Here’s a summary of the PROS of Lumineux’s products, in my opinion:
- Safe, non-toxic ingredients
- Gentle ingredients that are good for sensitive teeth
- The whitening products are better for stain prevention than they are for actual whitening
- The toothpaste & mouthwash taste good and have nice textures
- The toothbrush (& electric toothbrush head) is plastic-free
- The mouthwash is MADE SAFE Certified
- All of their products are very easy to use, with little to no learning curve. The textures, usage, and performance are very similar to the ‘conventional’ brands you’re used to (Crest, Colgate, etc.)
- All of their products are vegan (certified by VegeCert) & cruelty-free
- Available in many big box stores like Target, Walmart, CVS, Fresh Thyme, Sprouts, and Whole Foods
Here’s a summary of the CONS, from my point of view:
- I don’t think the whitening strips make a very noticeable difference
- Doesn’t contain hydroxyapatite (for remineralization/cavity-prevention)
- Not plastic-free/low-plastic
This review is not sponsored and the product was not gifted; I bought it myself. This review does contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase (though not all links are affiliate!). As always, we only make recommendations that are genuine.
Lumineux’s products in a nutshell
You’ve probably heard about Lumineux before—it’s a relatively well-known natural oral care brand.
They carry:
- toothpaste
- mouthwash
- whitening strips
- whitening pens
- toothbrushes (electric and non-electric)
All of their products are made from relatively simple, natural ingredients. Their primary ingredients include things like dead sea salt, aloe vera, and lemon peel oil, but they also use ingredients like xylitol, leaf oils (peppermint, spearmint, etc.), and more.
These ingredients are generally low risk, so their formulations are pretty safe for most people (unless you have a sensitivity to something like lemon peel oil). They’re also gentle on the mouth, which is not only good for sensitive teeth but also for protecting a healthy oral microbiome.
They have a few different varieties, so you can shop according to your needs or goals: Whitening, Sensitivity, Hydrating, or Clean & Fresh.
Most of these formulations use a similar combination of ingredients; they mostly just make changes to the ratios depending on the specific need.
Also, it might be worth noting that they’ve since re-branded since I made my purchases! I definitely like their new branding (pictured above).
I’ve tried a lot of Lumineux’s products, and I’m going to give you my personal opinions on the White Strips, Brightening Pen, Toothpaste, Mouthwash, and Toothbrush.
I’ll start with the white strips since that’s what everyone is most curious about!
Whitening Strips
Lumineux’s whitening strips are very easy to use—you just wear them for 30 minutes the way you would wear more ‘conventional’ brands like Crest white strips. Except Lumineux’s, of course, are made with much safer, natural ingredients like coconut oil, dead sea salt, and lemon peel oil.
I’ve actually used the Lumineux white strips in the past, but I was inconsistent. So it was really difficult to tell if they were working or not.
This time, I used them every day for 14 days.
Here are my before & after photos after using the white strips for 2 weeks straight:
To be honest, I barely noticed a difference at all. My teeth might be one shade whiter?
Maybe if I used the strips for 30 days or longer then it would make more of a difference.
But one of my main issues with white strips is that it’s a lot of single-use plastic.
Each 2-pack of strips (an upper and a lower) comes wrapped in its own package, and then there’s a piece of plastic that the strips are stuck to, and then there’s the strip itself. Eek.
I reached out to Lumineux to ask what the actual strip is made out of and they told me it’s made of polyethylene. This may not be the absolute worst kind of plastic, but it’s still single-use plastic that I’m holding in my mouth for 30 minutes a day, and I don’t love that idea. (I wonder if there are any microplastics leaching out of the strip and into my gums while it’s in my mouth!)
The one thing I could say these white strips might be good for is stain prevention. Even though they don’t seem to be very powerful to actually whiten teeth, I do think they can probably help to keep your teeth at the shade they’re currently at. As a coffee drinker, this is definitely appealing to me.
But that said, I think I would rather use a whitening/stain prevention system that uses less single-use plastic.
For example, I’m curious to try Boka’s Rapid Radiance Teeth Whitening Kit. It’s not zero waste/plastic, but it’s definitely a lot less plastic than white strips.
(P.S. Using hydroxyapatite toothpaste can also help with whitening over time. Here are some of our favorite brands.)
Whitening Pen
The Brightening/Whitening Pen is basically made from a lot of the same ingredients as the white strips, but it’s in the form of a twist-up pen that you brush onto your teeth.
It’s meant to not only help whiten, but also prevent stains by providing a sort of “protective layer” to your teeth before drinking coffee, tea, wine, etc.
So, you can either brush it on before you drink coffee something that tends to stain, OR you can apply and leave it on for 30 minutes (without drinking anything) to help whiten your teeth.
Just like with the white strips, I didn’t notice a huge difference when it comes to the pen’s whitening powers.
I do think that if you’re going for stain prevention, the pen might be a better option because it’s easier to use and way less plastic waste compared to the whitening strips.
