AMAZING BENEFITS OF ACTIVATED CHARCOAL

Activated charcoal can solve almost all your skin problems! You might have seen that nowadays most of the face washes also include activated charcoal in it so that it completely cleanses out your skin impurities. Dust, dirt, pollution can be easily kicked out with the help of charcoal and specially in this environment that is getting polluted day-by-day and harmfully affecting your skin, activated charcoal can work magically in making your skin pollution and harmful bacterias free. There is no such remedy that can take out all the impurities from your skin better than an activated charcoal! There are number of benefits of charcoal on skin as well as on your scalp and teeth. Now some of you may be wondering what activated charcoal actually is? Basically charcoal is a type of black ash or a black fine powder that is produced from burning of wood or coconut shells at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. That means when we burn a wood at high temperature for few time it will turn totally black and when we make a powdered form of that burnt wood, it will become charcoal. Same can be done with coconut shells, olive pits, bamboo, coal, peat, etc. But mainly for skin, the charcoal that is made up of coconut shells or bamboo is used because it is beneficial and healthy for skin. And the amazing thing is you can also make charcoal at your home by burning coconut shells, wood, bamboo, etc.

How to use activated charcoal for face ?

You can use activated charcoal face masks that are readily available in the market or you can also make charcoal face mask at home only by mixing activated charcoal powder in any type of peel off mask that are available. You can also mix fevicol with charcoal powder to make a charcoal peel off mask. Or you can also mix clay, gelatin, distilled water and activated charcoal powder together to make a peel off mask. 

Remember to add a little amount of activated charcoal powder i.e., only a half of spoon or less in one full tablespoon of peel off mask or fevicol. Because when you add charcoal powder in the same quantity of peel off mask or fevicol, then it will not peel off completely in one or two stage, it will peel off in very small-small pieces that can be really frustrating and also you cannot see the impurities that came out with the mask. For mixing charcoal powder if possible, use peel off masks  that are available in the market rather than fevicol or gelatin because peel off masks can give you a radiant and glowing skin and specially when you mix it with activated charcoal, it can do wonders! 

When applying charcoal mask, first you have to wash your face thoroughly, then you have to take a steam for 5-10 minutes so that your skin pores are properly opened and it can take out the impurities present in skin and after that you can apply charcoal peel off mask. Avoid contact with your eyes as it can irritate your eyes. Remove it when it is completely dry i.e., basically after 15-20 minutes. Apply facial moisturizer if you feel like your skin is completely dry after removing the mask. If you have any skin related issues like redness or itching then it is necessary to do a patch test on hand first before applying it on face. 

You can apply activated charcoal masks on any of your body part that you need to whiten and brighten. For example : dark underarms, back, dark knees, elbows, etc. It can whiten your dark underarms, cup of knees, elbows or any of the dark area in just few weeks.

How often it should be done ?

You can use charcoal peel off masks twice a week to see better results. If your skin is extraordinary dry then you can use it once a week. Don't apply charcoal masks daily because it may take out natural oils that are present in your skin, leaving your skin completely dry and dead. 

Now, let us see some of the powerful benefits that can charcoal do for your skin, hair and even teeths! 

1. Deep cleanses pores :

Activated charcoal works like magnetic substance on your skin. It goes deep inside to your skin pores and gives your skin a thorough cleaning. Unlike magnet, it attracts dust, dirt, pollution and all the impurities present on your skin, making your it clearer and brighter. It can also take out the bacterias and toxins from skin and makes your skin complexion fair. 

2. Removes blackheads, whiteheads and dead skin cells : 

Charcoal masks can also remove blackheads, whiteheads, dead skin cells and all the dry skin that is peeling off from your skin. It can also remove extra sebum present in skin. When you peel off your mask, you can clearly see that your blackheads, whiteheads, dry and dead skin are coming out with the mask itself, leaving your skin clear, even toned and impurities free. 

3. Helps in removing excess oil from skin : 

Charcoal is a dry substance and when you apply it on skin, it can take out all the excess oil that is visible to you on your face. It is very beneficial for people having oily skin. But also if you have oily skin, do not try this mask daily as it can take out the natural oils as i already stated earlier. If you can find a charcoal mask that has clay in it, then you can apply that charcoal-clay mask also because it is very good for oily skin and also cleanses out skin pores. 

