More Than Just Tic-Tac Toothpaste! (Aquafresh Iso-Active Citrus Mint Toothpaste)

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	Aquafresh Iso-Active Citrus Mint Toothpaste
Date:	20/07/09 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great long lasting flavour; very economical as it has a rich foam aspect; works well.

Disadvantages: Slightly expensive price if not on offer; Tartar may take longer to shift. Hard to tell when its low

When I received a tube of toothpaste in the post recently for survey testing it couldn't have arrived at a wrong time. Having been impressed by the latest ad campaign by Aquafresh heralding their latest "Iso-Active," toothpaste gel, I managed to find a Buy One Get One Free offer on both varities available at my local Boots. Priced individually at £3-71 Aquafresh Iso Active is available in two different versions; Fresh Mint and Citrus Mint canisters and both in 100ml sizes. The fact that this latest product by Aquafresh has been awarded "product of the year," made me venture out to buy it but I don't usually go for such hype; I'm a loyal buyer to Macleans and Sensodyne products generally and have found Aquafresh products in the past to be severely lacking in cleaning strength.


Aside from being product of the year, one of the reasons I considered this product is because its a toothpaste gel. I keep two electric toothbrushes; one has an oscillating brush whilst the other has Sonic brushes where intense vibrations loosen the dirt. With both types of brush however I always find using toothpaste gel to be more economical. This is down to the fact that gel breaks up faster on contact with the brush in my mouth and either with a spinning brush or vibrations, the gel seem to get into the gum line quicker than toothpaste cream which often foams up into too much spit. I also find that compared to toothpaste, toothpaste gel can often last up to two months on a larger tube or alone against 1.5 months for smaller 125ml tubes. I only need a small blob of gel compared to spreading the whole of the cream along my entire Sonic toothbrush before switching on.


Another factor for purchase was that I found most products including Macleans in the UK market had suddenly stopped selling all manner of toothpaste gel; I emailed companies such as MacLean's and Colgate to enquire about toothpaste gel only to be told that in both companies, sales of their products had been so low that they had both independently withdrawn their products. This was not good for me or for those with a Sonic brush where the user manual suggests the use of toothpaste gel over toothpaste cream.


The packaging is quite novel however only now being copied by companies such as Sensodyne who have more or less brought out their own version albeit with their sensitivity content added. Like a small aerosol based deodorant, Iso-Active is a very modern designed canister dressed in a silver/brushed stainless steel exterior, awash with colours and sporty new techno-style writing. From a distance it could be mistaken to be part of man's range of sporty shower gels. Aquafresh have slid to one side and not admitted that this is a toothpaste gel on their main branding however until you look to the bottom and also at the back of the canister. In small wording it suddenly advertises the product as a gel. It also shows this rather confusing title, "Iso-Active," which could well point to the fact that the product contains a bicarbonate of soda type ingredient (though bicarbonate is not listed) that froths up the gel the moment it comes into contact with water; this attests somewhat to Aquafresh's latest claim that Iso-Active contains a rich-built up foam.


In use you get a lime green slightly fruity and minting smelling clear gel and upon contact I have to say I'm really impressed with the flavour straight off rather than the strength of the scent alone. I fell in love with the taste straight away however as it reminds me of Lime Tic-Tacs and before long a fresh minty scent comes flooding through once you get past the slightly sweet Citrus content. No wonder the canister has a green top matched the green gel even though the canister doesn't include lime as its citrus additive in its advertising! However the easy to pull off frosted top comes into its own when in use; the toothpaste gel has a habit of gumming up its dispersal spout whilst the top stops more of the gel oozing out.


When a bit of the gel spreads around my teeth I can feel the foaming aspect straight off, particularly between the gums and my teeth. Over dental work the gel slides in between the gaps and I'm happy that I don't always have to whip out additional inter-brushes to get between teeth. As the brush goes along my teeth I've noticed that most dirt comes away extremely quickly although Tartar in particular can be harder to shift. Those like me with a coffee induced diet will know the familiar brownish dirt as it hits the sink after use! And, by golly I was surprised that something like Aquafresh could be so hard working. The Citrus Mint gel does have a have slight grainy quality to it, almost like there are micro beads contained within the gel itself and thanks to the almost foam like explosion that keeps building in size it is of any wonder that the next time I use it, I always make sure a little goes a long way. Whilst rinsing is very easy and my teeth are very white, the biggest shock has been the power of this product's strength of freshness afterwards.


Usually once I brush my teeth I try to avoid any drinks thereafter. However there have been times recently in the holidays that I've just finished brushing my teeth only to be invited out for coffee to catch up with friends. Despite this means my teeth getting dirty again, I was really surprised after 20 minutes I could still taste the strength of the lime on my bottom molars. To say that the taste and scent is very long lasting would be an understatement and trying to explain why my face turned funny whilst consuming a Cinnamon based latte was quite a test in itself! Lime and Cinnamon just don't mix well in my opinion!


In terms of longevity the citrus mint is quite a miracle on its taste alone and although it isn't always going to appeal to everyone it is of no surprise that I recommend the Citrus Mint to all my mates instead of Aquafresh's bog standard mint in the Iso-Active range. Over the two the Citrus Mint seems to have a lengthier quality of its freshness and coupled with its clean aspect of its gel, seems to have a bigger impact for optimum cleanliness and freshness all round. Thanks to its initial size like a short deodorant can it is also very easy to store away either for travelling purposes or simply slipping into a bag; but what a pity it doesn't have a view window on it to show when the gel is getting low. Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2009

http://www.aquafreshisoactive.com

Summary: A surprising product from Aquafresh that actually works and tastes great.