Unusual cosmetics What can be used for activated carbon in cosmetics?

"Black cosmetics": What is supposed to cause activated carbon in cosmetics?
In various cosmetic products activated carbon or volcanic stone is included. Among other things, the "black cosmetics" should be good for cleansing the skin "pore-deep". However, the magazine "Öko-Test" found in an investigation that some products contained questionable ingredients.
Why is activated carbon included in cosmetic products?
Activated carbon is included in some cosmetic products such as masks or toothpaste. Many consumers are wondering why this ingredient is added and what activated carbon is actually? As experts explain in the magazine "Öko-Test" (issue 1/2016), it is a form of coal obtained by heating wood or other organic substances under exclusion of air. It is activated by reaction with chemicals or gases. In a message from the news agency dpa it says that the special property of activated carbon is that it has a high adsorption capacity, ie can bind substances themselves. This adsorbing effect is one of the reasons why it is used in cosmetics, for example, to bind dirt and excess sebum. According to "eco-test" so far, however, has not been sufficiently demonstrated whether activated carbon in cosmetics actually act as desired.

What is the effect of activated carbon in cosmetics? Image: Rido - fotolia

Elimination of drug residues
Activated carbon is not only found in cosmetics. It has long been used in medical devices, for example, to bind toxins in the gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, the coal is used as filter material in aeration and water treatment plants. In Berlin, activated carbon has also been used to bind drug residues in the water and eliminate it. Again, the adsorbing effect of the substance played an essential role.

Defective ingredients found
"Öko-Test" has currently tested 15 products with activated carbon. Some of them contained "questionable ingredients". According to the APA news agency, more than half of these contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). "Some of these are proven to be carcinogenic, others are under urgent suspicion of cancer," said the testers. Such substances formed in combustion processes, for example in the production of coal. "PAHs such as naphthalene are prohibited by the EU Cosmetics Regulation. Exactly of this pollutant, however, can sometimes be found in the products several hundred micrograms ", reported" eco-test ". The fact that skin creams and care products can potentially contain harmful substances has unfortunately not been discovered for the first time. For example, last year's Stiftung Warentest had warned against carcinogenic substances in cosmetics. (Ad)