Activated Carbon
Organic Skin Care Haul: Activated Carbon, Shea Beurre, Seaweed Soap, Magic Oil
Friday, April 28, 2017 |
| Organic Skin Care Haul |
Taking care of your skin is essential, after all it is the body’s largest living organ. However, many of the personal care products on the market contain toxins and chemicals that suffocate the skin. There are a range of natural and organic skincare products you can use for anti-ageing and to keep your skin looking smooth, supple and radiant.
Many mainstream products contain chemicals that are easily absorbed into the skin and can enter the blood stream. Many of the ingredients in these products also inhibit the skin’s ability to breathe and can be linked to conditions such as allergies and headaches.
Choosing organic skincare products is a natural and effective way to get your skin feeling and looking radiant. Organic and natural products work with your skin to enhance its regenerative and healing properties. Organic skincare products are chemical and pesticide free, meaning it is better for your body and the environment.
| Activated Carbon Activated charcoal is a potent natural treatment used to trap toxins and chemicals in the body, allowing them to be flushed out so the body doesn’t reabsorb them. It’s made from a variety of sources, but when used for natural healing, it’s important to select activated charcoal made from coconut shells or other natural sources.
Putting charcoal in your hair and on your face might not seem glamorous, but it’s proven to have many health and beauty benefits when used safely and properly.
Activated charcoal is not what’s used for grilling’though it is a medical grade version of what’s used in air filtration systems. Activated charcoal is administered in hospitals as emergency treatment for poisoning; as chemicals bind to it, it can help remove them from the body. These days, people are using food grade activated charcoal internally to detox, in supplements and juices; it’s even being used to whiten teeth. What does this have to do with glowing skin and deep cleaned hair? Read on and find out.
Here are the best ways to use activated charcoal for the health of your skin and hair.
1. Make pores smaller and cleaner
Throughout the day, toxins from the world around us clog our pores. When your pores aren’t clear, neither is your complexion. Activated charcoal’when used in a face mask‘binds to and helps pull the dirt out of your pores, making them less visible (it’s the oil and dirt that makes them appear bigger). This leaves your face feeling fresh. (Use it with an exfoliating scrub to get the dead skin off and experience an even deeper clean.)
2. Take care of oily skin
Oily skin? Activated charcoal may be just the ingredient you need to balance things out. Used in a cleanser or mask, activated charcoal can pull the unwanted excess oils from your skin, leaving it smooth. You’ll want to do this sparingly’once or twice per week at the most’so that you don’t over-dry your skin. If you already have dry skin, best to steer clear of it for this use, as you don’t want to dry it out even more.
3. Treat acne
Depending on the specifics of your acne’how severe it is, what’s causing it and what else is going on’activated charcoal may be able to help. In soap form, it’s slightly gritty, which might provide just the gentle exfoliating you need. It will also absorb oils and toxins on and below the skin. You can use it as a spot treatment if you don’t want to use it on your whole face’just think of it as a mini mask for your blemish.
4. Deep clean your skin
Send your chemical-ridden deep-cleaners on a little vacation. You can find cleansers that contain activated charcoal in bars or bottles. It’s important that you don’t use these daily, as you don’t want to soak up the healthy oils and moisture your skin needs. Check out the other ingredients if you’re buying a liquid cleanser’some are designed to neutralize the acidity in your skin, others have deodorizing properties; some can even double as shaving cream. Buy the product that best suits your personal combination of needs and follow the directions on the bottle.
5. Soothe and heal bites, cuts and skin irritations
Whether you were stung by a bee or had a cut from the kitchen that’s wound up infected, activated charcoal can help speed the healing and relieve the symptoms. For minor skin ailments’including insect bites, stings, cuts, scrapes and minor infections’activated charcoal can be applied topically. The activated charcoal, when applied as a paste, helps absorb venom and infection. It will also bring down swelling and lessen pain. To make the paste: slowly add water to a bit of activated charcoal powder and mix until it is a spreadable consistency.
6. Rid your hair of toxins
Activated charcoal, when used on your hair, can pull out oil, dirt and toxins’just like it does for your skin. You can find regular and dry shampoos that contain activated charcoal. If you have very light hair, you won’t want to use the dry shampoo, as it may stain. In any case, try a test patch before using it on all of your hair at once. If you want to try activated charcoal on your hair, but aren’t sure you want to buy a bottle of a pre-made product just yet, you can make your own as you go. Just empty a capsule’or add a teaspoon’of activated charcoal to your regular shampoo and use as you normally would. The only thing you may need to switch up would be adding an extra since to your routine to get the colour fully out. The advantage to buying activated charcoal in powder or tablets is that it’s multi-purpose.
