Activated charcoal has been blowing up in the beauty industry, from toothpaste to face masks. But did you know that it could actually benefit your hair as well? It’s true!
Activated charcoal is the magic active ingredient that can work wonders for your hair goals. It’s a fine black powder that is made from processing bone char, coconut shells, peat, petroleum coke, coal, olive pits, or sawdust at temperatures high enough to change its internal structure.
This process creates a product that is very porous and is able to trap toxins from the skin and hair! But how does this quality translate into better hair? Read on to learn more about the top 6 benefits of activated charcoal for hair.
Clarifying
Believe it or not, but cleansing shampoos can be leaving more than they’re removing from your scalp. That’s because many hair products actually leave stuff behind when they remove dirt and oil from your scalp. So unless you’re already clarifying your hair on a weekly basis with an activated charcoal shampoo or apple cider vinegar shampoo, odds are that you have product build-up and residue on your hair that’s weighing it down.
Since activated charcoal is purely a natural substance, its porous nature is able to soak up all the residue left behind in your hair to effectively clarify it of dirt and grime.
Detoxifying
A complete deep clean of your scalp is needed to cleanse residue and product build-up that’s clogging your pores and impeding healthy hair growth. We all need a good detox every now and then -- and your hair is no different! That’s why you need to use a detoxifying ingredient like activated charcoal about once a week to keep your scalp clean and healthy.
Volumizing
Removing all these impurities that have been weighing down your hair will literally allow it to bounce back to life. Especially for thinner strands, it is harder to hide the greasy scalp that occurs from buildup. By detoxing these impurities, your hair will be lighter and more voluminous. So instead of using a bunch of hair products or heat styling methods to get more volume in your hair, try activated charcoal as an easy and natural fix.
Hair Growth
If you’re on a hair growth journey but still experiencing hair loss or slow growth, we have the solution for you. Instead of shelling out a ton of money for extensions, try out activated charcoal for your hair instead! If your hair isn’t growing, it could be because you have too much buildup on your scalp that is blocking the roots of your hair and preventing healthy hair growth. Activated charcoal is able to cleanse your scalp of dust, dirt, oil, sebum, and product build-up that then allows your hair to grow like never before.
Scalp Soothing
The uncontrollable need to scratch a dry, itchy, and irritated scalp can take over your day. Your fingertips could be spreading more bacteria to your scalp, especially if the scratches are deep enough to break the skin. It can quickly become painful if you don’t deal with the issue quickly. In fact, prolonged and intense scratching can actually cause your hair to fall out. Obviously, this is a worst-case scenario and is not something you want to happen. Thankfully, charcoal can be used to absorb the impurities that may been causing this scalp irritation, so that you can stop itching and get back to living your best life.
Flake Fighting
Having white flakes all over your clothes and bedsheets, plus the itchiness that comes along with it can be irritating and painful. There are a lot of different ways that you can address flakes, but activated charcoal is one you might not have considered before. The porous nature of activated charcoal is able to soak up the impurities that are causing the irritated flakiness and soothe your scalp in the process -- not just getting rid of flakes in the short-term but keeping it away for the long-term as well.
How to Use Activated Charcoal for Hair Growth
If you want to use activated charcoal in your hair to start obtaining these amazing benefits, there are a few different ways that you can go about doing this.
The first way involves using activated charcoal as a hair mask of sorts and applying it to your scalp and hair. Just combine a bit of activated charcoal with coconut oil and leave it on your hair for about 20 minutes before washing it out by shampooing and conditioning like usual.
On the other hand, you can actually add in a little bit of activated charcoal into your shampoo bottle and shake it up to get the benefits that way. However, it’s important to remember that activated charcoal can be pretty messy and will stain if you’re not careful -- this is especially true if you have lighter-colored hair. So make sure to rinse thoroughly to fully remove the product from your hair and prevent staining and darkening.
If you’re not a big fan of using the messy powdery activated charcoal -- don’t fret! In fact, there are hair care products out there that are specially formulated to have all the benefits of charcoal without any of the mess or hassle. WOW Skin Science’s Activated Charcoal & Keratin Shampoo, for example, combines the detoxifying and clarifying properties of charcoal with the strengthening and smoothing properties of keratin for an amazing product that can really transform your hair. It also features natural hydration boosters like sweet almond oil, argan oil, jojoba oil, and aloe vera extract to nourish and protect your strands.
Even though this article covered the top six benefits of activated charcoal for hair, if you combine activated charcoal with other beneficial ingredients like keratin and essential oils, the benefits are really endless.
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WOW Skin Science only creates the best products from natural ingredients like these while also avoiding potentially harmful chemicals and synthetic ingredients like sulfates, parabens, silicones, and salts.
The end result is natural yet effective products that are totally safe yet still powerful! So before you go out and buy the first activated charcoal product you see at the store, be sure to do some additional research to make sure that what you’re buying is and works as advertised.
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