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Introducing Charcoal to My Skincare Regime: One Month On

Recently charcoal has been added into the strangest things; from skincare products to toothpaste to detoxifying drinks (I’m happy to drink Coke so why I found the black colour of Wow’s Dark Detox drink so off-putting remains a mystery). The bottom line is: clearly there are a lot of people out there who believe in the benefits of charcoal.

If anyone else has been wondering whether all this hype is justified, then I’m here to tell you that it is; well, on the skincare front at least. Just over a month ago I introduced three T-Zone Charcoal & Bamboo products into my skincare regime. I began using their Black Peel Off Mask* and their Self Heating Mask* once a week, and their Deep Cleansing Face Scrub* three times a week. One benefit of the whole range is that their Superdrug price points are very affordable for skincare. With regards to the individual products, there was one I didn’t like, one which I think is pretty good (worth a try but not amazing), and one which I love! Any guesses?

I’ll start with my least favourite and work my way up to my favourite. The one you absolutely need to introduce into your own routine.

Charcoal Black Peel Off Mask

In general I tend to avoid peel off masks. I have pretty large pores on either side of my nose and no matter how effectively a peel off mask may clear my pores, for me, it will never justify enlarging them in the process. The first time I used this I tried it over my nose in order to give it a fair trial. Unfortunately I wasn’t surprised with the results: my pores looked larger afterwards. You may be thinking ‘but I don’t have large pores, so would it work for me?’, honesty, I doubt it. For the remaining weeks I continued its use on other areas of my face where I have normal sized pores and I didn’t really notice a difference. The whole product technique of ripping impurities out of the skin just doesn’t sit quite right with me, and I won’t be continuing to use it.

Charcoal Deep Cleansing Face Scrub

Generally speaking, I wasn’t blown away by this scrub. However for its low price point I have to give credit where credit’s due and report that it’s a fairly decent product. It doesn’t feel too harsh on the skin as the exfoliating agents are quite fine (just remember to be gentle when using any scrub). It also does a nice job of both exfoliating and brightening. My own skin is on the dehydrated side. I was worried that introducing a scrub and using it quite regularly might dry my skin out, but it didn’t! After the first couple of uses I found that I developed one or two small (not very noticeable) spots over my chin. This didn’t continue though.

Charcoal Self Heating Mask

The self heating mask box is £4.99 and within it are four individual applications. The masks are the priciest product of all three. Despite this, I think that its really reasonably  priced considering the results that I’ve noticed. I’m a huge fan of masks in general. I find that they’re the best product for making dramatic improvements to my skin and this one is no different. I introduced this mask to my Monday evening skin care routine and am now a loyal fan of it. I’ve also been persuaded of the brightening benefits of charcoal. This mask is a little more thick and sticky than any I’ve tried before. It’s also different in that you only need to leave it on for a couple of minutes. It provides instant brightening effects which are pretty stubborn and last for a good few days afterwards!

Basically, I’m now on my way to being a charcoal convert. I’ll be actively looking to try out more charcoal products in the near future. I hope that I get on as well as I did with the self heating mask, I’ll keep you updated!

* This post contains PR Samples which I have been sent to review and give my honest opinion about. All words, images and opinions are my own. Please read my full disclaimer for more information.