4. Removes facial hairs : 

A lot of girls have the problem of facial hairs and for this, they have to visit parlour again and again and pay so much of money every month only for removing facial hairs. But let me know you, charcoal masks can remove your facial hairs too! When you peel off the mask, you can see that with impurities, there are so many small-small facial hairs that came out with it. The small facial hairs that you cannot see with your eyes properly, they can be removed with charcoal masks. If you have a lot of facial hairs then it can hurt a little to you while peeling off the mask. But the pain is not so much that you can't tolerate or bear it. It is tolerable and is really effective, you can see that your skin is very smooth and supple after the removal of your facial hairs. 

5. Unclogs skin pores :

Pores are the tiny openings that helps to come out sweat and natural oil present in skin. When they come in contact with excessive dirt, dust and pollution they can result in acne or blackheads making the pores look bigger than before. Clogged pores means that the impurities are getting trapped into your skin instead of shedding. Activated charcoal also helps in unclogging your skin pores and let your skin shed all the impurities present there. It unclogs your skin pores and make your pores look smaller than before. 

6. Your acne treatment : 

If you are suffering from the acne problem then activated charcoal is a good remedy for you. Mainly acne occurs when your skin pores get blocked with sebum, dust or dirt and thereafter infected. Then this infection get affected with redness, pain and bumps. Acne causing bacterias can build up more acne around the previous one resulting in redness, swelling and even pain. Charcoal helps in taking out all the dust, dirt, extra oil, bacterias, sebum from your skin. It also kills the bacterias that are growing up with acne.

Apply activated charcoal powder mixed with tea tree essential oil to get rid of acne. Tea tree oil is very beneficial for reducing acne and its bacterias. Charcoal also helps in reducing the excessive oil that causes acne. You can apply charcoal powder mixed with tea tree essential oil directly or you can also mix it with a peel off mask. If you have really painful acne, then peel off mask can hurt you a little while removing. Use it once or twice a week for good results. 

7. Increases glow on face : 

Charcoal mask can give you instantly glowing face. If you are in a hurry and don't want to apply makeup, then you can go for a charcoal peel off mask because it is not much time-consuming. Just apply charcoal mask, remove it after 15-20 minutes and here you go with an instantly glowing and fairer face. 

8. Helps in teeth whitening : 

Charcoal powder can also help in removing plaque and yellowness from teeths. You can take some charcoal powder in your wet finger or your wet toothbrush and apply it to your teeths or you can also mix charcoal powder with water to make a paste and then apply. People who probably smoke cigarettes or take alcohol have stains on their teeths and this can be removed by brushing with charcoal powder. You can use it once or twice a week to get better results. Regular usage of charcoal on your teeths can take out the enamel, so use it once or twice a week and after that you can notice that the yellowness or the stains are decreased. If you have some problems with your teeths like tooth ache, allergic reaction etc. then first consider with your dentist to determine whether it is a right choice for you or not.

9.  Get rid of hair toxins :

Despite of skin, charcoal has many benefits for your hair and scalp also. Activated charcoal also removes the dirt, dust and excess oil from your scalp also as it does with your skin pores. It can also removes dandruff, itchiness or inflammation in scalp. Just mix a little bit of activated charcoal powder with your regular shampoo and wash your hairs. You can take charcoal powder lumpsum half of the shampoo. You can also buy those shampoos that already have charcoal in it. It will deep clean all the hair follicles and take out the impurities. Use it once or twice a week, you can see the difference after few weeks of use. You may need extra water to rinse of all the black charcoal powder specially when you have highlighted your hairs with light or blonde color.

10. Soothes bites and cuts :

Activated charcoal powder is just not used for the beauty benefits but it can also be used for treating insects bites and cuts. If you have infected by any poisonous insect like wasp or bee, then activated charcoal can be very beneficial for healing it. Charcoal has the properties to reduce the poison from skin and is also known as an antidote of poison. It can easily reduce the inflammation, redness and pain caused by stinging of insects. You can mix little of activated charcoal powder with distilled water to make a paste. Apply it to the infected area and reapply till the pain or swelling is reduced. 

*So that's it for today's article. Thank you so much for reading. Hope you like it and don't forget to try these amazing activated charcoal hacks for your skin, hairs and teeth.*