| What is it? | Activated charcoal is a form of charcoal that’s been treated to have an incredibly high amount of surface area. It can be made from various types of ash, including bamboo and hardwood. |
| INCI | Charcoal |
| Appearance | Fine black powder. |
| Usage rate | I rarely use it above 1% due to how messy it is. |
| Texture | Fine, mildly gritty. |
| Scent | None |
| Solubility | Insoluble |
| Why do we use it in formulations? | First and foremost, activated charcoal is very black—so you better want a black end product! It works well to colour soaps, scrubs, facial polishes, masks, and more. It is also a mild physical exfoliant.
Activated charcoal also has quite a lot of almost mythology-level lore around its ability to detox. LabMuffin has a fantastic post on this and I would highly recommend reading it! The general gist of it is that it might be a better cleanser than other things, and it’s likely not harmful. There are a lot of recipes online for activated charcoal mascara—please do not make mascara (or other eye makeup) with activated charcoal! Activated charcoal is not an eye-safe pigment. |
| Do you need it? | No |
| Strengths | Very black, very trendy. |
| Weaknesses | Activated charcoal is really messy, and it is unlikely to be as magical as some sources claim. |
| Alternatives & Substitutions | If you just need something to be black, black iron oxide is a good option. You won’t need as much of it to get the effect, though, as black iron oxide is even more potent.
If you’re using it as a mild exfoliant, a clay like kaolin would be a good alternative. |
| How to Work with It | Include it in the heated or cool down phase of a recipe. It is not heat sensitive. |
| Storage & Shelf Life | Stored somewhere cool, dark, and dry, activated charcoal should last indefinitely. |
| Tips, Tricks, and Quirks | “It’s estimated that 1 gram of activated charcoal has a surface area of 3000 square metres, which is the same as 3 Olympic swimming pools, 7 basketball courts or 230 car parking spaces.” –LabMuffin |
| Recommended starter amount | 30g (1oz) |
| Where to Buy it | Buy it from an online DIY ingredient supplier or Amazon. |
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