While thinking of product ideas, I remembered an old remedy my grandma used to have for sore throats, which was to gargle with saltwater and lemon. I began researching the benefits of lemon and sea salt for a mouth rinse. This led to my creation of the first sea salt mouthwash on the market. Having already been in the body piercing market, I knew that many people had problems with harsh, alcohol-based mouthwashes that would burn the wound and slow the healing process. Dentists already recommended a saltwater rinse post tooth extraction. I knew it would require a lot of work to create an all-natural mouth rinse that did not cause the burning sensation that many chemical mouth rinses caused.

The most difficult part was to find a natural preservative because the mouthwash would inevitably be exposed to the air as well as possibly some bacteria. Since we could not use a pressurized bag in the can as we did for the piercing aftercare spray, we had to spend countless hours working to find a solution. The hardest part was keeping it all natural with no harsh chemicals. After much trial and error, I accomplished a stable solution while working in a lab one late night. My first mouthwash was mint flavored and additionally I decided on a lemon flavor due to it being an added source of Vitamin C. It took many weeks of working long nights for me to figure out the ingredient for the lemon flavor that would keep it stable. I realized just how important the quality of ingredients was because I really needed to find a natural lemon flavor that was water soluble and not all lemons are the same. These two flavors became Arctic Ocean Mint and Lemon Ice.

I eventually discovered phytic acid as a stabilizer and teeth whitener for the mouthwash. It is a natural ingredient that is commonly used in toothpastes for the same purpose. I also utilized xylitol, which was an oral industry first in 2003. I discovered that xylitol would help treat dry mouth by aiding salivary glands in saliva production as well as adding a slightly sweet flavor. A few years later it seemed like the dental industry followed my lead in the use of xylitol because it became very popular with other brands. Many different products now have dry mouth claims because of the addition of xylitol to their formulas.

Since its inception in 2001, our innovation journey has been ongoing, and here at H2Ocean, we remain dedicated to introducing revolutionary natural products derived from sea salt.

Eddie Kolos, Inventor & CEO