Farmgirl Beauty Secret #64: Using charcoal supplement as a detoxifying scalp treatment. ~ Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™
Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets

2/9/10

Farmgirl Beauty Secret #64: Using charcoal supplement as a detoxifying scalp treatment.

For those who purchased the Activated Charcoal supplement recommended in Farmgirl Beauty Secret #61, another great way to take advantage of this clarifying and detoxifying supplement is to use it as a scalp treatment! If you have oily, irritated or dandruff-prone scalp, Activated Charcoal is a godsend. Simply open capsule by pulling the 2 ends of capsule apart and pour content on dry scalp. Massage the charcoal powder into scalp and leave on for atleast 10 minutes (or for as long as you can withstand it. It’s not uncomfortable, your scalp just looks black!). Shampoo and condition as usual. Whenever I do this treatment, I am left with squeaky clean hair and AWESOME volume at the roots. It’s also oddly satisfying to see the charcoal tint rinse out of my hair and down the drain. Those with dark hair can also use charcoal powder as a dry shampoo when you massage a tiny bit onto scalp and brush hair to distribute. For those with light hair colors who are using this as a pre-shampoo scalp treatment, start by using only a portion of the capsule to make sure the residue isn't so intensive that it darkens your hair (any residue you see is temporary, which can be removed by a more thorough cleansing/conditioning process).

I got inspiration for this when I was given a sample of an expensive Japanese charcoal shampoo. While it did contain “charcoal extract” and I enjoyed the sample, the charcoal ingredient wasn’t particularly high on the ingredient list and they added iron oxides to give the shampoo that dramatic, glossy black shade (this tells me they skimped on the charcoal). By using the Activated Charcoal supplement, the cleansing and volumizing effect was dramatically increased, and at a fraction of the cost to boot! This treatment also turns any shampoo into a clarifying shampoo, so there’s one less bottle in the shower to clutter space.



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13 comments:

Monika @ RocailleWrites said...

Brilliant idea, as always! I have to try it sometime, I could definitely use some deep cleansing at the roots :) xxx

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Hi Rocaille!

Thank you so much! My hair gets squeaky clean when I do this, no more gradual build-ups with clarifying shampoos :D Don't you just hate that gradual dullness you get with clarifying shampoos sometimes?

Farmgirl

Tanveer said...

So Cool! What a lovely idea :D

I saw a charcoal shampoo myself last week but didn't pick it up coz charcoal was listed way low on the ingredient list.

Thks :D :D

Anonymous said...

I should try this.

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Hi ladies!

Let me know how it works out for you :D

Farmgirl

Trish said...

I bought this the last time you recomended it so I tried it on my scalp tonight. omg my hair hasn't felt this clean in a long time (ha that sounds funny but you know what i mean). thankyou!! ps how often can i do this?

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Hi Trish,

:D I know what you mean, even clarifying shampoos start feeling dull and grimey after repeated usage! This leaves hair truly clean. I'd recommend using it once a week to twice a month. It's quite potent so I don't use it more than twice a week. Hope that helps!

Farmgirl

The Beautyzine said...

This sounds great!
I have an oily scalp that gets itchy from to time. I will try this out sometime and see how it works out for me.

Anonymous said...

Do you know if charcoal can be used for color treated hair?

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Hi there!

You know, it may be so cleansing that it may end up being color-stripping. I do not know for certain as I haven't colored my hair in a while. Please let me know if it works ok for your hair, I'd love to know if color-treated hair have luck with this :)

Farmgirl

Anonymous said...

Well, I tried it, and yes, it does strip color.

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Hi there,

Thank you so much for reporting back. That's so unfortunate that it strips color. I think that's why I gave up on coloring my hair, all my favorite shampoos are very purifying so they end up taking much of the color.

Farmgirl

*~kAy~* said...

I used to take some sort of charcoal pills and they were for detoxing or getting rid of toxins inside your body somehow :P
i didn't know it had other uses as well! :P
I could always use a bit more volume :P