Jack N’ Jill Kids Review

Welcome to our Jack N’ Jill Kids review!

Most of us adults at least have the willpower to force down less-than-scrumptious health food on occasion, but once that toddler decides they don’t like their toothpaste, that’s an iron-clad verdict.

It may sound trivial to non-parents, but that first impression with both toothpaste and toothbrushes is an incredibly important junction for the future dental health of that child, which is why we place more emphasis than usual on these products being both fun and tasty.

Jack N’ Jill Kids has made it their mission to package fun, taste, and quality into the same tube of toothpaste—lofty claims we had to investigate further. (They also offer toothbrushes, flossers, body wash, and more.)

Sure enough, after an enlightening conversation with the owners and an independent evaluation, we found Jack N’ Jill to stand by their claims. They earn an overall rating of A- for their clean, sustainable, and fun oral care products for kids.

Here’s everything else you need to know about Jack N’ Jill Kids, from price to product packaging.

Jack N’ Jill Pros and Cons

The Old Made New: Jack N’ Jill’s Birth and Revival

A certified boomer of a brand if there ever was one, Jack N’ Jill Kids was founded way back in 1949. Of course, they weren’t positioned as a healthy alternative to toothpaste for kids back then, but rather, a conventional toothpaste. 

Considering this era saw doctors promoting cigarettes in advertisements and people lining up in the streets to be sprayed with DDT, we’re willing to accept “not terribly unsafe” as the highest public health standard of the day.

Over time, the brand evolved with the collective understanding (and appreciation) of clean and sustainable ingredients to become a much healthier, environmentally friendly alternative to the standard—which hasn’t really changed much since the 50s. 

As Justin and Rachel Bernhaut—the Melbourne-based owners of Jack N’ Jill—explained to us, their first encounter with Jack N’ Jill Kids was simply buying their products.

They were still a conventional toothpaste around 2011, which is when Justin walked into a pharmacy in New York in hopes of finding toothpaste for his toddler that didn’t suck, deciding on a Jack N’ Jill product.

At that time, Justin was a pharmacist in his 20s, and he and Rachel were both looking for new careers. 

Neither of them probably thought to look in a tube of toothpaste, but after being disappointed again and again with even the pricier health food store options of the day, it clicked. 

They were going to make clean, sustainable toothpaste that kids could actually enjoy (and swallow without misery). 

“If your two-year-old isn’t going to cooperate, then it isn’t going to happen,” said the Bernhauts, with all the tired wisdom of parents who’ve been there.

Once they returned to Australia from New York, Justin went to work formulating the toothpaste, designing cornstarch toothbrushes, and eventually, relaunching the brand known today as Jack N’ Jill Kids.

And yes, we said cornstarch toothbrushes—more on that in the review!

Our Jack N’ Jill Kids Review

Though there are dozens of individual factors we consider, we use six major criteria when reviewing brands (Jack N’ Jill’s scores included): 

• Quality (A)
• Transparency (B)
• Website Experience (A-)
• Customer Service (A-)
• Value (B)
• Brand Value (A-)

Jack N’ Jill Kids earned an overall rating of A- in our review. Strengths included sustainability and ingredient quality, and areas of improvement included value and transparency (see below for all).

First things first, we’ll start with quality.

Quality

Starting off with the real first impression—the packaging—Jack N’ Jill Kids’ toothpastes come without boxes, which was a sustainability move.

They still manage to “squeeze” a couple of differentiators on each tube beyond the basic specs (flavor, ingredients, etc.), including the following, using the Strawberry Natural Certified Toothpaste as an example:

• COSMOS Natural Standard Ecocert Certification seal
• Peta-Certified Cruelty-Free seal

The toothbrushes, which do come in boxes, are labeled with a comprehensive set of instructions, detailing everything from replacement frequency and rinsing to the “sick kid protocol.” This level of detail is helpfully self-aware, as most parents (including this one) would feel a bit hesitant to use a toothbrush made from cornstarch without this added clarity.

