Dearest readers,
I may have just spent the best $40 of my life on a "beauty" product.
Behold: a decade of coffee and soda stains vs. the bleaching power of peroxide.
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| Both photos are unfiltered, in natural daylight at midday. |
Guys! I wanted to wait til the end of my full treatment before writing an in-depth review of the Crest 3D Whitestrips, but I just couldn't wait. The results were noticeable almost immediately and I just had to share!
As some of you may know, I decided to try using the Crest 3D Whitestrips to achieve a brighter, whiter smile, specifically the
Crest 3D White Whitestrips Luxe Glamorous White (wow, how many times are they going to use the word "white"? LOL) shown below.
Here's the backstory.
If you've seen my "
Giving up bad habits: Soda and Alcohol" video on YouTube (if not, check it out by clicking on the link), then you'll know that I'd been a soda guzzler practically all of my life, and more recently, an indulger of red wine. Well, in addition to those, I was also heavily addicted to coffee. I
wanted needed it for the caffeine kick, because otherwise, good luck getting me out of bed, out the door and to work or class. But I also loved the taste. And justified it by telling myself, there's dairy in there, which is wonderful for me olde bones.
But as it turns out, a decade of coffee was not so wonderful for me olde ivories. And nothing made that more clear to me than starting my YouTube channel. Yes-siree, Bob, the camera don't lie.
I started paying more attention to the popular YouTubers' teeth - man, are they white! I'm sure the light quality, saturation, etc., all had something to do with it, but still! They're like chiclets!
Yes.
I also started noticing the whiteness of the teeth of some people I work with in real life. My boyfriend, by the way, has a gorgeous set of pearly whites himself, so when I look at photos of us together, I can't help but notice the contrast of my not-so-brilliant ones. I am not sure how I ended up surrounded by so many people with such beautiful teeth, but suffice it to say, I started feeling insecure about my own two rows of chompers. The more I looked at them, the more they looked like corn on the cob in comparison.
So I decided to take action.
I consulted my dentist first to make sure that my teeth were healthy enough for whitening. I actually first wanted to try Zoom! Whitening, about which I'd seen raving reviews on the Interwebs and in YouTube land. But my dentist actually recommended over-the-counter treatments and specifically mentioned Crest, citing lower levels of sensitivity.
As luck would have it, I stopped by Costco and Sam's Club on my way back from the dentist (ok, we will address my bulk grocery obsession in another post). Both had Crest Whitestrips! I don't remember which one I purchased my whitestrips from (will update you if I can find the receipt and figure out). But the one I bought was in Glamorous White and had 50% more strips than the version at drug stores. So instead of 28 strips (14 treatments), it came with 42 (21 treatments). At the time, I thought,
Score! I'll definitely need the extra strips, because let's be real... I didn't think I could actually quit coffee after starting the whitening treatments, as good as my intentions were.
But now, I'm actually considering stopping my treatments early. I'm 6 treatments in and loving the results so much. You can see in the above comparison photo - the difference is very stark. I think I'd be pretty happy with my teeth in their current shade. There are still some darker areas, so maybe I'll finish up the 14 day treatment.
But I've had a slight change of heart about wanting chiclets for teeth. And the sensitivity from using the peroxide is starting to drive me a little batty.
Anyway, here are some other changes I've made since starting the whitening treatment:
- Brushing with Sensodyne. My friends in college used to make fun of me for using Sensodyne, calling it my "old people toothpaste," but guys, honestly, that stuff is great! It dulls down my whitening sensitivity quite significantly. I even love the taste.
- Giving up the Joe. Yes. I actually did it. There was no weaning, just cold turkey one Saturday morning. The next day (Sunday), I actually went into work, and boy was that hard. I had these horrible withdrawal headaches that threatened to burst open my skull every time I stood up quickly. I've skipped a few days (I didn't do consecutive whitening days), but didn't drink coffee even once. It is now Tuesday, and I'm happy to say my withdrawal headaches are gone.
- Water-you-drinking? (Yes, pun intended.) I've been drinking water so, so much. Particularly after eating or snacking. Good old New York City tap water. I've read that drinking water constantly can help wash away some of the dark pigments we consume so that they don't stain as much. I hope that's true!
Please stay posted for Part 2 of this product diary, which I will post either after another 5 or 6 days or finishing the 14 days.
xoxo,
the closing belle
By the way: I purchased all products mentioned myself and opinions are 100% my own.
