The charcoal used in beauty products is activated, meaning it has been heated or treated to make its absorptive powers more intense. This is done by increasing the surface area through various chemical processes. How Is Activated Charcoal Made? While there are many ways to do this, here’s one to give you a basic idea. If you’ve got some regular charcoal, first powder it into a fine powder. Then take one part of calcium chloride to three parts water, and mix well. Make a paste with your charcoal, adding till you get the right consistency. Spread the paste on a thin, flat surface, then let it dry. Once it dries, rinse it with clean water and bake in the oven at 225 F for 30 minutes. You have activated charcoal! Of course, this is a simple procedure that we’ve broken it down into! For good quality activated charcoal, it is always better to purchase it from outside, from a reputed brand. also read In Fast forward working life here is quick Homemade Beauty Face mask recipe What Are The Benefits Of Activated Charcoal When Used As Face Mask? Activated charcoal has a multitude of benefits across the health and beauty industry, and has been used for decades now at homes, hospitals and salons alike to treat a number of ills. As a face mask, it imparts visible benefits, ensuring a glowing and healthy skin always. Let’s take a look at what you can achieve by applying activated charcoal on your face! Charcoal Face Masks Absorb Toxins From The Skin Perhaps the most touted benefit of a charcoal face mask is the fact that it is the best detoxifying agent available in the market for your skin! Through the day, various factors contribute to toxins building up under the skin. These include pollution, too much exposure to sunlight, environmental factors, the vagaries of weather, lifestyle-related factors like diet, stress and sleep patterns, chemical products applied on the skin, and so on and so forth. Over time, even if you cleanse, tone and moisturise your face and neck well, these toxins build up under the epidermis and could cause various skin and health-related problems. To pull out the toxins completely from under the skin, a face mask with activated charcoal is the ideal solution. Because it has extra absorptive powers, thanks to its increased surface area, it tends to absorb more dirt, grime and other harmful matter that has lodged itself inside the skin. Poisonous substances, chemicals, and even drugs within the system, can be bound to activated charcoal and removed from the skin. Once these toxins leave your skin, your skin is left glowing and radiant; it also helps in preventing premature ageing from oxidising agents, thereby making the skin more supple. You Can Reduce Or Close Open Pores With Charcoal Face Mask Open pores are quite the bane of everyone’s bad skin days since they look extremely unseemly. Activated charcoal, when used in a face mask, helps reduce, or in some cases even close open pores. How does it do this? Open pores appear so because they have dirt, grime and pollution lodged within them. When activated charcoal is applied on your face, it sucks out all of these, and the reduction of all the impurities within them finally results in smaller pores. Over time, you will find that some pores will close entirely, and you’ll be left with smooth, even-toned skin. also read Face scrub for skin brightening and Toning to improve your complexion