Charcoal is having a moment and I am totally on board! After a weekend of sun, sweat and sunscreen my pores need some love. Remember when those Biore pore strips were all the rage?  Well, charcoal has the same pore cleansing effect, but better and also…safer.

Activated charcoal is like a magnet for the dirt, oil and gunk in your pores! It pulls them out and they wash away as your rinse your face. It is amazing for oily and acne prone skin, but honestly, all skin types can benefit from a weekly charcoal mask.

Important note: this mask is NOT the kind you peel off, which can actually be pretty harmful to your skin. You just wipe it off with a wet cloth.

The Beautycounter No. 3 Balancing Charcoal Mask is an essential in my skincare routine! It’s like a 10 minute spa-grade facial <3 Once I’m done my skin feels clean and firm. Here are some of the benefits:

• Refines skin and cleanses with a matte result
• Draws out impurities and toxins
• Immediately reduces the appearance of pores
• Leaves skin brighter, clearer, smoother, and more even-toned
• Soothes and calms skin, reducing redness, irritation, and blotchiness

I usually wash my face with the Charcoal Cleansing Bar first to get the first round of dirt off my face which leaves my skin ready for a really deep clean from the charcoal mask! Then I follow with the Cleansing Balm as an overnight hydrating mask and holy smokes my skin is perfection in the morning.

Step One:

Step Two:

Step Three:

 

Okay soooo let’s address the elephant in the room…why do I have the charcoal mask on my armpits?

I switched to natural deodorant about 2 years ago as I was making my transition to safer products. Conventional deodorant contains aluminum, parabens and other harmful ingredients. Aluminum has been linked to alzheimer’s and breast cancer. And parabens are known hormone disruptors. They have actually found parabens in breast cancer cells. On top of that, it’s actually not good for your body to not sweat. It is one of our natural ways to detox our body and it an important, albeit annoying, bodily function.

Sweat itself isn’t actually stinky, it’s the bacteria that the sweat comes into contact with that makes ya smell.

::enter charcoal::

As I made the transition, my hubby made it perfectly clear that he wasn’t a fan of my new “hippie” deodorant choices. It takes your body a hot minute to adjust to being without its trusty aluminum. Using the charcoal cleansing bar to wash my armpits daily and the charcoal mask weekly really helped reduce the…odor…I was emitting because it draws out any bacteria that might cause said odor.

Although, I’ve adjusted now and I don’t get quite so stinky anymore, I still use my charcoal products to maintain. It’s not glamorous, but I’ll do almost anything in the name of safer beauty 😉

Finding a safe deodorant that works took a lot of trial and error and honestly, I think different brands will work better for different people. I love Native! My favorite scent is the Coconut & Vanilla, but they always have yummy ones to choose from. If Native doesn’t work for you here are a few more brands that are definitely safer and get great reviews from my fellow safe beauty babes:

Schmidts

Type A

Primally Pure

 

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