Activated Charcoal DIY Peel off Mask

Another day, another DIY self-care day! 

Today, we would like to share a charcoal mask recipe with you. This is a great solution for detoxing your skin and removing blackheads.

First things first, let’s chat about activated charcoal. Activated charcoal is known for many things. From relieving intestinal gas, whitening teeth, to water filtration, it also helps detoxify your skin.  The carbon in activated charcoal absorbs the oil and dirt from your clogged pores, deep cleanses your skin and removes dead skin cells. Activated charcoal soap is a great tool to deeply clean your skin daily, but we can come back to that one; today we want to talk about an amazing peel off mask you can make at home.

This simple recipe uses just three ingredients: water, activated charcoal powder and gelatin - yes, the one you cook with! If you would prefer a vegan alternative, you can opt for agar powder instead.   

Here is how you prep it:

Take a spoonful of activated charcoal powder (you can use activated charcoal tablets if you can’t find powdered charcoal), a spoonful of gelatin, and a cup of preferably distilled warm water, and mix it up until you have a sticky paste. Regular water works too but is not as beneficial for your skin as mineral or distilled water. If you can, use a mask/makeup brush or a spatula to apply the mask to your nose and chin area, or failing that, your fingertips will suffice.

A word of warning, however. Gelatin is a strong component and it can pull out hair, so avoid your hairline and your eyebrow area. It can also be quite strong on sensitive skin, so test it out on your nose and see how your skin reacts before applying it all over your face.

Gently peel the mask off once it is completely hard and dry. The mixture will pull out most of your whiteheads and blackheads, which you will see for yourself. Removing the mask is not the most comfortable sensation in the world, but rest assured, you will feel great seeing the results!

For those of you with more sensitive skin, or those who don’t enjoy that peeling sensation, here is an alternative method. Instead of the gelatin you can use bentonite clay, and combine it with the activated charcoal powder to create a powerful detoxifying treatment. Bentonite clay is a powerful absorbent that can be very helpful to treat acne prone skin and oily skin types. It helps remove sebum and has a calming effect on the skin. Combined with the powerful dirt abstracting activated charcoal powder, there is nothing stopping this mask from removing most of the toxins from your skin. Simply gently massage the mixture into your face, and then rinse it off when it is fully dry. 

After removing whichever mask you have chosen to make, use your favourite moisturiser or rosehip oil to soothe your skin. Clay masks can easily dry out your skin, so it is always preferable to deeply moisturise it after a good detox. 

The next morning, your face will feel clean and your skin will be glowing!

Happy skin detox!