Can Color-Correcting Toothpaste Really Make Your Teeth Whiter?

There are plenty of products out there that claim to whiten your teeth, but wouldn't it be great if we could accomplish that during our usual brushing routine — without adding in an extra step? That's what Popwhite is hoping to make achieve with its Whitening Primer + Toothpaste.

The brand, which is run by a dental scientist and makeup artist, creates products free of peroxide, a common ingredient in tooth whitening products that can irritate skin and eyes. Oh, and they're purple. That may seem counterproductive, but as Teen Vogue points out, this color-correcting method has a science behind it. It's the same reason people use purple shampoo and conditioner to counteract brassiness in blond hair and maintain a platinum hue.

Popwhite recommends brushing your teeth twice a day with the primer and then rinsing with its Whitening Toner + Oral Rinse. The companion product uses the same "extraordinary purple formula," which includes "xylitol, coconut oil, and peppermint oil."

But can it actually work, or is this simple remedy too good to be true? Marie Claire's Lauren Valenti used them both for 14 days straight as recommended, and though the routine left her tongue purple for several minutes, she was impressed.

"I started noticing a difference in my teeth after about a week," she wrote. "It was subtle, but my coffee addiction and predilection for red wine was less obvious i.e. my smile was a little whiter and brighter — especially when I wore a lip color. And after two weeks, I really saw a difference, the boost it gave my go-to red, MAC's Ruby Woo, as the benchmark. I was also pleased that there was no weird sensitivity either, which is something I've struggled with in other whitening treatments."

Want to try out the purple stuff for yourself? You can scoop up the toothpaste and oral rinse together for $48 on Popwhite's website.