It’s getting chilly, and my hands are starting to feel rough and dry with the cooling temperatures. This reminded me that I had posted about my tried-and-true hand cream and lip balm last year (and that I need to get more hand cream). Sure enough, almost to the day, I had talked about skincare.
Around the time of that post, I had discovered a new-to-me face soap. I don’t talk about skincare here much, but it’s sort of a side obsession of mine. My ignorant days of youth in sunny L.A. (baby oil may have been involved while lying out in scorching weather) are now resulting in a lot of hyperpigmentation and I’m prone to acne. Though the worst of my adult acne is mercifully a bygone memory, I still get monthly break-outs and I’m diligent about taking care of my skin. I have yet to find a foundation that doesn’t make my face morph into bubble wrap texture, so I don’t wear any. In fact, I’ve tried a ridiculous number of products and most things don’t work for me.
Recently I noticed that there’s been a lot of hype about charcoal skincare products, and I’m here to add to the chorus of believers. The soap is very black, which was a little off-putting for me. And quite messy, I found out. The first time I used it, I was freaked out by the amount of sooty, black liquid that sloshed around my shower.
I got the Binchotan brand, but I didn’t think it was making much of a difference and assumed I would have to relegate it to my shelf of failed products. After a solid couple of months of using it daily, though, I noticed that my time-of-the-month-zits weren’t quite as angry-looking. And after six months, my break-outs were so minor, they barely counted. I’m sure the green juice was helping too, but it was so lovely not having to deal with copious amounts of salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide.
Then I ran out of the soap about two months ago. It’s kind of pricey so I thought I would just try to find a cheaper facial cleanser. However, shortly after, bulging-pulsating-holy-cow-what-is-that cysts started to erupt on my chin (this made me wonder if my green juice was losing its potency). Not my best look. I went to the fancy schmancy shop where I’d originally purchased the soap nearly a year ago, but they were completely sold out and it was on back order. I was practically bathing in acne ointments at that point and the cysts were getting worse.
So I ordered the Binchotan online (and discovered that there are cheaper charcoal soaps like this one and this one and this one, which I’ll have to try, but for now I have serious brand loyalty. And hey, you can even make your own!). I’ve been religiously cleansing my face with it for about a month and voila, the cysts are almost all gone. And I am a complete convert. I know that skincare is a highly personal thing, and different products work for different people, but I wish I’d known about this years ago! Charcoal is supposed to exfoliate and purify the skin, and I can tell that my pores are smaller after using the soap. Now hyperpigmentation…that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms. Let’s just say sunscreen is now my best friend. Do you have skincare products you swear by? I love to know what other people find helpful — I can talk about this stuff forever.
Hi this is Marit, first: love all the outfits you made recently, but have only little time to comment, buuuuut, scincare is one of my most discussable topics so i have to comment today.
I used cliniques 3-step-program from my 15th birthday until i became pregnant with my firstborn, almost 8 years ago. In this time it simply doesn’t work out anymore for me. i tried many products since then. My scin is really complicated: bone dry at the forehead and cheeks, but i have dimples and marks on my chin and nose like you.
About a year ago i read about OCM in the internet, so i give it a try with a mixture of castor oil and olive/almond/sesame oil. The olive/castor mixture is my favorite by far. You basically use the more castor oil the more oily your skin usually is, sounds counterproductive buts works, bc the oils absorbs the oil in your skinpores.
The method is really simple: you take a small amount (about a tablespoon or little more) of you oil mixtur and apply it with your fingers on your skin. I almost never remove my makeup before, so you can try to skip this step too. Then massage the oilt into yor skin, about a minute or so and give a special intense (but calm) massage to your problem areas. Then use a terry cloth or something similar and soak it with hot water (not hot enough to burn your skin, but not only warm: hot!), wring it out and lay the hot cloth onto your skin for about 20 seconds or until it has body temperature. Repeat this step and then use the damp cloth to remove the makeup, oil and all the rest from your skin. All you have now is beautiful clean, soft and rosy skin.
So maybe you want to give this a try? It takes a few days or weeks but then all the marks, pimples and blackheads were gone. It’s a miracle.
Sending your greetings
marit
Hi Marit! Ooh, I want to try! In the winter months when my skin gets really dry, I think the oil would be very beneficial. Thank you, Marit!
Alas, I too am a rough-skinned and dry-lipped person… and I also swear by the L’Occitane hand cream you mentioned in your older post (which my mum considerately buys me every birthday). When I run out of it I sometimes buy Body Shop hemp cream – the one in the flat, round container – which is also very rich and has a pleasant earthy smell. And since you asked about lip balm (a year ago, but never mind…!), I recommend Dr Bronner’s ‘magic body balm’ which is beeswax and jojoba oil based (I think), and comes in a little flat tin. It’s WAY nicer than vaseline, with a lovely smooth texture and good staying power. I use the Dr Bronner’s chapsticks as well, and they are fantastic.
Sounds like the charcoal soap has had amazing results for you – how fantastic. I’ll look out for it, but it sounds a little scary. On the other hand, it might be the one soap I could safely leave in the shower without my husband using it all up…
I haven’t seen Dr. Bronner’s magic body balm, that sounds amazing! Thanks Marisa! I’ve used their peppermint soap for general cleaning, which I like. L’Occitane is a bit spendy, and I just discovered my local Trader Joe’s carries a similar hand cream with olive, argon oil, and kukui oil versions for a steal so I’ve been trying it out. I actually like the smell even better!
