Activated charcoal

Activated charcoal (INCI: Charcoal Powder; sometimes listed as Carbon Black when it acts as a colourant) is carbon processed to create a very large, porous surface area. In skincare it turns up in wash-off masks, cleansing bars, cleansing balms and pore strips, usually alongside clays such as kaolin or bentonite.

The mechanism is adsorption: oil and loose surface debris stick to that porous surface and rinse away with the product. On oily skin the result can feel matte and freshly cleansed. What it does not do is draw out toxins or empty a pore from the inside — a rinse-off product sits on skin only briefly, and a comedone is a hardened plug of sebum and keratin rather than a loose particle waiting to be lifted.

Charcoal formulas are usually well tolerated, but the clays and surfactants beside them can be drying if used daily on skin that is already dry or sensitive. If blackheads are a persistent concern, ingredients that work inside the pore — salicylic acid or a retinoid, for example — matter far more than the colour of the product.