Flossing is an essential step of any tooth care routine. But have you ever stopped to double-check that your favorite minty floss is vegan-friendly?
Whether you’re a brand new vegan or a plant-based veteran, this simply may have never crossed your mind. However, most traditional flosses are usually coated with beeswax or contain silk fibers, making them unsuitable for vegans.
Don’t panic! There are plenty of plant-based, vegan-friendly options to swap in for your traditional floss. Read on for a quick how-to of buying your own vegan floss.
Or, save yourself some time, and choose from our list of favorite brands. You’ll be keeping your teeth sparkling clean the vegan way in no time!
Top 4 Vegan Floss Brands
Each of the brands below is a completely vegan-friendly dental floss option. Save yourself some time and effort and stock up! These will keep animals happy, and keep your teeth healthy and ready to chomp on plants.
Radius Xylitol Floss
The vegan-friendly floss from Radius is made from nylon fibers. These are coated in natural tea tree and mint oils. The flavor is enhanced by xylitol, a natural sweetener from birch trees that’s healthy for gums. These ingredients are sourced from the United States.
This floss is 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and Leaping Bunny certified – the logo is visible right on the packaging! This floss is also great because of what it doesn’t contain: preservatives, gluten, artificial sweeteners, GMOs, artificial colors, phthalates, parabens, and other harmful additives.
Instead of beeswax, radius uses a natural vegan candelilla wax, which is totally plant-based. It allows the floss to slide effortlessly around teeth.
Mint, not your thing? This vegan floss is also available in cranberry flavor.
Each pack contains 55 yards/50 meters of floss.
What We Love
Radius’ floss is a great pick for those with sensitive gums, or who are trying to pick up a flossing habit. The fibers are super soft and spongy, for total tooth protection and maximum comfort. Also, both the mint and cranberry varieties have great flavor.
We We Didn’t Like
This floss is on the thin side. Some reviewers found that it shredded and frayed easily during flossing.
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Eco-Dent Gentlefloss
The ingredient list on Eco-Dent’s Gentlefloss is any natural-ingredient-lover’s dream. Jojoba seed oil! Peppermint oil! Bergamot oil! It’s a pretty long list of entirely plant-based oils and waxes, most with healing properties.
The packaging notes that this product contains no bees or mineral wax, and is also printed with a prominent “100% Vegan” label.
If you’re trying to reduce the amount of waste your household produces, this dental floss is a great choice. Instead of a plastic canister, Eco-Dent’s floss comes in a recyclable cardboard box. That way, when you’re all finished with the floss, you can toss this right into your recycling bin.
With as much as 9 million pounds of non-renewable, non-recycled floss containers and secondary packaging going to landfills every year, every little bit helps!
The floss itself is made from nylon fibers. Each package contains 100 yards/91.44 meters of mint-flavored wax.
What We Love
Unlike many other vegan brands, Eco-Dent’s floss is resistant to shredding and fraying. The flavor is pleasant and light – it provides a gentle freshness, but won’t overwhelm you with mint flavor.
We We Didn’t Like
If you have sensitive gums, you may not see great results with this floss. Some reviewers said it cut their gums and felt extremely waxy.
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Dr. Mercola’s Natural Dental Floss
The dental floss from Dr. Mercola comes in a 3-pack of 100 yards/91.44 meters each. The floss is made from nylon fibers with 100% plant-based rice bran wax.
The vegetable wax is smooth and light, which allows the fibers to slide easily between teeth. The variety of natural plant oils have enzymes to help maintain healthy teeth and gums.
An added benefit of this vegan floss is that it is free of any fluoride coating. If your family chooses to avoid fluoride, this is a great way to ensure it’s not sneaking into your dental products.
Another great thing about this floss is the packaging. The plastic-free packaging is recyclable and biodegradable, so when you finish with this floss, you’re not sending it off to a landfill like you would with a plastic container.
Dr. Mercola’s floss is available in both mint and cinnamon flavors.
What We Love
We appreciate the recyclable and biodegradable packaging this floss comes in. The essential oils are also a nice touch and really come through in the peppermint and cinnamon flavors.
We We Didn’t Like
This floss is very thin, so if you floss to hard with it, you’ll potentially cut your gums. Keep a light hand for a comfortable flossing experience.
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Organix Neem Floss
Neem isn’t a very common ingredient, but it has a host of dental benefits. This plant can prevent and heal gum disease, prevent cavities, reduce plaque, and reduce gum inflammation. With a resume like that, it makes this a natural choice for dental floss!
The neem floss from Organix is vegan and cruelty-free. The fibers themselves are polyester, coated in vegan wax. In addition to neem oil, the floss also includes grapeseed, licorice, fennel, clove, and peppermint oils.
The floss has a light peppermint scent and flavor, which helps to keep breath fresh.
Each container contains 50 yards of floss.
What We Love
Purchasers said this floss does a great job of “grabbing” food particles and keeping teeth clean and fresh. The earthy, light scent also gets rave reviews.
We We Didn’t Like
This floss feels very waxy, and sometimes sticks together. Some reviewers also said the strands were on the thin side, which made them prone to breakage.
Check Price on AmazonChoosing Vegan-Friendly Floss
Dental floss isn’t an obvious source of animal byproducts. However, this seemingly innocent string can be a culprit for two main animal-sourced ingredients.
Beeswax
A common ingredient in many toiletries and household products, beeswax allows floss to glide through the spaces between your teeth. The beeswax also functions to provide flavor, which may motivate people to use it more.
While beeswax can be good for people, it’s bad news for bees. The wax is obtained by melting a honeycomb in boiling water, straining, and cooling it. The process can be harmful to bees – queen bees often have their wings removed to keep them in one hive, and haphazard handling can cause wings and legs to be torn off.
The good news is that beeswax isn’t the only option. Many vegan-friendly brands use plant-based waxes instead of beeswax.
If waxed flosses aren’t your thing, you can find unwaxed floss. This won’t glide as smoothly through your teeth, but they’re just as capable as their waxed counterparts.
Silk
Some “natural” flosses boast the use of silk instead of synthetic fibers. While this might be a step up for the biodegradability of the product, it’s bad news for silkworms.
Silk is the fiber silkworms use to create their cocoons. To make silk, distributors boil the worms alive in their cocoons.
The fact that the silkworms need to die in order to produce silk for humans means this floss ingredient isn’t even suitable for vegetarians, much less vegans.
Choosing Vegan-Friendly Floss
Flossing is an essential part of any dental care routine, vegan or otherwise! It’s possible to find a wide variety of products to keep teeth and gums healthy, without having to harm bees or silkworms.
By keeping your eyes out for certain ingredients, you can floss your choppers knowing you’re using a product that’s in line with your values. Aside from animal rights and cruelty-free practices, many of these brands also feature packaging that is recyclable and/or biodegradable, making it good for the environment, too.
Choosing any of our recommended brands will help you stock up on floss that’s just as good for you as it is for the animals we share our planet with. Happy Flossing!