Charcoal scrubs, cleansers, sponges, and pore strips abound. What’s charcoal? Carbon-containing compounds produce active charcoal powder. Fine, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic component. Negatively charged pores attract pollutants. Charcoal is used to pump the stomach following drug or toxin ingestion.
What’s charcoal?
Carbon-containing compounds produce active charcoal powder. Fine, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic component.
Charcoal—found in some of our favorite dry shampoos—deeply cleanses our scalps. Read on for charcoal hair benefits and usage.
CHARCOAL Ingredient: Exfoliator
- Benefits: Removes residue, purifies, and volumizes
- Useful for: Charcoal hair products are best for oily hair and scalps and itchy scalp disorders like.
- How often: Start with once a week and increase to two.
- Charcoal works with several components.
- Avoid: No additives harm charcoal.
Charcoal Hair Benefits
- Charcoal exfoliates and detoxifies hair, eliminating oil, dirt, and buildup. It also soothes irritated scalps.
- Deep cleansing: Charcoal is used in “detoxifying” and “resetting” hair products. “Draw oils and trapped dead skin cells away from the scalp,” explains New York-based board-certified dermatologist Morgan Rabach.
- Absorbs oil: “It will also absorb excess sebum to help balance the scalp and protect the hair root and shaft from appearing oily, heavy, and flat. Ziering says it will also remove product buildup at the hair and scalp base.
- Charcoal does not exfoliate like a scalp salt-scrub. “It functions like a magnet pulling specific elements to be lifted and expelled from the scalp, root, and hair shaft,” Ziering says.
- “Charcoal is deoderizing,” says cosmetic chemist Ginger King, because it removes (often smelly) contaminants from hair.
- Anti-itch/Healing: Charcoal soothes uncomfortable scalp disorders. Ziering says it can benefit acne patients and those with excessively oily seborrheic dermatitis.
- Charcoal also volumizes! Charcoal helps thin, flat hair and oily scalps. Ziering says it stacks hair to make it appear thicker and fuller.
Hair Type
Charcoal is helpful for scalp breakouts, dandruff, and oily scalps. “Since oily hair tends to smell if not cleansed correctly,” King says, oily hair benefits most. She claims charcoal reduces pollutants and odors.
Yet, most charcoal shampoos and treatments can be used on any hair type without drying the scalp or strands, changing natural African American hair texture, pattern, or cuticle, or affecting color-treated hair.
Rabach thinks charcoal-infused products can replace prescription shampoos. Therefore, check the label or ask the brand if Charcoal Hair Color is safe for treated hair.
Charcoal for Hair
- Charcoal-infused products usually treat. These should not be used daily. Ziering advises using charcoal as a scrub or clarifying shampoo every seven to ten days, depending on hair and scalp health.
- Make a scrub using activated charcoal powder. “It may also be used as a Homemade hair scrub by mixing two tablespoons of activated charcoal powder with a base like coconut oil,” Ziering explains, adding that it should be massaged on the scalp, left for 20 minutes, and rinsed.
- Make a detoxifying shampoo: Ziering suggests tossing activated charcoal powder into a light shampoo for a quicker cleanse.
“Activated charcoal is what you want to utilize. “Its structure is like a sponge; it has a highly lumpy jagged surface, so toxins attach to before being washed away,” Rabach explains, adding that scalp medicine users should use activated charcoal because it is “inert, therefore there are no reports of allergic reactions.” This prevents charcoal from affecting medicine absorption.
