Review | Nova White Teeth Whitening Treatment

Let's face it, everyone wants white teeth. Despite my lack of caffeine consumption, my teeth still manage to become yellow. I hate having yellow teeth because it makes wearing red or pink lipstick extremely unattractive, so I have always been drawn to teeth whitening systems. I have tried Crest's whitening strips in the past, and though they didn't cause me any sensitivity, they were extremely expensive and took quite a few uses to deliver a noticeable result. I am very lucky to have been offered the chance to try out Nova White's Teeth Whitening Treatment*. The whitening treatment included three 1mL syringes of 22% Carbamide Peroxide gel as well as two customizable Boil-and-Bite trays. 

When I received my first set of their whitening treatment, I made a mistake while creating the trays. I boiled my water in a hot water boiler instead of a kettle. Though my hot water boiler said 212 degrees F, it wasn't actually that hot, so my trays did not properly form. After trying and trying, I left the tray in the hot water for too long, and it eventually molded into an unusable tray. However, the customer service was great, and when I sent an email to their PR agent, I received an instant reply along with a video showing me how to do it. I was also sent a new pair of Boil-and-Bite trays to hopefully get it right the second time. Note: The tray on the left was actually usable for a few more attempts, but I didn't understand how they were supposed to turn out, so I thought I was doing something wrong and threw them both away.

first try

The second time around I boiled my water in a kettle, and then immediately dipped my first tray in my cup of boiling water. The instructions tell you to leave your tray in for anywhere between five to fifteen seconds. Keep in mind that if your water is actually boiling hot, anything over five seconds will most likely shrink your try to an unusable point. The indicator is supposed to be when you start to see the sides wilting, so I left the tray in there for about ten seconds and pulled it out when I started to see it wilting. Much to my dismay, the tray shrunk, and it was no longer usable. Frustrated, I decided to place my second tray in for two to three second intervals to prevent shrinking. It took quite a long time to form the mold as the water was cooling off as well. When I placed the mold into my mouth, I sucked in as hard as I could to leave the impression of my teeth in the mold. I also used my fingers to press the front part of the mold into my teeth. (This was the most difficult part to make an impression in.) After a good ten minutes of placing the mold in the water and then back into my mouth, I came out with a fairly good mold. I was dissapointed that the front part of the mold didn't conform to my teeth, but luckily the back did and it was enough that I could place it in my mouth and not have it fall out. I snipped off the tab and was ready to begin the whitening process.

I applied half of the syringe to the part of the tray that would be touching the front of my teeth. Once, I had the tray on, I feel a slight tingly sensation. The gel is mint flavored, but this felt a bit stronger than an actual flavor. I noticed slight sensitivity (nothing painful just tingly), and my mouth salivated a bit more than usual; however, the salivating seems to happen to me on any whitening treatment as I had noticed the same thing happen when I was using Crest White Strips. Since this was my first time trying it out, I left it on for 30 minutes. (The directions said I could increase by another 30 minutes next time if I didn't feel too much sensitivity; however, I think I will stick to 30 minutes as the salivating was a bit uncomfortable for me.) I rinsed out both my mouth and the tray afterwards. I noticed my teeth to be around one to two shades whiter which was great! I plan on finishing up the syringes, and posting an update soon. Though the trays were difficult to create, and I noticed a slight sensitivity in my teeth, the customer service, fast results, and dentist grade product for a great deal cheaper makes the Nova White Teeth Whitening Treatment one to try out.

Before (Note: I took this picture quite a few weeks before I actually tried out the system, but my teeth were around the same shade both times.)

After (only one use)

Have you ever tried any teeth whitening systems? Would you give Nova White a try?

-Emily

Hot or Hyped | Tea Tree Oil

Hello my lovely readers! Today will be the start of my new series, Hot or Hyped, dedicated to spilling the deets on whether a product is really worth a dip into your wallet. I was inspired to start this series, after watching Tati (Glam Life Guru)'s "Hot or Not" videos. To kick off this series, I am featuring a well known product in the skincare world, tea tree oil.

Often times, I see products with tea tree oil included in them, but never have I seen pure tea tree oil before. The one I tried out was Apothecary Extracts 100% Pure Australian Tea Tree Oil*. Though the smell is a bit off-putting (smells like herbs), I love that I am putting a natural product with no added chemicals onto my face. So far, I have tested out the tea tree oil on some of my smaller blemishes, acne scars, as well as areas of redness on my face, and I can say that it has helped all three but mainly my blemishes. The application process is fairly simply, either apply directly to your finger and dab onto the affected areas or pour a small amount on a Q-tip and apply on. The finger method seemed to be more effective because I felt like all the product was going onto my skin, but the Q-tip method works great if you don't want your fingers smelling like tea tree oil. There is a slightly cooling sensation (that I enjoy because I feel like it's working) when you apply it on. This huge 4 fl oz. bottle will last me a very long time because such a tiny amount of this very concentrated product is needed with each use. The smell is the only negative thing I can say about tea tree oil, but if you are looking for a natural replacement to harsh acne products, tea tree oil is just the thing. However, if skincare is not your thing, tea tree oil also offers many other benefits as well, household cleaning and hair care to name a few. When you purchase the Apothecary Tea Tree Oil, they also send you a 100 page guide to many recipes for tea tree oil! I was excited to see that I could use tea tree oil to create simple DIY's for anything from a Cleansing Tea Tree Oil & Clay Mask to a Silky Smooth Lip Scrub. 

Conclusion: HOT

Have you ever tried pure tea tree oil? Would you like to see a tea tree oil DIY? 

-Emily

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.