DIY: Teething Cream

Written by: Kate Tietje

Right, so “teething cream” sounds super weird.  No?  But here’s the thing.  You can buy teething gel at the store.  I’m not entirely sure how to make a gel at home with safe ingredients…nor am I sure it’s the most effective idea.

But one day, when my kids were still teething, we ran out of teething tablets (this was long before I created Teeth Tamer).

The creative genius that I am (ha?), I thought, “What can I use at home to help him?”  Because I did not want to run to the store.  I remembered that cloves (not to be confused with clove essential oil) are good for teething pain, and I had that.  But what to pair with it…

After several minutes of brainstorming and one quick search for an ingredient I hadn’t used in months, I had my answer.

Teething cream.

This formula combines coconut oil, cocoa butter, and cloves for a creamy, stick-to-the-gums, totally edible, and safe cream that relieves pain.

Teething Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup cocoa butter (food grade pure, not cocoa butter-based beauty product)
• 1 tbsp. whole cloves

Directions:

Step 1: Add coconut oil and cocoa butter to a small saucepan.

Step 2: Place the pan on the stove over low heat until they are just melted.  Add your cloves and let this steep for 20 – 30 minutes on very low heat (just enough to keep the oils from solidifying).

Step 3: Then, strain the oil through a piece of cheesecloth into a 4-oz.  glass jar (discard the strained cloves from the cheesecloth) and let the oil cool completely until it has turned into a cream.

(You can place the jar in the fridge to speed up this process and store it there so the mixture is chilled when you initially give it to the baby.)  Interestingly, if left at room temperature, it stays a liquid.  If you put it in the fridge to solidify and then remove it, it becomes a very soft solid.  This was unexpected.  I’d recommend storing it in the fridge so it’s cool for the baby and less messy.

Take a tiny amount and massage it into the baby’s gums.  This can be used on adults with toothaches, too — it’s not just for babies!

That’s it!  So simple!