Some years ago I bought a bottle of activated charcoal to use in a DIY face mask recipe. I used a spoonful or two, enjoyed the face mask and forgot about the remainder of the bottle.
My next activated charcoal purchase was in a toothpaste from Mountain People’s Co-op — I used it for awhile and enjoyed it.
After using these two products, I began to notice an increase in popularity of this substance.
Recently I bought sticks of activated charcoal to keep in my water pitcher as an immersive filter.
Immersing chunks of activated charcoal into a pitcher of water makes the water taste great — and I especially appreciated this zero-waste alternative to plastic water filter cartridges I have on the water tap.
In my quest for reducing plastic, I also switched to tooth powder instead of paste. The powder texture took some getting used to, but after finishing the first jar I was ready to buy a second. This time I went for tooth powder with activated charcoal.
After using it for some time I heard that charcoal was abrasive, and could scratch teeth. So I went online to find answers.
According to an article in the Pharmaceutical Journal written by a Kings College professor, activated charcoal toothpaste is not abrasive — it is absorbent.
Other sources agreed. A contradictory source I found referenced an article by a dental surgeon who said charcoal is highly abrasive and can cause tooth yellowing and sensitivity. In my own use of activated charcoal toothpaste I have not noticed any increase in tooth sensitivity and I’ve actually noticed a little bit of whitening. So I feel safe in continuing use for now.
After reading about activated charcoal in toothpaste, I backed up a little to answer another question I had: what exactly is activated charcoal?
Activated charcoal is the residue of carbon-rich material such as wood or coconut shells burned at very high temperatures and then “activated” by charring with gases or salts to remove previously absorbed substances.
The process opens up the pores in the charcoal providing the absorbent material with an enormous amount of surface area. A paper published in the British Pharmacological Society Journal (also available on the NIH database) stated that 50 grams of activated charcoal has a surface area more than 17 times that of a football field.
In addition to use in cosmetics and toothpaste, activated charcoal is sold as a dietary supplement — but I couldn’t find much data on the effects of ingesting activated charcoal regularly or at what doses.
Internal use of activated charcoal in single doses is a common medical practice when treating types of accidental poisoning and drug overdoses. As the charcoal goes through a person’s digestive system, it binds with the poisonous chemicals and can be flushed out through the digestive system (from my understanding).
Two important things to note: because of its ability to absorb many substances, if you plan to take it internally be aware that activated charcoal may reduce the efficacy of any medicine you are taking.
The other important note is that activated charcoal is not the same as grill charcoal. Do not try to use them interchangeably.
Overall I find activated charcoal to be an interesting substance. I think I will hold off on drinking or eating any until I can find some better info about its potential short and long term effects, but I plan to keep using in skin products, toothpaste and as a water filter.
