Shine Bright Like a Diamond.

Ever since I was very young, I was very self conscious about my teeth. Growing up, I had a pretty noticeable gap between my teeth, à la Vanessa Paradis. But as time passed, that narrowed down until it became pretty much non-existent. However, that was never really my main concern. What I felt the most insecure about was that my teeth refused to be white. Whenever I would ask a dentist about it, they'd always tell me that it's just my natural bone colour and I could never change it, which made me quite sad. But, I still tried, and finally achieved having pearly whites! So I'm going to share my teeth whitening story, and hopefully help a few of you out there who also struggle with stubborn teeth! Also, keep in mind that this is the method that worked for me, and although I personally swear by it, it might work differently for other people! 

Whitening treatment:

I've tried many, many, many whitening treatments, none of which ever seemed to do much for me. Until I've tried whitening strips. Oh my. I wish I had taken before and after photos, because the results were spectacular! Also, the results lasted for an entire year, and I only re-did the treatment again after one year to make sure my teeth stay white. I've been doing it every year, and so far I'm extremely pleased! 

The strips I used were the Blend-a-med whitening strips, however in many countries they are sold as Crest whitening strips. They're exactly the same thing, just named differently in different countries. I couldn't find a link to either of them on the Boots or Superdrug websites, so I don't know how easy it is to find them in the UK, however you can definitely find them on eBay. There are also a tonne of different kinds, ranging from the standard ones, to the advanced ones, and they've even got options for sensitive teeth. I used the very basic ones, and they worked great!

What I loved about using these whitening strips was how easy they were to use. For the basic one I used, the treatment lasted a week, using the strips twice a day for 30 minutes each. The usage isn't exactly the same for each treatment, but they are all pretty similar. The only thing I disliked about using these strips is that my teeth did get slightly sensitive for about two or three days during the treatment, however that did pass pretty quickly and never proved to be a problem afterwards.

Maintaining your pearly whites:

There are a couple of things I do to keep my teeth looking white all year. 

First of all, basic dental hygiene and care is essential. You should always only use soft toothbrushes, as harsher bristles can be damaging to your enamel overtime. Also, pick a toothbrush you like. Don't just go for the cheapest alternative, if you don't feel like it's doing the job that well. My personal all-time favourite is the Aquafresh 3-way head toothbrush. 

The next step is choosing a whitening toothpaste. I don't notice a massive difference between different types of whitening toothpastes, so I just go with the one that I feel the most comfortable using, in terms of taste. The Sensodyne Gentle Whitening toothpaste is always my favourite. Also, make sure you find a way to brush your teeth for around three minutes. My boyfriend always listens to his favourite band on his iPod when he's brushing his teeth. That's a great way to keep yourself entertained whilst brushing your teeth!

Another thing to keep in mind is that you should not brush your teeth more than twice a day, as most toothpastes are too harsh and can damage your enamel if you use them more than twice a day. If you feel like you need to refresh your teeth and breath throughout the day, go for a sugarfree (preferably whitening) chewing gum or, alternatively, use a Colgate wisp. You should also do this after every meal!

Also, don't neglect flossing! Yes, it can seem pointless and you usually can't be bothered to do it, but it really does contribute to your teeth being healthy and gorgeous-looking!

Always use mouthwash. I do tend to sway towards whitening mouthwashes. I think I have an obsession about using whitening products, but I do feel like all of them combined do genuinely help me maintain the whiteness I obtain during the treatments!

There are also natural teeth whitening methods. Personally, I tend to only use these methods before a special event of some sort when I want to freshen up my white smile, as opposed to using them as my main teeth-whitening method. There are tonnes of those around Pinterest, and I've picked out three of my favourite here, here and here.

I am also really curious about two products I found on the Boots website, the Pearl Drops Beauty Sleeping overnight serum and Arm and Hammer Advance White Baking Soda Toothpaste Booster. Have any of you used either one of these products? If I try them out, I'll definitely be reviewing them!