Beauty trends are constantly filtering in and out of popularity. For the past few years, one of the most popular ones has been using activated charcoal. This took the beauty world by storm because of its unique and successful properties.

Romana Emerson and Stephanie Saltzman from Allure said that activated charcoal has increased absorbency by carbon that has been treated. The charcoal trend may sound like just another beauty based product, but in fact it is used in emergency hospital rooms. They use it to treat alcohol poisoning and drug overdoses because it attaches to toxins in the stomach before they get into the bloodstream.

However, there are some misconceptions about activated charcoal. There are a variety of consumables that are advertised to help detox the body. They can be found in juices, vitamins, or even incorporated into your smoothie.

Drinking or eating activated charcoal does not, in fact, detox your body. According to Scott Gavura from sciencebasedmedicine.com, activated charcoal does not have the ability of sucking out the toxic chemicals from the body. Instead, its effects are limited to the gastrointestinal tract only, which is almost always used for poisoning protocols performed in emergency rooms.

Regardless of that misconception, activated charcoal used topically as a beauty treatment has been known to work wonders. According to Best Health, it can clean out your pores and make them appear smaller, take care of oily skin, help treat acne, soothe cuts and skin irritations, rid hair of oily toxins, and even remedy scalp conditions such as dandruff.

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Here are some charcoal based products that can produce these beauty benefits:

Face Masks:

It could be a one-time sheet mask or a cream you can rub over the face. The activated charcoal in the mask draws out impurities deep within your pores. Similar to how it can attach to and suck out toxins in the stomach, it grabs on to dirt in your pores and removes it when you rinse the mask off.

Shampoo:

Our hair needs some love too. Charcoal based shampoo can act as an oil absorber and acid remover. While it fights to remove unwanted oils that can leave the hair looking limp, it also puts back in the essential oils that make it glowy and soft.

Face Cleanser:

If you can put a mask made of charcoal on your face, then why not a daily cleanser. You can also use it all over your body if desired. Essentially the cleanser can substitute your daily face wash and draw out impurities in the shower. It will also exfoliate and purify the skin.

Bar Soap:

You don’t have to stop at face cleaners. A bar of activated charcoal soap can be used all over the body and face as well. This product would be great for anyone suffering from body acne.

Pore Strips:

Charcoal’s best quality is that it literally draws the impurities out of the pores, so combining it with a pore strips will give it that extra strength to remove those unwanted impurities.

Makeup Remover Wipes:

Have a helping hand when it comes to removing the day from your face. Cleansing wipes will help you get all your makeup off in a gentle and soothing manner.

Toothpaste:

This is one of the newest trends concerning charcoal. It’s a great anti-bacterial that can really get those pearly whites really white. Toothpaste with this ingredient is black, so you may look a little scary at first when you begin brushing, but it will all be worth it once you rinse it out. Make sure to not ingest any of the toothpaste because it can cause indigestion.

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DIY Charcoal Mask

Ingredients

1/2 cup organic coconut oil
3 activated charcoal capsules
2 drops lavender oil
2 drops rosemary oil

Empty charcoal capsules into a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients, and mix well. Apply to freshly washed face, let sit for 2-3 minutes, and remove with warm water.