Charcoal in Skin Care Products
A hot skin care ingredient is actually something quite old - charcoal. Yes, almost the same thing that you use to BBQ with in the summer. So what can charcoal actually do for your skin? Who should consider using it and what products are recommended? Keep reading to find out the answers.
What Is Activated Charcoal?
Before explaining how activated charcoal can help your skin let me explain what it is exactly.
According to WebMD:
“Activated charcoal” is similar to common charcoal, but is made especially for use as a medicine. To make activated charcoal, manufacturers heat common charcoal in the presence of a gas that causes the charcoal to develop lots of internal spaces or “pores.” These pores help activated charcoal “trap” chemicals.
Activated charcoal is used to treat poisonings, reduce intestinal gas (flatulence), lower cholesterol levels, prevent hangover, and treat bile flow problems (cholestasis) during pregnancy.
How does it work?
Activated charcoal is good at trapping chemicals and prevents their absorption.
Furthermore, activated charcoal has many other uses. As explained here on D106:
Activated charcoal is used in water filters, medicines that selectively remove toxins, and chemical purification processes. Activated charcoal is carbon that has been treated with oxygen. The treatment results in a highly porous charcoal. These tiny holes give the charcoal a surface area of 300-2,000 m2/g, allowing liquids or gases to pass through the charcoal and interact with the exposed carbon.
The carbon adsorbs a wide range of impurities and contaminants, including chlorine, odors, and pigments. Other substances, like sodium, fluoride, and nitrates, are not as attracted to the carbon and are not filtered out. Because adsorption works by chemically binding the impurities to the carbon, the active sites in the charcoal eventually become filled.
The above explanation helps us understand how activated charcoal is used in a medical and commercial settings, but how does that translate into use in skin care products?
What Charcoal Does For Our Skin
As you read above activated charcoal traps chemicals when taken orally. The same is true when used topically on your face. If activated charcoals attracts toxins in your stomach for instance than when used on your face it will draw out dirt and oil stuck inside your pores. The dirt and oil will stick to the charcoal and wash away when you rinse off the product you are using. Other claims about charcoal include that it has the ability to hold oil 200 times better than any other ingredient which means it can really suck up oil trapped in your pores and clean out those pores. The great thing about this ingredient is that even as it cleans and exfoliates your skin it doesn't strip your skin of its natural oils. Your skin will feel soft after using a skin care product with activated charcoal instead of tight and dry. Lastly, it should be noted that not everyone is so impressed by the use of activated charcoal in skin care products chalking up the popularity of this ingredient to how it looks on the skin (black) and not its effectiveness.
Charcoal Products To Try
When it comes to using skin care products with activated charcoal in them you could actually go the DIY route and make the products yourself. While this can be quite cost effective there are actually plenty of affordable options on the market so you do not need to get your kitchen or bathroom dirty in order to clean your skin. There are cleansers, exfoliators, facial masks, and even shampoos with this ingredient. It also turns out that you can even drink activated charcoal if you want (and not for medical reasons).
You can find the following products in your local drugstore or online:
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