Durapik

Thanks to Instagram and their algorithm, they showed me an ad for a Kickstarter campaign last year for a reusable, zero-waste dental pick. They must have heard me tell my dentist years ago that I struggle to use regular floss because my short fingers can’t reach the back teeth. I have been using a plastic wand where you use the single-use heads to floss. I hate throwing those away but obviously need to floss daily. The Durapik is the perfect solution to my waste concerns, and I couldn’t wait to invest. Not only that, but most of those throw away heads have beeswax on them, making them not vegan technically.

I have never invested in a Kickstarter before, so I was nervous to take the leap. This was back in August 2020, in the middle of the pandemic so it seemed to have a higher risk of not coming to fruition. There were several delays but yesterday I received the two dental picks and two floss refills that are made from organic algae, so it is compostable. I was one of the earlier shipments, so the shipping package was not the sturdiest, and it was open when it got to me. Thankfully, the items were in the envelope, and I know they are making changes to the shipping containers to avoid this for future shipments. I went all in and got two in case something happens to one, I have a backup. I also got two refills of floss just to go all in on the Kickstarter, and I am glad I did. These also come with a metal toothpick on the end that comes out the end of the pick. You can see how they easily come attached in the picture above.

These are made from surgical grade metal, and they use heat to change the colors of the picks. How cool is that? “The DuraPik floss picks are coloured through a natural heating process called colour tempering. Stainless steel metal can be heated to various temperatures from 300 - 800 degrees Fahrenheit. The heating of the metal excites the metal electrons which starts releasing different wavelengths of lights/colour. For example the steel turns brown, at 520 degrees, it turns purple, at 575 degrees, it turns blue and at 800 degrees.” These are also made from recycled metal and can be recycled if you ever saw the need (I don’t see why though).

Using organic algae, peppermint essential oils, and candela wax to make the floss makes it vegan which I love. Not only that, but it is home compostable and safe for the environment. Most store bought floss is made from petrochemicals or nylon which is terrible for the planet and not recyclable.

Per the notes on their website on the process of making the floss: “The general steps of production are as follows: The floss first starts off as algae from our farm (not from the sea), we then harvest the algae, cleaning- carding- drawing- combing- roving- spinning- and then once its finished spinning the floss is packaged. The production process is done in a water-based environment. So, it is green and pollution-free, and the process also meets the environmental protection requirements!” Not only is the floss compostable, but I can feel good about the process in which the floss is made. We don’t want to fix the plastic and floss waste issue if we are making more waste or damage environmentally making the alternative product. On average, a person uses 350 single-use plastic floss picks a year. That’s an outrageous amount of plastic going to the landfill every year with one person, imagine what that does to the planet over fifty years. It seems like a small thing, but it clearly adds up over time and an easy thing to change in your everyday life.

You all know I am big on supporting companies that give back to the planet and have the same ethical and morals as I do, so that was something I was looking for in this Kickstarter. They will donate 5% of our profits to Project Aware to help clean our oceans and another 5% to reforestation. I love knowing that my purchase can have a positive impact on the planet opposed to a negative one.

Putting the floss on the pick is easy once you get the hang of it, and they have an easy video to watch on their website to learn how. I will say, for tighter teeth you need to be careful putting the floss through otherwise it will break. I have a good amount of teeth that are tight together, so I do have to rethread new floss occasionally. It is still worth the trouble just knowing this way is zero waste over what I have been doing for years. Any move to reduce my carbon footprint everyday is a good one in my opinion.

Have you seen the ads for Durapik on Facebook or Instagram? Would you be willing to make the switch? This is a little more expensive at first, but in the long run it saves you so much money not having to buy single-use plastic ones. Head to their website here to find out more and to get your own.

Thanks for reading,

Jessica