The Benefits of Activated Charcoal For Your Skin

Activated Charcoal is one of the best natural pore cleansing ingredients and it's beneficial for your skin in a few other ways too.

Do you want younger looking skin and smaller pores? Of course you do! But seriously though! Who doesn't want youthful looking skin and teeny-tiny, unclogged, non-existent pores?

By now you know you should keep your pores clean and healthy for younger looking skin, but did you know that your skin will benefit from using activated charcoal?

Just one teaspoon of activated charcoal has a surface area of more than a football field! When you use a skin care product that's formulated with activated charcoal, that's some powerful pore-cleansing detoxifying potential for clear, blemish-free skin.

Activated charcoal has been proven to reach deep into your pores to remove toxins + impurities + offers beneficial exfoliation for a smoother, more refined glow.

Keep reading to find out more about the function of your pores, and how you can keep them healthy, for an overall smoother and more youthful skin texture.

Why your pores are important

Pores act as a gateway for the oils (sebum) that your body naturally produces. When your pores aren’t cleaned, you risk infection and blockage, which can cause acne and blackheads.

You can’t get rid of your pores; your body needs them. Some people were born with bigger pores than others, but you can minimize the appearance of your pores by ensuring that you clean them with a well-balanced activated charcoal product, and then follow your cleansing routine with a moisturizing product such as our Chamomile Exquisite Antioxidant Cream.

Minimizing the appearance of pores

While a proper washing routine is essential to minimizing the appearance of pores, there are other steps you can take to prevent pore blockage.

• Keep your dirty, oily hands away from your face!
• Use a sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful rays.
• Skip aggressive exfoliation because it aggravates your pores. Opt for a gentle enzyme exfoliant like our Glow Jelly Mask instead of a harsh scrub.
• Don't skip the moisturizer! But don't use too much either. And we highly recommend that you use an organic facial moisturizer, (like the ones we offer at SpaGoddess Apothecary) that doesn’t contain harsh chemicals that can irritate your skin.

Cleansing with activated charcoal

Activated charcoal effectively cleanses the skin, unclogs pores, removes deeper impurities, and dead skin cells. The result is smooth, supple, and even-toned skin.

Dirt, toxins, heavy metals, chemicals, and other poisons are attracted to the charcoal molecules and washed away.

The beauty of Activated Charcoal is that removes these nasties without adsorbing vitamins and nutrients, leaving your skin radiantly healthy.

To get the fresh look of pores which have been cleansed with activated charcoal, you’ll first want to wash your face using a natural product like our Super Detox Activated Charcoal Cleanser. Using a high quality cleanser will make sure that your skin is getting a good balance of emollients, essential oils, and vitamins your it needs to stay healthy and prevent drying.

Activated charcoal is inert, which means that it doesn't cause allergic reactions nor will it irritate sensitive skin if used correctly. In fact, activated charcoal can be used to help remedy allergic skin reactions.

Masking with activated charcoal

For an even deeper pore cleansing to remove impurities, you'll want to use a facial mask like our Purify + Refine Superfood Detox Mask with activated charcoal and a revitalizing blend of organic herbs and natural clays.

Activated charcoal works like a magnet – it will draw out the impurities in your pores so that they can be washed away. Pay special attention to the skin on your nose, forehead and chin, as this is where pores appear the largest.

As the mask dries on your skin, you'll probably see little oily spots -- these spots are your pores detoxifying before your very eyes! You needn't let the mask dry out like a desert for it to work well, however. SpaGoddess recommends misting your skin with water or toner if you start to feel itchy or uncomfortable as the mask dries on your skin.

Misting once or twice keeps the active botanicals in the mask at the maximum potency to benefit your skin while helping your skin retain hydration as well.

There are a ton of DIY charcoal mask recipes out there on the web. But before mixing up some concoction to put on your face that you found on a random blog or on Pinterest you should know that less is more with this powerful cosmetic ingredient.

Pure activated charcoal is extremely drying to your skin, it's important that it's properly blended. Use it sparingly in your DIY recipes, and be careful not to breathe in the micro-particles.

Caring for your pores with natural activated charcoal products doesn’t mean that they’ll disappear. But by establishing a consistent pore cleansing skin care routine, you can ensure that your pores healthy and clear, giving you a fresh and youthful complexion to share with the world.