Charcoal is becoming a hot ingredient in beauty, but the bonus is it’s also great for your skin’s health.
Did you know charcoal can be used in a variety of ways to prettify you? Since it’s a natural detoxifying substance, charcoal whitens teeth and is even used to remove toxins from the body because of its great absorbent properties.
But it also does some great things for your skin. It might look dirty, sort of like soot, but it could just make your complexion brighter. Charcoal has been used to cleanse the skin for centuries in countries such as Japan. This is because it can absorb between 100 to 200 times its weight in impurities! It pulls dirt, chemicals and bacteria out of the skin so that you prevent breakouts and score a much clearer complexion.
Activated charcoal is what’s used in beauty and skincare. This basically means that charcoal is heated in the presence of gas that makes it develop small spaces in it. These pores or spaces help the charcoal to trap chemicals on the skin.
If you’re interested in making your own charcoal face mask, purchase activated charcoal and use it in an easy recipe. All you need besides for the activated charcoal is rose (or regular) water and some aloe vera gel. Mix all the ingredients at a 1:1 ratio until you’ve got a nice, thick paste. Then apply it to your skin for a few minutes until it’s completely dry before gently rinsing it off.
Besides for face masks, you can also find charcoal is skincare products such as the Giovanni range that contains purifying body washes and exfoliating body scrubs.
When choosing a product with charcoal, bear this in mind: charcoal needs to come into contact with any skin impurities to be able to absorb them. So, instead of a wash-and-dash, you want to take your time when using charcoal-infused products to give your skin TLC it deserves.
Image: sergeytay / Dollar Photo Club