I love skincare, too. Origins makes a charcoal mask that seems pretty nice, though I haven’t tried it myself. I like the L’Occitane hand cream a lot, but my favorite is from Caudalie (who also make great serums). REN makes a really nice, thick cleansing milk that I love to use in the winter. Coconut Oil is amazing for pretty much everything.
I saw that charcoal mask, and was curious about it. I just saw that you had posted a skincare post too, Kelli — great minds…:-) I’ve used REN with mixed results. I have their Mayblossom T-zone cleanser which works pretty well. And Claudalie is a favorite brand of mine! Their Fleur de vigne eau de toilette is my regular scent, but I’ve not tried their hand cream! I have a jar of coconut oil in my pantry, so I’ll definitely give that a try. 🙂
You could not have found a better topic to talk about! I have a love-hate relationship with my skin and skin-care products. Since my youth I think I have tried everything on the planet that promises blemish and akne free skin. (Shall I say I have been obsessed?!) For many years this was such a great concern and I so hoped I would mature out of it. Well, that did not happen… I have found my peace now and the worst is over, healthy food and sleep help a lot. I have exclusively been using natural skin care for many years now and I love Dr. Hauschka (their cleansing lotion, tonic and revital mask are wonderful!) and Weleda. Almond oil and coconut oil are great for my skin (I have overcome my fear of OIL !!! on my face 😉 ) and I only use oils instead of bodylotion. I also tried the above mentioned oil cleansing but did not find it to be the miracle cure. Luckily here in Germany lots of natural skin care products are available and they are not as expensive as they used to be. You soap sounds great. If I can get it here I will give it a try. Of course! 😉 I will stop now, I too, could go on and on!
I’ve heard so many great things about Dr. Hauschka products, but unfortunately the moisturizer I tried caused break outs so I haven’t ventured into her line further. Plus a lot of her products have a rose scent which I’m mysteriously averse to even though I love roses! I LOVE the Weleda skin food when my skin is extra extra dry – works wonders though a bit too greasy for regular use. I like their calendula line too. Almond oil was a bust for me, but now I’m dying to try coconut oil — how much do you use for your face?
I only use a small amount, maybe half the size of a pea? When the texture is hard in the cooler month I just scrape it out of the jar with a spoon, when fluid I just dab my fingertip in lightly. And I only apply it to slightly wet / moist skin (for example after I put on face tonic or for the body right after the shower), that way it is totally absorbed and there is no oily residue left.
And I found white charcoal soap! Also with binchotan charcoal but they use only the white coal! The brand is “Sort of coal” from Denmark.
This is definitely my kind of soap – what a great find, Ute, thank you!
Must try this! Sounds like a great moisturizer. I drink coconut water daily and imagine coconut oil will do wonders!
I had never heard of charcoal soap! I always use handmade soap in the shower as I find the commercial stuff too perfumed and drying. I thought the $8 price tag per bar was steep, but apparently there are more expensive soaps yet! So glad it’s working its magic for you, and how gratifying to find a product you wholly believe in!
It’s highway robbery what some companies charge for soaps! I agree that a lot of commercial skincare is very perfume-y and drying. I loved Cetaphyl (unscented and very mild) for a long time though it stopped feeling like it was effectively cleaning my face. I still like to take a small bottle with me when I travel.
Perhaps my skin knows your skin; or my cysts know your cysts… yucky stuff, all of it. So discouraging too, to be always so aware of your skin. And so difficult to feel confident when you feel like your skin is a battlefield! I think I’ll give this a try — thank you for the suggestion!
The cysts are awful because they’re so painful! Definitely give charcoal a try, I read lots and lots of reviews for various brands and most people seem to have had good luck with controlling acne. The only thing to watch for is if your skin starts feeling too tight after washing. You might want to reduce usage at that point.
I have to try this! Been battling acne since elementary school…so frustrating! I use proactiv but I’d love to use something a bit more natural. Excited to try this out! Thanks for sharing with us.
Proactive didn’t work for me at all. I also tried the Rodan and Fields system for awhile and that was horrible. As was the accutane derivative I used for a very brief time when my adult acne was severe. Boscia, which is a more natural skincare line, was pretty good, but I didn’t like how small the containers were – REN is much more generous in terms of quantity and is a good natural skincare line too. I like that the charcoal bar lasts for a loooong time (I use very little of it and let it sit on my face for about a minute and then massage off).
I get painful cystic acne, too, which was never satisfactorily controlled with any kind of over-the-counter acne medicine, soap, facial treatment, etc. I use topical clindamycin twice daily when I have an outbreak a few times a year. Otherwise, maybe once or twice a week, I swipe around as a prophylactic measure. The only other thing that held the acne at bay was being on birth control in my 20s.
I’ve heard that topical antibiotics can do amazing things, but of course, I’m allergic to antibiotics (can you believe it? I’m a host of maladies!). And I can’t even think of the pill without recalling the traumatizing year when I developed melasma on my upper lip as a result. My mom calls it my “Chaplin” phase…Interestingly, the only time I’ve had perfect skin was when I was pregnant!
Not a comment on skin-care, but my little guy had bad reflux and colic after two weeks of being a sweet, quiet baby, and we gave him a product that had charcoal in it. It was black, and he spit up everywhere so he had this black spit up for a few months, but it worked wonders.
Charcoal rocks! There are supposedly so many health benefits. So glad it helped your little guy!