Why Charcoal is Your Beauty Cabinet’s MVP

Pore purging, breath-freshening, teeth whitening, detoxifying… is there anything activated charcoal can’t do? The beauty world’s ingredient du jour, charcoal is all it’s hyped up to be. And then some. Read on and discover why you need a little black magic in your life.

It’s not just regular old charcoal!

No silly, nobody’s suggesting you rub bbq nuggets all over your grill! The charcoal used in beauty products is quite different. Specifically, it’s activated charcoal. That means it’s carbon that’s been treated to be ultra-absorbent. Which is why this stuff is so darn handy. It’s absorbs like a g-darn boss!

(Plus, it’s super safe – they use the stuff in water purifiers and in ER to help with alcohol poisoning and overdoses.)

It draws out all kinds of junk and gunk

Nature’s super-magnet detoxifies like a dream, absorbing dirt, oils and impurities invisible to the human eye. Which is why it’s such a popular ingredient in facial scrubs and masks, and particularly awesome for oily skins. The cult Blaq mask goes one step further, waging war on blackheads with its charcoal-fuelled peel-off formula that quite literally unplugs your pores before your eyes. Try it and see. (And even if you don’t peel off a mask full of blackheads, your deep cleansed skin will have a newfound glow!)

Aussie legends Blaq also have a cooling hydrogel (and charcoal, natch) under eye mask that is our little secret for faking away a nasty hangover, or restless sleep. Plus, there’s a body scrub that buffs away flaky, dry bits while detoxifying your entire bod for silky smooth, glowing skin.

And mops up odours

That’s bad breath we’re talking about. Check out your pharmacy or Insta feed. There are a bunch of new inky charcoal toothpastes, powders and whitening wands that will suck up unpleasant odours so you’re smooch-ready 24/7.

It has amazing teeth whitening powers

We don’t just want fresh breath from our dental prods, we want sparkling white teeth. And activated charcoal is a harmless, pain-free way to gently and quickly remove those stubborn stains.  The Blaq Teeth Whitening Wand does double duty by pairing up charcoal with anti-bacterial coconut for extra stain-removing oomph. It’s also easy to use and totally mess-free.