It’s no surprise that I like to smile. In the words of Buddy the Elf, smiling’s my favorite – and having a healthy, bright, white smile has always been on the top of my personal care priority list. It’s just one of those things that make me feel instantly better about myself and more confident – not to mention the positive impact a simple smile can have on someone’s entire day. I mean, talk about power!

You’ve seen me use + share my lovelovelove for Crest 3DWhitestrips for YEARS now (no joke – you can dig through the ol’ CUR archives and see me sharing Crest Whitestrips + toothpaste in my daily routines since 2015!). They just WORK! And you know I’m all about finding the look for less – and who needs to spend the big bucks on professional teeth whitening and you’ve got an ADA-accepted at-home whitening system at your fingertips?

Especially in this tougher time, I’ve found myself being increasingly intentional about breaks and quality time with myself. Maybe that sounds silly, but I think it’s SO IMPORTANT to do often and do well, because caring for ourselves is essential before we’re able to fully care for others. I know in times of hardship especially, some of us may go into autopilot “helper mode” to ensure everyone around us is good, but sometimes at the sake of our wellbeing. And while it’s always SO good and important to care for others, SELF CARE is oh so important, too! I’ve loveloveloved taking an intentional #SmileBreak using the Crest 3DWhitestrips Original Teeth Whitening Kit with Crest Blue Light for an easy 30 minutes every day, where I can read a book (glorious), play the piano, catch up on DM’s or watch a quick Netflix episode with J. (As soon as he saw I had a box, J wanted to join me on the journey – so he took a 14-day #SmileBreak with me and has been whitening his own teeth, too!).

QUICK NOTE: Yes, I’m working with Crest to bring this #SmileBreak journey to you. But YES, I’ve been using Crest for YEARS and have been loveloveloving them looooong before I ever “partnered” with them. Of course, you (hopefully) know this by now, but I *only* share brands and products that I truly believe in, use, and lovelovelove myself, so if anything I’m honestly STOKED that one of my favorite brands that’s a big part of my own everyday routine (because I use Crest toothpaste, too!) wanted to work together to share their goodness with YOU.

OK OK, back to teeth whitening…

 

 

We were specifically using the – which I had never used before. Here’s the process:

• Peel strips from their individual pack. Following the package directions, place the longer strip across your top teeth and the fatter, shorter strip on the bottom. Make sure the gel side is what’s directly on your teeth, and try your best to have them not on your gums!
• Press the strip onto your teeth, folding the extra edges below + behind.
• Wait 30 minutes while the strips work their magic! Do whatcha gotta do – a load of laundry, your quarterly accounting, a run around the block – as your smile gets whiter + brighter all the while.
• Once your strips are “done,” turn the Crest Blue Light on and hold in your mouth over your teeth until the blue light automatically turns off.

SIDE NOTE: You might feel tempted to brush your teeth before applying your Crest 3DWhitestrips – but don’t! Maybe sounds gross, but the ol’ saying “God made dirt so dirt don’t hurt” comes into play here since a bit o’ grit can actually help the strips adhere to your teeth better!

NOW, let’s chat about this handy dandy Crest Blue Light, shall we? While I’ve used Crest 3DWhitestrips multiple times in the past, this was my first go at a Blue Light in my at-home teeth whitening routine. It’s got an LED light inside that safely penetrates your teeth enamel surface to essentially weaken any tougher yellow stains, to help your strips work more effectively.

In general, are always my jam since there are no messy gels or trays to deal with, you can take them on the go (I keep individual packets in my travel toiletry bags always!), and they’re just so dang easy to naturally integrate into your everyday life. Of course, a dedicated #SmileBreak is always warmly welcomed, but if you’re just itching to get ‘er done and the thought of “me time” makes you twitch, no worries – they’ll still work at the office, or on your commute, or while you’re juggling 14 plates. 😉

But I lovelovelove that it’s the same enamel-safe whitening agent used by dentists (which my dentist can speak to – when I was considering professional whitening when pregnant, since it’s NOT recommended you do that then, he straight up told me to use my Crest strips instead!). They’ve got an Advanced Seal™ Technology to help the strips stay put without slipping or sliding on your teeth (because ain’t nobody got time), and they’re known to whiten 25x better than a leading tooth whitening toothpaste. 

I don’t think this go around had AS obvious a visual effect as the last time, but that’s a GOOD thing – Crest 3DWhitestrips are known for removing up to six years worth of stains, so if you use them frequently in your routine, it shouldn’t be a night-and-day yellow-to-white different each time, since they should hopefully stay bright and white for a while. Here’s a little before-after progression from this Crest 3DWhitestrips 14-day #SmileBreak, starting on Day 1 with quarterly check-in’s until the end. (They’re all totally unfiltered, untouched etc!)

A quick note – at first, I was a bit nervous when I started seeing white spots on my teeth during the 14-day process. BUT not to worry – this can be 100% normal and okay. It’s apparently caused by a loss of water in your enamel and goes away on its own. (And looking back, I realized I experienced the same thing last go of a 14-day process!). Around Day 3 of use each time is when I started noticing some spots, but word on the street is that sometimes, some spots or some teeth may take to the whitening process a bit faster than others. No worries – they’ll catch up!

At the end of the day (and of 14-days of a #SmileBreak), Crest 3DWhitestrips are just a dependable, loveloveloved thing for me to have on hand in my bathroom or in my back pocket for at-home teeth whitening that won’t break the bank.

Have you tried before? Would you take a 14-day #SmileBreak with me?

Would lovelovelove to hear how the journey works for you, too!

 

*Thanks to Crest, a brand I lovelovelove, for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions + thoughts presented are entirely my own. Thank YOU for supporting the brands that support Coming Up Roses!