I would be very, very surprised if you haven't heard of Quip until now. Quip has been around for several years now, and they debuted as the first toothbrush to emphasize aesthetics and the customer experience. After all, most people didn't really think twice about the toothbrush they were using - as long as it did its job, there was no need to innovate on it.
Aside from aesthetics, the idea behind Quip is to try to make maintaining your oral hygiene as easy as possible. While you can purchase their products a la carte, the real convenience comes through their subscription, or Starter Set (use code 5MM1X581 for $5 off!). For either $30 or $55 (depending on if you choose a plastic or metal toothbrush), you get:
An electric toothbrush
A large toothpaste (3-month supply)
A refillable floss dispenser
After you're done, you're automatically enrolled in shipments every 3 months to receive refills of toothpaste, floss, a new brush head, and a AAA battery for $15. This way you don't get lazy replacing your toothbrush head and have all your necessities restocked. My subscription excludes the floss dispenser, so you won't see it in this review unfortunately.
I've had my Quip for around 3 years now and I still use it to this very day. I've seen it grow from a new brand into a well-established, social media-dominating oral hygiene company. They've even inspired several other brands to create aesthetic-looking toothbrushes. There's certainly a lot of hype around this product, and I want to give you my thoughts on it after all these years.
The Toothbrush Itself
There is no denying it, this is one good-looking toothbrush, especially when it's just sitting there on your countertop. Even more so, it just feels really premium when you're holding it. I mentioned before that you can get it in either plastic or metal, but I strongly suggest getting the metal. It's worth the extra money and over the long run it's going to be a negligible amount. The bottom of the brush is made out of metal and has a nice weight to it, while the head is made out of a rubber material. The "q" on the brush head acts as the button to turn on its electric functionality. Because the base is metal, it's held up extremely well through daily use and travel.
The brush runs on a AAA battery, in order to avoid a bulky frame or having to plug it into an outlet to charge it. In my experience the battery lasts well past 3 months, so even when I receive my battery refill, I can put off using my new one for a bit. The bristles are strong, yet still soft, and there's a built in tongue-cleaner on the back of the head. Furthermore, it has a built-in timer, so once you start it, it sends you a gentle vibration every 30 seconds to remind you to move to a new quadrant in your mouth. After 2 mins, it vibrates 3 times and then shuts off automatically. The vibration of the bristles is actually very subtle, and it's extremely quiet. Sometimes I do feel like it needs to be stronger in order to be more effective - this definitely doesn't have the power of a Sonicare toothbrush. However, it's more effective than a plain old manual brush. You can listen for yourself here:
The brush comes with a stand that also doubles as a travel cover and a mirror holder. The stand has a strip of mini-suction cups that let's it stick to a glass surface with no problem. One detail I really like is that the "quip" on the stand is a cutout, so that the color of your brush shines through and makes the "quip" match the rest of your brush. It's all about the details.
My only wish is that the brush was more powerful, or at least felt more powerful. Aside from that, its portability and aesthetics are superior to any other brush out there. It's a brush that genuinely makes me look forward to brushing, which is not an easy thing to accomplish.
Rating: 9/10
The Refills
My refill comes in every 3 months and contains a brand new tube of toothpaste, a replacement head, and a AAA battery. Even the refills have this clean aesthetic that carries over from the toothbrush itself, which I really appreciate. You also get a booklet that gives you brushing tips and other information. Here's a look into each item:
The Toothpaste
The toothpaste is really simple. It's an anticavity toothpaste and contains all of the ingredients you would find in any other anticavity toothpaste. I like that the back tells you exactly how much toothpaste you need - relative to the size of your brush - and exactly how long it will last, which is 3 months when used twice a day. I've found this time frame to be accurate and usually it lasts longer than 3 months. The taste of the toothpaste is really minty, and it has a raw texture that makes it feel quite natural. There's a slight grittiness, but it's a good kind of grittiness that turns into a smoothness and spreads across your teeth easily. There's nothing I'd change about the toothpaste.
Rating: 10/10
The Brush Head
I'm a fan of how this brush head is packaged. It comes in a futuristic-looking plastic bubble, that honestly looks more like glass than plastic. Again, that rubberized texture feels nice and is easy to keep clean, and changing the brush head is really simple (Quip gives you a visual guide on how to do it). You basically just snap off the old head, throw in the new battery, and snap on the new head. You can also use your old head to clean off any grime or build-up around your brush and stand before disposing of it. This is important, because over time if you don't really spend the 1-2 minutes cleaning it, it gets harder to take off the existing brush head.
Rating: 8/10
The Verdict
Quip is impressive, and how they've built an easy-to-use, gorgeous-looking product is nothing short of genius. All their products have been designed alongside real dentists so that they're effective and ADA-certified. My favorite thing about the Quip brush, aside from aesthetics, is the portability. Not having a charger to plug-in and being able to carry it wherever I want is a freeing feeling. The only drawback I see to this brush is its power. If you currently use a Sonicare-type brush, you don't need to necessarily replace it with a Quip. But you could get a Quip for when you travel and don't want to lug around a giant brush. If you currently use a manual brush, or a cheap electric brush, you should introduce this into your daily regimen, without a doubt.
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