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Sustainability Blog: Sustainable Kissing

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Chatham chapter.

With summer break just around the corner, you can just smell the teenage (and young adult) hormones flying through the air. Summer flings, whirlwind vacation romances…it’s going to happen, guaranteed! So how can you smooch your way into someone’s heart…sustainably? Here’s your guide to sustainable kissing!

1. Great breath
The secret to any good kiss lies in the breath and proper dental hygiene. What’s the most sustainable way to keep your pearly whites healthy? Use hydrogen peroxide instead of expensive mouthwash. It’s cheap, it’s easy to use, and it won’t damage your enamel, unlike most commercial mouthwashes. You have natural organelles in your cells called peroxisomes, which contain hydrogen peroxide, that clean up debris from in and around the cytoplasm. Hydrogen peroxide from a bottle does about the same—it eliminates harmful debris that can settle in your mouth and cause cavities and plaque and tartar buildup. Once your crush sees your pearly whites, he/she will be dying to kiss you!

2. The lip balm
Nothing looks more kissable than a supple, smooth set of lips. So how can you get these perfectly kissable lips? Try some eco-friendly lip balm; find options here! 

3. Not catching anything!
Mononucleosis, the “kissing disease”: it often affects college students, as they are at high risk when kissing multiple partners. Additionally, mono can cause death in persons with a weakened immune system. Frequently, the signs of mono will look like a cold or the flu, but if gone untreated, it can have drastic, long-lasting affects on the body. Now I’m not trying to scare you away from kissing for life, but please just be aware of who you are kissing. If your crush is even the slightest bit sick, stay away from those lips, as tempting as they are!

4. Will it last? Relationship sustainability.
It’s just a little peck…right? What if it turns into something more? An unintentional hookup can lead to so much more! The most sustainable way to maintain your kissing buddy is to leave the pressure off—don’t force him or her into a relationship if they don’t want it! The best way to keep a relationship (or start one!) is to be open with your significant other. Keep lines of communication open. And keep in mind that if it’s meant to be, it will be. The less stress you put on a relationship, the happier you will be; and happiness is the most sustainable emotion of all.

So whether you’re looking for a sweet summer hookup or a lasting relationship, these are the most sustainable ways to get your kisses!

Sources

PubMed Health

Skrewtips
 

  Mara Flanagan is entering her seventh semester as a Chapter Advisor. After founding the Chatham University Her Campus chapter in November 2011, she served as Campus Correspondent until graduation in 2015. Mara works as a freelance social media consultant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She interned in incident command software publicity at ADASHI Systems, gamification at Evive Station, iQ Kids Radio in WQED’s Education Department, PR at Markowitz Communications, writing at WQED-FM, and marketing and product development at Bossa Nova Robotics. She loves jazz, filmmaking and circus arts.