What are the Benefits of Charcoal?

Charcoal is a popular ingredient in beauty and self-care right now, and for good reason—this naturally scrubby powder is a great cleanser for skin, teeth and more.

Unlike the briquettes you use in a barbecue, the charcoal used in personal care products is ground down until it’s super fine. This light and airy texture makes it absorbent and perfect for mattifying skin and removing stains from teeth. Made from a blend of oak, ash, hazel, and chestnut wood, our charcoal is an important component in some of our cleansers, toothpaste tabs, and deodorants.

Which Lush products contain charcoal?

Dark Angels Face And Body Cleanser

For a deep-down clean that’ll leave your skin smooth, soft and matte, there’s Dark Angels. With a blend of Rhassoul mud and powdered charcoal, this gentle scrubber is also studded with grains of black sugar to polish dry, flaky skin. Use it as a cleanser or build up a paste with water and leave it on as a mask for 10-15 minutes. However you choose to use it, after you’ve rinsed yourself clean, your skin will feel silky thanks to hydrating avocado oil.

Charcoal Facial Soap

If you prefer a little more lather, check out Charcoal Facial Soap. Made with a palm-free soap base filled with coconut and rapeseed oils, this deep-cleansing facial soap suds up beautifully but still leaves skin soft. As you wash, tiny bits of charcoal gently exfoliate and remove excess oil. Keen noses will recognize a subtle anise-y scent from the licorice decoction we add for to moisturize and clarify. Because Charcoal is so cleansing, we’ve also included rosewood and sandalwood oils to soothe and hydrate the skin—leaving it clear and balanced.

Boom! Toothpaste Tabs

Beauty bloggers and vloggers have been praising charcoal’s ability to whiten teeth for years. We’ve harnessed that beloved polishing powder in Boom!. This cola-flavored toothpaste is a solid choice packed full of baking soda, powdered charcoal and kaolin clay to polish teeth clean and get them shining bright.

Where do we get our charcoal?

A lot of the charcoal used in beauty products is derived from clear-cut hardwood forests. But we source charcoal from The Dorset Charcoal Company in the UK, part of a sustainable woodland management system. To ensure the biggest trees grow tall and straight, Dorset thins the forest and then transforms the felled trees into charcoal through an expert process of burning and drying. Thinning also gives younger trees and other plants that grow beneath the forest’s canopy more light. And more light means more plants, insects, birds, and animals. This woodland biodiversity is vital to forest ecosystems and the survival of various species.

Learn more about our charcoal-infused products by visiting your local Lush shop or by contacting our Customer Care team.