February’s installment in my Natural Lifestyle Tips series is another amazing product review from Wowe Lifestyle! This one is focused on lower waste oral hygiene tools.

When I was a kid, I had terrible oral hygiene. For some reason, my dental checkups were always great despite my terrible oral hygiene. When I hit college, I improved my oral hygiene dramatically. Unfortunately, something also changed in my oral chemistry around that time, and my checkups stopped being as great as I wanted them to be.

Since the shift, I do whatever I can to help my oral hygiene in easy ways, and hopefully with a low environmental cost. One of the tools my dentist recommended to me was a tongue scraper. He gave me a flimsy plastic tool with teeth on each side. This plastic tongue scraper was [obviously] plastic, and designed to be disposable (though you could reuse it for a while before you needed to replace it). I also have a sensitive tongue, so I hated how rough the teeth made it. Using that tongue scraper was an awful experience, and I thought the entire experience could be dramatically improved.

When Wowe Lifestyle reached out to me about testing some of their products, I instantly gravitated towards their tongue cleaners/scrapers! They have two kinds, copper and stainless steel. They have smooth sides, are made from metal (not plastic), and are designed to last a lifetime. Wowe Lifestyle also has other oral hygiene products that I did not review, but are perfect if you want to reduce your environmental impact. If you use a manual toothbrush, take a look at their bamboo toothbrushes as an environmentally friendly replacement for your plastic one!

Now, on to the review of the tongue scrapers!

*Disclaimer* I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions in this post are my own! Some links in this post are affiliate links, meaning I make a small commission if you make a purchase from them – this is at no cost to you! I only use affiliate links for products I recommend and use myself.

Wowe Lifestyle Metal Tongue Cleaners Review

When I wanted to try the tongue cleaners, my first dilemma was if I wanted to try the stainless steel or the copper ones. I am grateful that Wowe Lifestyle was willing to send me one set of each (they come in sets of two). My second dilemma was worrying about if they would make my mouth taste like metal, like sucking on a penny, but my contact assured me that would not be the case.

Immediately, I was impressed by the quality of the scrapers. Both types are an excellent weight in your hands, sturdy (yet flexible enough you can adjust them for your mouth), and smooth. There are thicker and rounded handles, they come with easy to understand instructions, and they are packaged in recycled and recyclable paper packaging.

Since the tongue scrapers came in boxes of two, both Dan and I tried them out. I have an exceedingly sensitive sense of taste, and a sensitive tongue (to touch), so I wanted to get the opinion of a “normal” mouth to include in my post! We tried each metal for about two weeks, so that we could accurately compare them. I used mine every evening before bed, as that’s when I do my more elaborate oral hygiene routine.

My routine has been the same the entire time I’ve been using the tongue scraper: brush my teeth, use my water flosser, scrape my tongue several times – rinsing between scrapes, use mouthwash. I have to say, adding the tongue scraper to my routine has helped to improve the feeling of my mouth – it feels significantly cleaner now!

How to Use

You can use the tongue scraper before or after you brush your teeth. If you use it after brushing your teeth, I recommend using mouthwash to rinse out your mouth so your toothpaste can do its job (my dentists have always said to not rinse the toothpaste out of your mouth, just spit well). If you use it before brushing your teeth, you can use water to rinse and then complete your oral hygiene routine. To use either tongue scraper, you follow the same instructions.

• Stick your tongue out as far as you can get it, without pointing it.
• Hold the handles and put the loop part as far back onto your tongue as you can tolerate.
• Use mild to moderate pressure to push the metal onto your tongue as you pull the scraper towards the tip of your tongue. It should not be uncomfortable or painful.
• Rinse the scraper, and turn the water back off.
• Repeat steps 2-4 until you feel your tongue is clean, or until you stop getting anything visible coming off of your tongue.
• Rinse your mouth out well.
• Rinse your tongue scraper and put it somewhere to dry where it will stay clean.