Overall, the packaging seems both durable and informative enough to hang with other premium brands.

As for the ingredients themselves (back to toothpaste), Jack N’ Jill has created fluoride-free, high-xylitol formulations that stick consistently to clean ingredients.

Ingredients like calendula and coconut-derived glycerin make regular appearances alongside the xylitol, which gets as high as a 40% concentration. 

Here’s the full ingredient list for the aforementioned Strawberry Natural Certified Toothpaste:

Xylitol, Aqua (Purified Water), Glycerin (Coconut derived), Silica, Aroma (Strawberry flavor), Xanthan Gum, Calendula Officinalis Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid, Benzyl Alcohol* Made using organic ingredients. 99.8% Natural origin of total. * Naturally occurring in the flavor.

For comparison, here’s the ingredient list for Colgate Cavity Protection Fluoride Toothpaste:

Active Ingredients: Sodium Monofluorophosphate (0.15% W/v Fluoride Ion) (0.76 %), Anticavity. Inactive Ingredients: Dicalcium Phosphate Dihydrate, Water, Glycerin, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cellulose Gum, Flavor, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate, Sodium Saccharin.

Ah yes, “flavor” and sodium saccharin, while generally tolerable, fall well short of the standards that Jack N’ Jill Kids products are sticking to.

As for sourcing and manufacturing, the Bernhauts explained to us that they work with various sourcing partners and manufacturers to keep production running as efficiently as possible, but the website doesn’t reveal a lot in terms of production itself (how the toothpaste/toothbrushes are made), etc.

The framework is certainly there when it comes to manufacturing transparency, and we’ll concede that nobody really has to know how the toothbrushes are made—it’s just kind of interesting—but the issue is a bit more serious in the case of the toothpaste.

Overall, it’s clear that Jack N’ Jill Kids is looking to and following high standards of ingredient quality and sustainability, as evidenced by the ingredients themselves and their certifications, earning them an overall rating of A- for quality. 

Jack N’ Jill Kids Product Catalog

Toothpaste

At the center of the Jack N’ Jill Kids collection is their Natural Certified toothpaste, which comes in Strawberry, Flavor Free, Mega Berry (regret not trying that one), and several other varieties.

All toothpastes bear the same certifications detailed above, and are made with no fluoride and 40% xylitol.

Toothbrushes and Flossers

Jack N’ Jill Kids has electric (and musical!) toothbrushes, toothbrush + toothpaste combos, and of course, individual toothbrushes for sale.

They also have silicone finger brushes and replacement heads for their sonic toothbrushes.

Tablets and Tooth Wipes

Getting into more unique form factors here, Jack N’ Jill is the only brand we know of to carry Natural Baby Gum & Tooth Wipes. These neutrally flavored, soft cotton wipes can be used to clean a baby’s gums even before the first tooth comes in to get a headstart on oral hygiene.

The Bernhauts also had plenty to say about their Tooth Sparkles, which are chewable tooth-cleaning tablets that come with vitamin D and calcium in addition to xylitol. These are recommended for kids as young as two years old.

Personal Care 

Finally, Jack N’ Jill also offers Natural Baby Lotion, Baby Wash, Bubble Bath, Conditioner, and Shampoo & Body Wash products.

These products are clinically tested, fragrance-free, and hypoallergenic. 

Transparency

Jack N’ Jill Kids excels in customer-facing aspects of transparency—those relating to the products, ingredients, and certifications—but other areas of transparency leave some room for improvement.

It’s important to note at this point that the Jack N’ Jill website is really a section of their brand family’s website, Wellbeingisland.com. 

On Wellbeingisland.com, you’ll find online stores for all three brands in the family, including Jack N’ Jill Kids, The Natural Family Co., and Planet Luxe.

Jack N’ Jill’s product pages are comprehensive, but still approachable. 

Each product page offers a significantly larger-than-average product description, which, while a bit “scroll-y,” speaks to a passion for the products and a desire to transparently engage with visitors that many brands fall short of.

