It is so fun to watch people’s reaction once we open a jar of skin care product with charcoal. How this dark black substance can be cleansing??? We even had clients contacting us to say that there is something incorrect with their cleanser, because this black substance is in the cleanser. Some people say that mask or exfoliant doesn’t work, because they can see black dots all over their skin after washing of the product.
After reading this article you will have a clear understanding how and why charcoal works, actually you will become a pro beauty wizard to teach your friends on this subject.
Charcoal is produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or othersubstances in the absence of oxygen. Activated charcoal, carbon that’s been treated to increase its absorbency is the one that is used in beauty products. Charcoal’s ability to adsorb harmful substances is very strong. I remember from my childhood, when I lived in Lithuania, we used to take Charcoal tablets for upset stomach or any possible food poisoning. Activated charcoal helps with stomach aches and food poisoning, by helping detoxify the body.
Activated bamboo charcoal powder absorbs odors and purifies water. Most water purifying systems use charcoal to clean the water. Even up until now, Charcoal is used in hospital emergency rooms after a personswallows or absorbs almost any toxic drug, chemical or alcohol overdose. It worksby attaching to toxins in the stomach and absorbing them before the bloodstream can.
It is also commonly used in detox supplements. When it comes to body detox drinks, I have to say I am a little bit worried sometimes. Charcoal, when taken orally, cleanses toxins from internal organs, that is wonderful. But we have to be mindful that it is so cleansing that it would not allow anything else to be absorbed into the system either. That is for about 2 hours after ingesting charcoal. So when these detox drinks are served with some kind of juice, it does not make much sense to me, since non of these beautiful ingredients of the juice can be absorbed into the body. I believe it is just a waist of good juice in this case. Just charcoal with some lemon juice (for better taste) and water would do the trick. Hey, but that is just me, having my logical opinion, you don’t have to believe me on that…Just, please don’t over use the charcoal when it comes to internal use, now that you understand how it works. More is definitely not better when it comes to charcoal.
In beauty products it work just like it does internally. It acts like a magnet to attract and absorb dirt, oil, toxins and then gets washed away when you rinse the product off. Here would be a perfect moment to talk about these possible black dots left on the skin after washing of product with charcoal. If your skin was not exfoliated properly, pores are congested with blackheads, charcoal will stick to these areas. It is not that charcoal product didn’t work. Actually, I would say it did work exactly the way charcoal works, it attached to dirt in the skin. When that happens on my client’s skin in the facial, it’s fun, I know exactly where to do extractions, it’s like a map! At home, I recommend using a good quality microfiber towel to massage well on these areas. Microfiber towel fibers are 250 times thinner than human hair, so it cleanses even in between the pores.
Charcoal provides excellent detoxification, cleansing, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits without any drying effect on the skin. There is a myth, if the skin produces too much oil it will cause acne, so using skin drying product would be helpful. The truth is that, when skin gets too dry on the surface due to drying antibacterial skin care products, acne gets worse, because toxins and natural skin oil sebum, gets trapped under the dry skin layers, and that just worsens the situation.
Activated charcoal powder is extremely useful for acne and blemish skin conditions. Activated bamboo charcoal absorbs into the pores on your skin & draws out the toxins, impurities and dirty oils from the pores. Regular use can help acne, bumps, and blackheads.
I used Charcoal in facial treatments at my skin center in Santa Monica since 2009. Results were astonishing! My clients were asking for at home use products with charcoal.
I have been talking about the charcoal benefits for acne and oily skin, but the happy news is that EVERY skin type benefits from charcoal! Every day our skin gets exposed to environmental pollution, especially in the city. Detoxing skin is essential for its health and appearance.
It is quite incredible to see the skin brighten up instantly after single use of charcoal product . Any time I do a mini demonstration on clients, on the back of their hand, and then compared with the other, not treated hand, the reaction always was a huge “WOW”, because the difference in the skin was so obvious.