7. Add volume to your hair
When your hair feels weighted down it’s usually not only a feeling. If you’re carrying around enough dirt, your hair will start to sag and regular shampooing may not be getting it all out. Regular shampoos remove surface dirt, but activated charcoal will pull out even more. The other difference, and this is big, is that activated charcoal isn’t going to leave the residue regular shampoos will, so your hair will feel lighter and have more volume.
8. Remedy scalp conditions
Dandruff, redness, oily and itchy scalps may be relieved with activated charcoal. You can use it as a scalp treatment before you shampoo or can be mixed in with your shampoo. The activated charcoal will work on your scalp the way it does on your skin and hair: pulling out toxins and purifying. It’s unclear how deep into the hair follicle is being cleaned, but the results should be noticeable.  |
| Activated Carbon |
SHEA BUTTER
Shea butter comes from the nut of the karite shea tree that is indigenous to Africa. Raw, unrefined shea butter contains vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A and E, as well as essential fatty acids. It has a creamy color and a very distinct smell. It has been used for centuries for its moisturizing, anti-inflammatory and antiaging properties.
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| Shea Beurre |
Shea butter has the ability to soothe, hydrate and balance your skin. It is used as a moisturizer for dry skin and eczema, as a dry scalp treatment, for chapped lips and to help soften cracked dry skin on heels, elbows and knees. It is important, according to the American Shea Butter Institute, to make sure unrefined shea butter is used. Raw shea butter maintains its therapeutic qualities and will keep your skin moist and supple, whereas refined, processed shea butter loses almost all of its healing properties. Dr. Robyn Tisdale Scott, a clinical pharmacist, concurs with the American Shea Butter Institute, supporting the claim that unrefined shea butter reverses dry skin in about three days.
Shea butter has natural anti-inflammatory properties that have been known to heal scrapes, cuts and burns; relieve sunburn and rashes; take the sting out of insect bites; and ease the pain from muscle fatigue and arthritis. A study published in a 2010 issue of the "Journal of Oleo Science" by Toshihiro Akihisa and colleagues found that shea fat has significant anti-inflammatory properties. The study showed a remarkable reduction of inflammation in mice suffering from edema. After being given shea fat compounds, the inflammation was reduced by over 45 percent. Another study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology by the Department of Pharmacology at the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos concluded that shea butter is an effective nasal decongestant. Participants were given two to four applications of shea butter in the nasal cavity, and within just 12 to 24 hours they showed no signs of inflammation, congestion or nasal damage.
SEAWEED SOAP
Seaweed soap cleans the body as traditional soaps do, plus it exfoliates the skin. Gritty bits of seaweed within the soap remove dead cells on the skin. This reveals the newer skin beneath, helps unclog pores and reduces acne breakouts. The exfoliation encourages blood circulation around the skin, resulting in a rejuvenated appearance.
Even though it exfoliates, seaweed soap does not result in dry skin. In general, seaweed soap is all natural, containing none of the man-made chemicals in other soaps that can cause allergic reactions in some users.
Seaweed contains several beneficial minerals and vitamins that may nourish the skin during the exfoliation process, leaving the skin healthy looking and toned. These include vitamins A1, B2, B6, B12, and minerals like potassium, calcium, iron and zinc.
Most soap is made with animal fat that reacts with a lye solution to create a cleaning compound. Seaweed soap is not made with animal fat; it is made by blending vegetable oil fats with seaweed. This can make seaweed soap a good choice for people who prefer not to use animal products or complex chemicals.
While there are claims that seaweed soap actually results in fat loss, there is little scientific data backing that claim up. However, websites like Seaweed Skin Care note that seaweed soap may reduce cellulite and reduce stretch marks, but minimally, and only after extended use.
CHARCOAL SOAP
Charcoal has gained a lot of attention lately as a buzzy ingredient in skin care. Our bar is made with a special type of activated charcoal powder called Binchotan that comes from Japanese Ubame oak. Created through a rapid heating and cooling process, it has increased adhesion properties and thoroughly cleanses by acting like a magnet to draw out impurities.
The fear with any deeply cleansing and detoxifying product is that it can leave your skin parched. Although charcoal and witch hazel help absorb excess oil, our formula helps maintain moisture thanks to hydrating organic coconut and sunflower seed oils.
Antioxidant-rich green tea extract and witch hazel work to refine pores and balance skin, so it’s perfect for those with combination skin. These ingredients help give you a clearer, healthier-looking complexion, and who doesn’t want that?
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| Seaweed & Charcoal Soap |