The About Us page provides separate backstories for each of the three brands. The Jack N’ Jill Kids backstory is minimally fluffy, providing the establishment date, the reach (“now sold in more than 50 countries”), safety information and certifications, and some general notes on their philosophy.

It’s always helpful to have pictures and/or biographies of the founders and others in key leadership roles, but site visitors at least have a foundation when it comes to learning about the brand.

As mentioned, there’s very little insight provided on the site and the packaging relating to sourcing and manufacturing details—where ingredients/materials come from, how they are made, etc.

Closing on a more logistical note, the shipping and return policies are easy to access via a link in the footer of the homepage, so no issues there.

Save for a couple of minor opportunities for improvement we noticed, our only major gripe about their otherwise solid transparency is the manufacturing and sourcing information. This brings the transparency grade to a B.

Website Experience

On the one hand, we tend to approach brand family websites as a neutral factor (all about how you use it).  

On the other hand, we can still see some people being a bit flustered when they land on a website not named after the brand it claims to be tied to.

As long as the site is easy to find for all customers and the multiple brands therein are clearly separated, which they are in the case of Wellbeingisland.com, the loss of credit is minimal.

Once in the Jack N’ Jill shop, online shoppers are presented with a standard e-commerce setup: rows of clickable product images with names and prices displayed, a filter on the left-hand side, and so on.

Adding items to cart and checking out are both seamless and intuitive; nothing out of the ordinary there. 

The site functions just as well on mobile devices as desktop, with no display or formatting issues such as poorly aligned buttons, image sizing issues, etc. in either case. 

Finally, the Parent Portal delivers several actionable how-to guides on dental care from their “Resident Oral Health Therapist, Emily,” along with more insight into the ingredients and why they chose them. Included in the portal are downloadable PDFs and videos, which adds more utility.

Taking everything into account, we give Jack N’ Jill Kids an A- for website experience.

Customer Service

Both the human capital (customer service reps) and the more logistical items (shipping/refund policies) fall under this category. 

Starting with the support services themselves, Jack N’ Jill lists a phone number and an email on the site, which are the two we look for (texting and instant messaging are nice-to-have frills).

Testing these services, we received a quick and accommodating response that directly addressed the question. 

As for policies, online shoppers get free shipping on orders of $50 or more, which is decently low, but still kind of difficult to hit if you’re simply going with a couple of non-electric toothbrushes and some toothpaste (around $20).

Those who don’t meet the threshold pay a flat shipping rate of $7.99. This doesn’t feel like much when you’re ordering tech equipment or expensive supplements, but it does feel a bit much when you’re spending ten bucks for a couple of brushes. 

Understandably, Jack N’ Jill can’t accept returns for any opened hygiene products (toothpaste, brushes, etc.), but they also shut the door on the possibility of a refund, saying “our Returns & Refunds policy does not apply” to these products. 

However, they crack it open again a bit by saying on their policy page that customers in this situation (hygiene product, wanting a refund) can still contact them to see if something can be done. 

Otherwise, Jack N’ Jill replaces products that are faulty or damaged, and they give a 30-day window for people with non-hygiene products to contact and request a refund.

Taking into account the solid customer service response and decent shipping/return policies, we give Jack N’ Jill Kids an A- for customer service. 

Value

Keeping in mind that Jack N’ Jill Kids is very unique among oral care brands—kids or adults—a price comparison across popular competitors can at least provide some rough context:

• Jack N’ Jill Kids toothpaste: $3.97/oz
• Now Solutions Xyliwhite for Kids: $1.11/oz
• Xlear Spry Kid’s Tooth Gel: $2.56/oz
• Colgate Cavity Protection: $2.49/oz
• Tom’s Fluoride Free: $1.49/oz
• Hello Antiplaque Toothpaste: $0.95/oz
• Native Whitening Fluoride Free: $1.62/oz
• Jason’s Simply Coconut $1.55/oz
• Spry: $1.54/oz

Even with so many mismatching variables skewing this comparison, it’s clear that Jack N’ Jill charges a large premium. The question isn’t whether or not it’s expensive, but rather, how much the jump in quality justifies the jump in price.

