As a part of a challenge to try new things, I took it upon myself to try oil pulling for a week. For those of you who don’t know, oil pulling is the practice of swishing one tablespoon of an oil of your choice in your mouth for 15-20 minutes. This is an ancient Ayurvedic technique that has been known to have a myriad of health benefits including, whiter teeth and overall improved oral health.
Coconut oil was my weapon of choice to begin. Every weekday during this past week. I swished coconut oil in my mouth in hopes of having a hollywood-white smile that even Blake Lively would be jealous of.
Some challenges I faced mainly centered around remembering to get my “swish” on in the morning. My nighttime practice definitely made up for my random episodes of morning forgetfulness. The time allotted for the practice (15-20 minutes) doesn’t seem that long until you actually begin the process. However by minute five, you realize a gray hair has grown from your mistakenly young scalp. Oil pulling can last forever, so I highly recommend doing something else while you try this beauty technique out. I did all kinds of things like surf the web, do homework, listen to music, and creep on my peers via social media.
By the end of the week, I noticed a few changes. My teeth felt cleaner than when I was just brushing alone, my head felt clearer, and to my delight my teeth seemed a little whiter as well! When I went to the doctor on Friday, I even got complimented by one of the doctors at the Health Center. I can’t say that oil pulling will have the same effects on everyone that it did for me, but I definitely think it’s worth trying out.