Skincare FAQ / Charcoal, Non-Product Tips, Alcohol and Skin

You can’t have the beauty industry without buzzwords, trending ingredients, and everyone telling you what you “shouldn’t do” for your skin. It can be hard to figure out which ones to focus on and which ones are more of a fad.

Why is activated charcoal in everything and is it actually good for my skin?
Activated charcoal came into the scene a few years ago as a method of “detox” for everything: your skin (through masks and treatments), your body (activated charcoal coffees and lemonades, as of late) and even the environment (water and air purification, but these aren’t new). Sometimes activated charcoal is referred to as activated carbon, which might make people think of greenhouse gas emissions and coal—or, maybe that’s my environmental background showing. Activated charcoal can be created from biomass, instead of fossil fuels, such as forestry byproducts or coconut shells. These materials are burned at high temperatures to leave behind pure carbon.
Activated charcoal in the skincare industry is considered “detoxifying” meaning toxins or pollutants or oils bind to the charcoal (and it’s extensive, porous, surface area) and are washed away (similar methodology to how oil cleansers work). Lab Muffin goes deep into the science here. While things love to bind to charcoal, it doesn’t differentiate the toxins from, say, good bacteria, and therefore shouldn’t be used in excess or else important materials will also be washed away. Is there good data on whether or not activated charcoal is some miracle ingredient? Not really. Personally, I’ve been using a charcoal toothpaste from Hello products and I probably won’t repurchase because it makes my sink black and that’s about it. If you want to incorporate activated charcoal, just try to make sure it’s derived from a sustainable feedstock.
I don’t want to spend money. What can I do that helps my skin without spending money?
I foresee this turning into a much larger article, but I really appreciated this question from my very own sister (she was probably being a troll given the amount of product-related posts I put into the universe, but it’s valid)! No miracle product will ever heal acne anyway. I crowdsourced answers here a bit and have the following:
1. Change your pillowcases (a no brainer!) a lot more than you already are to prevent the buildup of bacteria and dirt that you’ll just keep rubbing on your face every night. Pro tip: you can get about 4 nights out of a clean pillowcase by strategic flipping.
2. Use a new washcloth when washing your face, every. time. Buy white ones and clean them extensively between use.
3. Wash your face after you brush your teeth, in the event any toothpaste ingredients could be causing irritation (like sodium lauryl sulfate or essential oils).
4. Drink a lot of water and get in exercise regularly. According to my yoga teachers, deep breathing facilitates more detoxification than sweating.
Why is drinking generally bad for your skin?
Spoiler alert, I’m asking myself this currently as I’m drinking a glass of red wine. I’m not going to go into a full-on high school health class spiel here, but alcohol does various bad things to your body. In terms of skincare, the two main things alcohol contributes to are 1) lack of good sleep and 2) general dehydration. Sleep is the time where your body has a chance to heal, process and renew. Alcohol triggers the release of certain hormones that can interrupt sleep cycles and therefore interrupt the deep healing (also, hello dark circles and bags). As I mentioned above, drinking water is incredibly important to keep your body and skin hydrated. Alcohol dehydrates the body and causes inflammation generally. However, red wine actually includes antioxidants that can be beneficial to the body and skin. I’ll top off this glass, thank you very much. It’s all about moderation!