At first thought, it sounds gross, right? How can charcoal be good for me? Well, let me blow your mind. This stuff is actually a staple in my household. In fact, I even brush my teeth with it!
What is Activated Charcoal?
Well, lemme tell ya. This is definitely not the type of charcoal that you would find in your grill. In fact, I’ll just go ahead and say — don’t eat that or put it on your skin.
Activated charcoal made from coconut shells (or other natural sources) is amazing for you skin and health. It has a negative electric charge and tons of tiny pores to suck up toxins. In some cases, it’s so powerful that it can be used in place of stomach pumping!
It’s called “activated” because it’s made at very high temperatures. These high temps increase the number of pores that it has, making it way more effective as a toxin vacuum.
Activated Charcoal for Skin Care
But let’s focus on skin here. The beauty industry is made bucketloads of money off of selling us chemicals to treat skin conditions. I don’t know about you, but conventional skin care products light my skin on FIRE. I turn red, itchy, burning, and it’s not a good time. And my skin certainly is much worse after the fact.
If you’re looking for a (truly) all-natural skin cleanser, you’re in the right place. Activated charcoal can help treat acne and do a deep cleanse on your face. All the toxins get drawn out of your skin and stick to the charcoal. Then you just wash the nastiness down the sink!
Activated charcoal can also help sooth rashes or bug bites. So if your skin is breaking out, look to charcoal for some chemical-free relief.
I will say that for me sometimes if I haven’t done a charcoal cleanse in a while, my skin actually looks worse than before after the first round. But that’s just because the charcoal pulled all the buried toxins to the surface of my skin but couldn’t get rid of them all in one go. It takes a few consistent uses before I start seeing results.
Also keep in mind that this stuff stains like crazy. If you get it on your clothes, you probably won’t get it out!
Add It to Your Skin Care Routine
Activated charcoal is super easy to get your hands on, and my favorite way of using it is in face masks. Masks give you a calming, cooling sensation all while moisturizing and deep cleansing. Mmm, so good!
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