That’s all there is to it! It’s a simple process, and makes a huge difference in your oral hygiene. Toothbrushes aren’t designed to clean your tongue, and generally tend to move the bacteria around instead of removing it. The tongue scrapers remove the bacteria from your tongue, which reduces bad breath, gum disease, and tooth decay!

The Pros

Overall, I have enjoyed using the tongue scrapers. There wasn’t a noticeable difference in how the different tongue scrapers worked or felt. The copper ones will get some oxidation on them, but the discoloration only impacts appearance.

As I already stated, both tongue scrapers are a great weight and easy to hold on to. They have some weight to them, which makes them easier to push against the tongue, but aren’t heavy enough to be difficult to hold. The rounded handles have small grooves on them to help maintain your grip on the metal when it gets wet, which makes them easier to use. (That crummy plastic one I got from my dentist was difficult to hang onto when it got wet.)

The smooth metal surfaces rinse clean with water, and because they’re nonporous, they do not collect bacteria nor mold. We do wash ours with soap occasionally, but that’s because we have hard water that builds up on everything.

The smooth scraping surface evenly removes build-up without irritation. When the tip of my tongue gets overly irritated, which happens during my allergic reactions, it’s easy to reduce the pressure to prevent further aggravating the taste buds.

Neither metal had any significant taste to it. I noticed no taste with the stainless steel one, and Dan noticed no taste with either metal. (More on the taste below.)

Through some research, and talking with Wowe Lifestyle, I discovered that copper is antibacterial. This means that while both tongue scrapers remove the bacteria from your tongue, the copper ones also help kill the bacteria. Since bacteria is what causes tooth decay, gum disease, and bad breath, the copper option is a great choice for people that struggle with those.

The tongue scrapers fit nicely in our toothbrush holder. We need to get a new toothbrush holder, as they currently share a single hole, but being able to put them into the holder gives us a wonderful place to store them between uses!

Both stainless steel and copper are recyclable. Most curbside recycling accepts both stainless steel and copper items. Metal scrap yards should also accept them if you do not have curbside recycling. Even if the tongue scrapers end up in the trash, neither material will leech chemicals into the ground (or water).

They’re easily affordable, especially when you look at how long they last! The two pack of copper scrapers is $12.95 and the two pack of stainless steel scrapers is $10.95 (USA dollars), and all USA orders get free shipping. Wowe Lifestyle does make sure their products are made ethically, as I discussed in my first review for them.

The Cons

There wasn’t much in the way for cons with this product. I was extremely pleased with both the quality and ease of use. There were a few things that I think you may like to be aware of before purchasing, but I’m not sure they’re “cons.”

While Dan didn’t notice any taste with either metal, I did notice a slight metallic taste with the copper one. As I said, I’m extremely sensitive to taste, so I’m not surprised by that. It’s not so strong of a taste that it prevented me from using it, but I have since switched back to using the stainless steel cleaner. It’s nowhere near the level of taste you get if you handle coins and then eat finger food, it’s a subtle taste. Dan is still using the copper one.

If you have arthritic hands, or a condition that limits the ability to grip objects, the handles may be too small for you to use the device. To properly use the device, you need to be able to hold onto both sides firmly.

Traveling with them was slightly inconvenient. Dan has a nice toiletries bag, which he put them in, but we had to put them into a Ziploc (we wash and reuse them) to keep them clean. I will be making a nice little fabric baggy for traveling with them, when I get my sewing machine setup, to reduce our plastic usage. If you have a toiletry bag with dedicated pockets, or some other way to keep them clean, then it won’t be a problem. It also won’t be a problem if you don’t travel often! Again, this was not a major problem: we still traveled with them and used them daily while traveling.

Conclusion

If you’re looking to improve your oral hygiene, hate the plastic tongue scrapers as much as I did, or struggle with bad breath, definitely check out the Wowe Lifestyle tongue cleaners! Dan and I still use our scrapers every single day. Both of us have noticed improvements in our oral hygiene, and the state of our morning breath. I’m grateful that they will last so long, as I intend to use mine for years to come!

You can get your own environmentally tongue cleaners on Wowe Lifestyle’s site! All USA orders ship free, with no minimum purchase amount!