These 8 Activated Charcoal Marvels Will Make All Your Beauty Dreams Come True
When you’re faced with gusts of smoky air generated by a charcoal grill, we recommend you run the other direction and mindfully inhale the air from your favorite air-purifying plant. But charcoal (or more specifically, activated charcoal) in beauty products is a whole other story—go crazy!
Activated charcoal is carbon steamed in high heat, resulting in a porous, highly absorbent powder. Often sourced from natural matter like coconut shell, bamboo, or oak, the jet-black ingredient quickly ascended to platinum status in the beauty world last year—and it’s stuck around due to its brilliant ability to attract dirt, oil, and other unwelcome particulates before absorbing them. (In fact, because it can quickly soak up toxins, hospitals use activated charcoal to remedy drug and alcohol overdoses.)
From your hair and body to your face and teeth, this magnet-like ingredient can help detox you from head to toe. And while activated charcoal is a major blessing for those with acne-prone skin or oily hair since it acts like a vacuum, anyone can really benefit as long as you buy a product appropriate for your specific needs. After all, even if you have flawless skin, commercial-level hair and that “Colgate smile,” you’re not immune to filth!
Now, let’s explore some of the best natural beauty products that feature activated charcoal (and maybe you can see for yourself what the fuss is about).
1. Toothbrush: Morihata Binchotan Charcoal Toothbrush
This toothbrush makes the perfect sidekick to your toothpaste, as it helps prevent bad breath, deodorizes, and removes plaque. Not only that, but the activated charcoal helps prevent bacteria growth on the bristles itself. If you’re one of those people who feel like your toothbrush needs to be quarantined among all the dirty stuff that happens in the bathroom, this might give you some peace of mind.
2. Toothpaste: Curaprox Black Is White Toothpaste
This toothpaste is black in color but keeps your teeth sparkly white. The activated charcoal absorbs particles from foods that cause yellowing (looking at you, Earl Grey and pinot noir!). The non-abrasive formula contains zero bleaching agents so you can avoid that painful sensation that feels like your nerves are being drilled down. Plus, there are no plastic particles, triclosan, or sodium lauryl sulphate, so you can restore those pearly whites without the dangers of breaking down your enamel. And of course the toothpaste does what a toothpaste is supposed to do: It helps fight away tooth decay and cavities.
3. Teeth Whitener: Tuxedo Natural Teeth Whitener
If your daily coffee habit has discolored your teeth and you want to start with a clean slate, this antibacterial, antifungal powder can get your natural whites back without causing sensitivity. Wet your toothbrush, dip it into the powder, then brush your teeth for about two minutes. Clean the black stuff away with your regular toothbrush and some vigorous mouth-rinsing with water. Most of all, don’t get scared of all the black stuff. It will wash off!
4. Shampoo: Charasu Activated Charcoal Shampoo
If you’re in need of a deep cleanse for your crowning glory, try a shampoo infused with activated charcoal, which works its grime-sucking magic on hair strands without overdrying the scalp. This shampoo is completely devoid of harmful chemicals like sulfates.
5. Bar Soap: Herbivore Bamboo Charcoal Cleansing Bar Soap
Move over, expensive, sumptuous mud baths! There’s an easier, accessible all-over treatment: bar soap with the natural purifying powers of charcoal. Although you tend to see fewer imperfections on your body than you do your face (thanks to your T-zone’s lovely oil glands), your below-the-neck zone still needs to detoxify with a good deep cleanse. Lather with this soap in the shower and let activated charcoal remove the day’s dirt and oil from your skin so you exit refreshed and totally decontaminated.
6. Deodorant: Juicy Bamboo The Takesumi Detox Charcoal Deodorant
It’s hard to find a natural deodorant that actually works to prevent those embarrassing pit stains and post-workout odors, but today might be your lucky day. Since bacteria is what makes you smelly, activated charcoal is an ideal ingredient for a deodorant since the substance binds to harmful microorganisms and other toxins. The company even says this deodorant can “clean deep inside sweat glands.”
7. Facial Mask: Fig + Yarrow Clay Mask {Black}
If you’re always fighting those pesky pimples and oil overload, this mask can help draw out the clogging impurities for smoother, clarified skin. The charcoal is joined by two types of clay, kaolinite and bentonite, to really get in the pores and decongest them. If acne isn’t a concern for you, this mask still makes an excellent spot treatment.
8. Facial Cleanser: Skinerals Luminous Citrine Facial Cleanser
This under-the-radar brand carries an excellent cleanser containing activated charcoal, which serves to neutralize acidity of the formula and gently remove impurities without disrupting the skin’s delicate outer layer. (Conventional products meant to detox your pores are often harsh and cause some pretty annoying dryness and irritation.) Other ingredients, such as rooibos leaf, olive oil, coconut oil, aloe vera, and tamanu seed oil, then come in to nourish the skin while it’s being purified.
*Disclaimer: Help support Organic Authority! Our site is dedicated to helping people live a conscious lifestyle. We’ve provided some affiliate links above in case you wish to purchase any of these products.
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