but studies have shown that baking soda alone, used properly, is actually less abrasive than all commercial toothpastes. However, it’s worth being careful if you have weak enamel or sensitive teeth and gums.

Soak Dentures, Retainers, Mouth Guards

Denture, retainers, and mouth guards all develop distinct odors as a result of the bacteria in your mouth over time. This is extremely unpleasant, and even a hard brushing can’t always get rid of them.

No one wants to wear a stinky mouth guard, so soaking all of the above in a baking soda solution will get rid of the odor and loosen any buildup of plaque or gunk on them.

Just start with a bowl of 8 ounces of warm water, and put 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda into it and mix it. Drop your mouth guard in, and let it soak for an hour or so. When you take it out, your mouth guard will be shiny and smell like new.

Baking Soda Deodorant

If you’re searching for a cheap, odorless way of preventing perspiration and odors from your armpits, look no further than baking soda.

All you need to do is just dust your armpits with baking soda and you will be dry and odorless all day long. Just make sure to get rid of any leftover baking soda so it doesn’t look like residue from a commercial deodorant.

Mouthwash and Bad Breath Killer

Sometimes you run out of mouthwash, or just want something odorless to freshen up your breath with. All you need to do is rinse and gargle with a cup of warm water and 1 tablespoon of baking soda.

Make sure you gargle in your throat and this solution will successfully kill the vast majority of the bacteria in your mouth.

De-product your Hair

If you use hair products at all, you know that they are often hard to clean and fully get out of your hair, even when you use shampoo. And over shampooing and washing just leads to your hair and scalp drying out, which leads to dandruff… which leads to more product. It’s a negative cycle.

After you squeeze your shampoo onto your palm, sprinkle a bit of baking soda into it and wash and rinse your hair as usual. The baking soda will work to bind to and remove any leftover residue of the product you have used, and clean your hair and scalp without drying it out.

Baking soda is great at removing residue and grease.

Exfoliant Scrub and Hand Soap

Instead of buying expensive scrubs that are filled with chemicals and microbeads that are harmful to the environment and will clog your drains eventually, you can use baking soda as a scrub. Remember that baking soda is a slight abrasive.

Just make a baking soda paste from ½ cup of baking soda and ¼ cup of water, and make sure to err on the side of more baking soda so it is more solid. Scrub your face and body with it and will shed skin and become radiant after.

Baking Soda Baths

Instead of a bubble bath, which is prone to dry you out if you stay in it for an extended period of time, just soak in baking soda.

Run a bath and fill the tub to the level you would like, and then add 2 cups of baking soda. This will wash away dirt, perspiration from your body, and is relaxing and will leave your skin feeling moisturized and clean afterwards.

Feel free to add essential oils, potpourri, or a tiny bit of bubble bath if you want an aroma and additional sense of pleasure.

This is a process that can leave your tub clean as well if you spray the tub with vinegar after draining it a bit.

Dry Shampoo

By the time we hit 5:00pm some days, our head and hair are greasy and oily from the rigors of daily life.

What do you do if you don’t have time to take a complete shower? Will you be stuck with a head full of grease?

Baking soda can act as a dry shampoo because it absorbs oil and dirt easily. All you need to do is sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of baking soda into your hair, massage it through your hair and scalp in particular, and then dust your head off. Give a final look in the mirror before heading out to make sure that you don’t have white powder in your hair, and enjoy your shower-free cleanliness.

Sore Throat Gargle

Sometimes when you develop a lump in your throat, you just know that you will be sick soon. It’s a huge red flag. It makes it hard to swallow, and is probably painful during your waking hours.

If you combine 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of salt (kosher, preferably) into a glass of 8 ounces of warm water, you can use this solution to gargle with. It will help disinfect your mouth and throat, which will make your sickness milder and quicker to get over.

It will also reduce the swelling and inflammation, which will make swallowing easier and less painful.