Activated Charcoal: What is it?
When I hear the word “charcoal,” I instantly think of what my family always used to cook on a grill. Trust me, I am not asking you to use this in your beauty routine. Charcoal is made from coal, wood, and other substances and becomes activated when high temperatures combined with gas or an activated agent to make it expand. This sounds complicated, but you can buy activated charcoal in pill or powder form at your local drug store or online. No mess for you! Activated charcoal is beneficial to people and even animals in so many different ways, and people are always discovering new benefits. I was a skeptic before I tried activated charcoal, but now I use it almost every day in my beauty routine. Here are 5 ways to use activated charcoal in your beauty routine.
1. It will whiten your teeth.
Believe it or not, using activated charcoal to brush your teeth can whiten them! Your teeth will be black as you are brushing them and you will look like a creature from a scary movie, but once you rinse, your teeth will thank you. You don’t have to change much in your routine, just put some toothpaste on your toothbrush and dip it in the activated charcoal powder. It is that simple! You most likely will not see results on the first day, but after a week of using activated charcoal on your teeth, you will notice a huge difference.
2. You’ll get rid of blackheads.
Everyone loves a good blackhead remover. Instead of spending too much money on pore strips, make them yourself with activated charcoal. There are multiple recipes that you can find online to make your own strips, but my favorite one only uses two ingredients: activated charcoal and Elmers glue. Yes, you read that right. You mix the glue and a small amount of the activated charcoal (a little goes a long way) in a bowl and then evenly put it on your nose or anywhere else you need to use it. Don’t touch it until it completely dries and then gently pull it off. Easy to make and is fun to use when having a girls night in.
3. It works as eyeliner.
Sometimes my liquid eyeliner doesn’t cut it and I want something a little more matte black. Activate charcoal is there to the rescue! Just mix a little bit of the activated charcoal with water or saline solution and grab your eyeliner brush and you are good to go! It is an all natural alternative to traditional makeup, and it works for a great cat eye.
4. You’ll relieve bloating and food poisoning.
Activated charcoal is not to be used every day, but you can take the pill form in order to relieve bloating and even food poisoning. If you have the powder form you can mix a small amount in your smoothie or other drinks. It turned my smoothie black, but I honestly could not taste it!
5. Exfoliate skin? Yes, please.
One of my favorite ways to use activated charcoal is in a DIY facial scrub. I typically use a sugar scrub to exfoliate my face, but now I mix a little charcoal in it to help get rid of any toxins that might be present. In order to make the scrub, you only need regular sugar, coconut oil, and activated charcoal. The measurements are up to you, and if you really want to follow specific directions you can find them with a quick Google or Pinterest search. Just mix an even amount of coconut oil and sugar in a small jar or dish. You want to be able to feel the grains of the sugar since that is what helps exfoliate the skin. Add a littl ebit of activated charcoal and you are good to go! Get to scrubbing, you can thank me later.
[Photos courtesy to Pinterest]