BEAUTY HOW-TO: ACTIVATED CHARCOAL MASK

Hey, y’all! Today, I’m sharing with you one of the key things for my skincare routine: my activated charcoal mask. I discovered the benefits of activated charcoal a year ago and it has changed my life since! It’s great for your skin, teeth, discoloration, etc. Activated charcoal is a great product to use to get rid of impurities. So, why activated? Charcoal is activated by processing it at very high temperatures. Putting it through the high temperatures makes activated charcoal more porous than regular charcoal.

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The reason I prefer to mix my own activated charcoal mask instead of buying a premade mask because I know the ingredients that are in it and how it’s going to affect my skin. I have very sensitive and dry skin and I definitely don’t want to mess anything up with it! I’ve seen so many masks recently especially with charcoal and I figured I write a post on something I’ve been doing for a while.

STEP 1: MIX IT

The great thing about this mixture is that you don’t need a lot of it, a little goes a long way. Typically, I use a 1:1 mixture — 1/4 teaspoon water and 1/4 teaspoon activated charcoal. The consistency of the mixture is almost clay-like. I don’t add a lot of water because I don’t want the mix to be too thin. The 1/4 teaspoon that I use is just enough for my face; I use up the entire mixture. When you are mixing together the ingredients, you want to do it in an area that you don’t mind getting messy because it tends to stain. Whenever I get done with the mask, I just use some Clorox wipes to clean everything up and it usually goes away.

STEP 2: PUT IT ON

Because the charcoal tends to stain, I have a specific brush that I use since it’s already stained for this mask. The brush I got comes in a 4 pack from Amazon. I love how malleable the brush is which is helpful when putting on any mask. I also use a black mixing bowl, also from Amazon, because the stains blend in with the bowl. When putting the mask on, I’m very careful because you don’t want to make a mess or have it stain your clothes. Typically, I put the mask on in the same place I intend to wash it off — the bathroom and in my sports bra — because I don’t want to make a mess. I typically wear it for 10-15 minutes before I wash it off, right when the mask is no longer wet to the touch.

STEP 3: WASH IT OFF

As you are washing off the mask, you want to make sure you get it all off. Sometimes I miss a spot and have to go back over it. Sometimes, I’ve found remnants of the charcoal in my nostrils when I blow my nose a few days later. I typically put this mask on before I shower that way, I’m sure that I wash it all off.

That’s it. That’s the mask! Really simple and cheap to incorporate into your weekly skincare routine. Before you try it yourself, a few things to note/remember:

The charcoal can stain. Be careful how you handle the charcoal from putting in your mixing bowl to applying and washing it off. I typically try to stay in one spot and wear an old, dirty shirt that you don’t mind messing up. Though it stains, it is just temporary. The charcoal is easy to clean with regular laundry detergent. If you get some on the sink, Clorox wipes get it all up!
Unlike a clay mask, this charcoal mask doesn’t get too hard when it dries. Rather, when it’s wet to the touch, that’s as dry as it’s going to get. Even though it’s “dry”, the mask still flakes/crumbles off if you move too fast, or sneeze.
Like most masks, avoid getting the product in your eyes. I’ve done that a few times because, as I said, it starts flaking off when it’s dried. If you get it in your eye, just rinse it off and you should be good to go. Any additional irritation, I would talk a medical professional, something I am not.

WOULD YOU TRY A DIY ACTIVATED CHARCOAL MASK? WHY OR WHY NOT?