Does your toothbrushing routine need a fresh start?

What day is it today? I semi-seriously ask because it’s been five days since the plague (a.k.a. the flu) descended upon my house. My son was the first to succumb, followed by me 36 hours later. As I write this, my husband is in bed moaning between fits of coughing and asking me to take his temperature.

Thank G-D I woke up this morning feeling relatively back to normal (at least normal enough to go to Trader Joe’s and CVS for more Lysol), but I can’t remember the last time I did my full skincare routine. Was it Saturday night between cleaning up my son’s vomit in not one, not two, but three bathrooms and putting wet towels on his 104-degree body? Nah, I think it was Saturday morning before I took him to urgent care for a flu test. (My mother’s instinct was spot on, and I knew I had to get him Tamiflu STAT.)

With my clarity restored this morning, I realized I was just about out of toothpaste—and even Amazon Prime wouldn’t be able to get a tube of Marvis Classic Strong Mint here fast enough. That’s when I remembered I received a package from Hello last week (things are looking up!). I grabbed the Activated Charcoal + Hemp Seed Oil and vowed to get my personal care back on track.

Takeaway #1: The first time brushing with a black toothpaste is a bit disconcerting. However, my mouth felt super-fresh and clean, and the mintiness definitely rivals my usual go-to.

Takeaway #2: I normally use a vibrating toothbrush, which tends to be a bit messy if I don’t take extra effort to keep my toothbrush and my head as close to the sink as possible. I probably noticed this more with the black Hello toothpaste since my sink is white and my countertop is cream-colored marble. Yet, I was able to side-step this potential problem by using the non-vibrating Hello toothbrush with charcoal-infused bristles—and I have to say it was nice to revisit this low-tech method of oral care.

This “fresh” start has me rethinking my brushing routine, because I kind of like this natural approach—i.e. no nasty chemicals or ingredients—that works to whiten teeth as it removes plaque and promotes overall good oral health. I’m sure I’ll get used to the black color, or I’ll just have to clean up after myself a bit more.

Another upside about Hello is that you can set up automatic shipments every one, two or three months so you always have a fresh toothbrush and you never run out of paste. Now’s there’s something to smile about!