Ditch the Listerine and make your own mint mouthwash with essential oils. Experience the refreshing, clean, minty feeling, without the burn.

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I love a good DIY recipe that is simple, inexpensive, and produces great results. This mint mouthwash recipe checks all the boxes.

After years of using a simple homemade xylitol mouthwash, I decided to get a little creative and add a few more recipes to my DIY oral hygiene recipes.

This homemade mint mouthwash accomplishes just that. I still use baking soda and xylitol in it, but I also add aloe vera, spearmint essential oil, and peppermint essential oil.

Follow along and I’ll show the benefits of each ingredient in this refreshing mint mouthwash, the cost to make (plus the savings), and I’ll give a full breakdown of the recipe.

Why Make Homemade Mint Mouthwash?

There are so many benefits to taking matters into your own hands and learning how to make things from scratch. Whether it’s learning to cook from scratch, making your own homemade cleaning products, or experimenting with DIY personal care items, homemade anything is a benefit to yourself and your household.

Ingredient Control

The number one reason why I continue to make things from scratch in my household is ingredient control. I never have to research ingredient names that I’m not even sure how to pronounce.

I use basic ingredients, like in this mint mouthwash, that anyone can purchase and experiment until I find the right combination. No undisclosed surprises and no worrying about toxins.

Another DIY oral care recipe that allows me to have ingredient control over what I put in my mouth is my all-natural tooth brushing powder.

Quality Products

Is it just me, or have manufactured items continued to decline in quality? Whether it’s food, appliances, or personal care products, it seems that the more time goes on, the more companies find ways to cut costs.

Cutting costs may help their bottom line, but it definitely does not help me when I shop around for items that I need. I would rather spend more money on something that is actually good, than less money on something mass produced and questionable.

When it comes to dental hygiene, I don’t want to put questionable ingredients in my mouth of all places. I like that when I make my own mint mouthwash, I can buy the best ingredients, and therefore have the best product.

Eco-Friendly

It may seem minor, spitting conventional mouthwash down the drain, but how we treat our water systems really does matter. While I cannot control what chemicals are allowed to be produced and used in society, I can control what I use in my own home.

When I make my own mint mouthwash, I do not have to think twice about what goes down my drain. Everything comes from nature, and goes back to nature.

Cost-Effective

I think one of the biggest hang-ups for people when wanting to switch to a more low-tox, natural lifestyle is money. Grass-fed beef costs more than conventional beef, linen costs more than polyester, and bougie toothpaste costs more than Colgate.

While all of that may be true, the solution is DIY 😉. There are so many things that I have learned to make that allow me to live a life of good quality, without going broke. Many times, my natural DIY versions are even cheaper than conventional products.

See here for the cost-benefit analysis.

Why Avoid Listerine?

Has anyone ever heard the claim that Listerine was originally created to be a household disinfectant? I don’t know all the details about that, but when I heard that, it made me want to look into what is actually in Listerine.

My go-to mouthwash used to be Listerine Antiseptic Mouthwash, Cool Mint. I would feel the burn and think I was doing the most good 😅. On a scale of 1-10, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) puts this mouthwash at a 5. So, not the worst, but not the best either.

While the EWG puts most of the ingredients in the green, meaning low risk, there is one ingredient in the red that rates at a 9: methyl salicylate.

Methyl salicylate functions as an external analgesic, flavoring agent, fragrance ingredient, and denaturant. The concerns associated with this ingredient include cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, allergies and immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption, and irritation.

Considering the fact that mouthwash is an optional luxury in life, I think I’ll skip all of those possible side effects!

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In addition to questionable chemical exposure with regular use of Listerine, there are other potential negative side effects to consider as well.

An alcohol-based antiseptic mouthwash like Listerine has the potential to disrupt your oral microbiome, leading to dysbiosis and an increase in opportunistic bacteria.

With this imbalanced microbiome, you can actually be at risk of worsened bad breath, because you lose the good bacteria that help reduce odor-producing microbes. So, it actually perpetuates the cycle that you think you are helping to get rid of.

Additionally, dry mouth and tissue irritation are common side effects due to the alcohol content. When your mouth is dry, you are more likely to develop cavities, because you lose the protective properties of saliva.

While it seems silly to spend money on chemicals that may harm my reproductive health, it seems even more silly to purchase a product that will likely have the opposite result of what I am intending to accomplish with it.

I’ll stick with making my own DIY mint mouthwash!

Benefits of Homemade Mint Mouthwash

If you are now thoroughly turned off by the idea of using a product like Listerine regularly, let me present you with an alternative: homemade mint mouthwash. Here are the benefits of each ingredient in my DIY mint mouthwash:

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How to Make a Refreshing Mint Mouthwash

You will not miss your old store-bought mouthwash after trying this refreshing mint mouthwash made with essential oils.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• ½ cup aloe vera
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 6 tbsp xylitol
• 10-15 drops spearmint essential oil
• 5 drops peppermint essential oil

Equipment

• 1 16oz amber glass bottle
• 1 funnel

Instructions

Tap/click the images for a description of each step ⬇️

Step #1: Place your funnel at the opening of the amber glass bottle and add the powder ingredients, xylitol and baking soda to the bottle.

Step #2: Add water, preferably warm to help dissolve the powder ingredients, to your glass bottle. Swirl contents to help dissolve everything.

Step #3: Add aloe vera and essential oils. Cap and shake to combine.

Step #4: Swish daily for best results.

Tips

• If you aren’t a fan of the taste of aloe vera, don’t worry. The xylitol and essential oils mask the taste while still receiving the benefits of it.
• As with any mouthwash, it is recommended to swish and spit, not swallow.
• Shake the mint mouthwash before each use.

Ways to Use

• Best used after flossing and brushing.
• Great for gargling if you have a sore throat.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Let’s break down the price difference between a homemade mint mouthwash vs. buying an all-natural mint mouthwash.

As of November 2026 in Tennessee:

DIY Refreshing Mint Mouthwash with Essential Oils

1 cup water

• FREE

½ cup aloe vera

• 16oz bottle = $14.99
• 16oz = 2 cups
• $14.99 % 2 = $7.50/cup
• ½ cup = $3.75

1 tsp baking soda

• 4lb bag = $3.34
• 4lb = approx. 451 tsp
• $3.34 % 451 = $0.007 per tsp
• 1 tsp = $0.007

6 tbsp xylitol

• 5lb = $45.95
• 5lb = approx. 567 tsp
• 567 tsp = 189 tbsp
• $45.95 % 189 = $0.24
• $0.24 x 6 = $1.44
• 6 tbsp = $1.44

15 drops spearmint essential oil

• 1oz bottle = $17.00
• 1oz bottle = approx. 600 drops
• $17.00 % 600 = $0.03 per drop
• 15 drops = $0.45

5 drops peppermint essential oil

• 1oz bottle = $18.00
• 1oz bottle = approx. 600 drops
• $18.00 % 600 = $0.03 per drop
• 5 drops = $0.15

Total: $5.80

VanMan’s Aloe Mouth Rinse (find here)

• 8oz bottle = $15.00
• 2 bottles (16oz) = $30.00

I just recently came across VanMan’s Aloe Mouth Rinse, and it seems like a great product! It comes in both mint and cinnamon. While it is obviously a lot more expensive than my DIY mint mouthwash, I love the ingredients, the glass bottle, and the other products offered by this brand.

Definitely a worthwhile brand to purchase from!

FAQs

Cheers to natural oral hygiene! 🦷

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