As a coffee drinker, I do think the pen helps a little bit with stain prevention, so I think I’ll keep using it for this purpose. Honestly, I think the hardest part is just remembering to be consistent with the application. I mean, I feel like I have a million things to do every morning when I wake up. Quickly swiping my teeth with the pen is a really quick & easy thing to do, but it’s still one more thing I have to do.
Oh, and my one important tip for you when using the pen: the first time you use a new pen, you might have to twist it A LOT to get the product to start coming out. Eventually, you’ll start to see the gel push up into the bristles of the brush, but sometimes I have to twist it for like a full minute to get it to start coming out. (Then after you use the pen for the first time, you just have to give it one quick twist each time you use it.)
I do think this would be a great product for red wine drinkers to have in their purse!
Is Lumineux good for sensitive teeth?
In short: yes. If you have sensitive teeth, I do think all of Lumineux’s products are worth giving a try.
My teeth aren’t super sensitive, but they are a little bit sensitive. I have not experienced any increase in sensitivity in using any of Lumineux’s products—be it the whitening strips, the toothpaste, etc.
While pretty much all of their products are formulated for sensitive teeth, they also have a whole collection that’s specifically for Sensitivity.
Most of the ingredients used are similar, but the ratios differ. For example, the Sensitivity products contain more dead sea salt than the Clean & Fresh products (which is supposed to help with remineralization).
Toothpaste
Lumineux’s toothpaste is fluoride-free and just like many of their other products, it uses ingredients like coconut oil, aloe vera, lemon peel oil, and dead sea salt.
Overall, I do like their toothpaste. It gets the job done—it cleans my teeth well and produces a moderate amount of foam. It has a mild minty taste that’s not overpowering.
The mineral-rich dead sea salt is supposed to help remineralize teeth; however, I haven’t been able to find research that indicates it can do so as well as hydroxyapatite and/or fluoride.
Personally, when choosing a long-term toothpaste, I’d rather use something with hydroxyapatite in it. (Hydroxyapatite is an anti-cavity ingredient that works just as well as fluoride, but is non-toxic and safe to swallow. See here for more info.)
One thing I do like about their toothpaste is that it’s very “normie-friendly.” What I mean by that is that it’s packaged like a normal toothpaste and it acts like the type of toothpaste that most of us are used to. So it’s really easy to transition to if you’re switching from something like Crest. You don’t have to learn how to use something different (like toothpaste bites), or get used to something you haven’t used before (like tooth powder).
P.S. They do have a kids’ toothpaste too! It’s “Unicorn” toothpaste, which is strawberry mint flavor.
Mouthwash
It might be random, but I actually think Lumineux’s mouthwash might be my favorite of their products! I really like how gentle it is. It leaves me with fresh breath but without that burning feeling in my mouth that makes my eyes water!
They carry several different types of non-toxic liquid mouthwash: Whitening, Hydrating, Sensitivity, and Complete Care Clean & Fresh. The formulations are all relatively similar, with just slight alterations depending on the specific aim of that variety. They’re all alcohol-free and also made without things like fluoride, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), or artificial dyes.
It’s also MADE SAFE certified, which is definitely a plus.
Just like the toothpaste, this mouthwash works the same way that ‘conventional’ mouthwash does—you just put some in your mouth, swish it around, and spit it back out. So, there’s no learning curve or anything.
One time, I got distracted while I was swishing and accidentally swallowed a mouthful of the mouthwash. 😅 While I wouldn’t exactly recommend drinking mouthwash on a regular basis (lol), I was glad to know that everything I’d swallowed was completely safe.
The biggest thing I definitely don’t love about this mouthwash is the plastic involved. It comes in a big plastic bottle.
So, if you want something quick and easy to grab at Target, Luumineux is a great, non-toxic option. But if you want something that’s more low-waste & plastic-free, you may want to check out one of these brands.
Toothbrush
Lumineux also now carries both electric and standard toothbrushes. (Except you can’t actually buy a regular toothbrush by itself—it only comes in a kit.)
Their electric toothbrush comes in a few different colors, including light pink, light green, and navy blue. (I actually think the colors are really pretty!)
I haven’t tried the electric toothbrush, so I can’t really speak to that. I do have a couple of the regular toothbrushes though. I do like them. The bristles are pretty soft, so they’re not too harsh on my teeth/gums. But they’re not too soft—you can still get a good scrub in.
I really like that these toothbrushes are plastic-free. The handles are made of bamboo, while the bristles are made of castor oil. (The brush heads for the electric toothbrush are the same.)
This is great because I can brush my teeth without wondering whether I’m leaching a bunch of microplastics into my body.
My only complaint is that the toothbrush itself came packaged in plastic. Not ideal.
If you have any questions about my experience using Lumineux or about any of their ingredients, let me know in the comments below and I will try to answer them!
Or, if you’ve used Lumineux’s products yourself, I’m curious to hear if you liked them or not!
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