As mentioned, Jack N’ Jill is a cut above the vast majority of oral care brands out there, thanks to their high-quality and natural ingredients, Ecocert compliance, and sustainable toothbrushes.

Given the for-kids application, the sidenote of palatable flavor becomes a glaring front-and-center issue, also differentiating Jack N’ Jill’s tasty, safe-to-swallow toothpastes from many brands that leave a funny taste in the mouth.

Balancing the steep price with these redeeming factors, we land on a B for value. 

Brand Value

Not wanting to shackle brands to our preconceived ideas of what brand value looks like, we keep the categories broad in brand value—everyone has their way of giving back, after all.

For example, one thing we look for is a level of innovation that can help an industry move forward, which Jack N’ Jill Kids delivers with their sustainable brushes, clean toothpastes, and unique form factors like tooth sparkles.

Adding to their pro-sustainability stance are their ongoing contributions to 1% for the Planet, an organization that works to “prevent greenwashing,” helping businesses actually make a difference through many environmental causes across the world. 

It was admittedly an unintended benefit, but the Bernhauts explained to us that simply offering an unflavored toothpaste had a positive impact on families with kids on the autism spectrum, who sometimes struggle with intense flavors and/or changes in flavor. 

Seeing the input on the website from an Oral Health Therapist, along with Justin’s experience as a pharmacist, help to add layers of legitimacy to the team’s formulation and oral health know-how.

We didn’t encounter much in the way of philanthropy, but considering their environmental efforts and the nature of the products themselves, we don’t see a huge deficit in Jack N’ Jill’s positive contributions to the oral care industry and beyond. 

Taking everything into account, we land on an A- for brand value. 

Our Experience with Jack N’ Jill

With the help of a couple toddler-aged testers, our team personally sampled several types of Jack N’ Jill Kids products, including the following:

• Natural Baby Gum and Tooth Wipes
• Natural Certified Toothpaste (Strawberry and Raspberry)
• Fairy Floss
• Kids Toothbrush – Dino

The learning curve on the Tooth Wipes was flattened by clear instructions and an intuitive format—simply wrap each wipe around your finger and gently wipe the gums, teeth, and cheeks. Our testers, though perhaps a little old for this particular product, noted a pleasant taste and no discomfort.

Both varieties of the toothpaste we sampled seemed to go over equally well in the flavor department, holding up on the toothbrush without running. We sampled the toothpastes ourselves, agreeing that the flavor is mild and tasty enough for kids.

That said, we will note that the toothpaste was a bit thinner than what your kids may be used to. It ended up being a non-issue, considering the toothpaste wasn’t thin enough to drip or run off the brush (or out of their mouths).

Finally, the giraffe-shaped floss picks were definitely a hit, and in addition to being an appropriate size, there were no painful “gum-nicks” throughout the round of testing. Granted, this may be more of an issue of methodology over product quality, but still—all smiles.

Overall, our experience with Jack N’ Jill Kids products was consistent with the brand’s claims and the majority of their reviews. The products are well-made, gentle, and popular with kids.

Jack N’ Jill FAQ

Final Thoughts 

Jack N’ Jill Kids is an oral care brand that makes better-for-them toothpaste, toothbrushes, and oral care tablets for kids, all with sustainability, taste, and clean ingredients top of mind.

After auditing one ingredient list after another and learning more about their Ecocert and other certifications, our team agrees that the ingredient quality surpasses the vast majority of for-kids and for-adults products out there.

The products are expensive enough to turn away less discerning customers, but if top-quality toothpaste is a must, Jack N’ Jill Kids delivers an excellent solution.

Key areas of improvement included more manufacturing and supply chain transparency on the website, along with some customer service issues (see above).

Jack N’ Jill Kids receives an overall rating of A- in our review; we recommend their toothpastes, toothbrushes, and other products to parents who want clean products that their kids will actually enjoy using.