If I’m being completely honest with you…

I’m a complete sucker for skincare: I L O V E IT | N E E D IT | I W A N T .. everything that’ll help my skin stay healthy and fresh! 

I’m very careful with the amount of makeup I put on my face because I’m deathly afraid of damaging my skin. Since I’m still getting the hang of what products look good and work with my skin type compared to others, I’ve been very selective on what I purchase. I don’t know if its only me that feels this way but sometimes wearing too much makeup changes the biology of the surface of my skin. Then I feel like I need to try on other products to restore what was then lost… is it just me that feels this way? what do you think?

Recently (but not so recently) I rediscovered the Morihata Binchotan Activated Charcoal Cleansing Mask because it was stored away somewhere in my bathroom. I started to wonder where had I purchased this item from cause I don’t recall buying it. Neither do I want you to believe that this post is sponsored or an ad, nope, just a simple central American Latina Spanish mami blogger living in the big city who wants to share her opinions on this cleansing mask… so here we go!

As I squeezed some product onto my fingers, I was surprised to feel how watery and light-weight the texture felt between my fingers. The texture was not like my Soap & Glory Vitamin C Facial Wash which is thick and sticky. The charcoal cleansing mask has no fragrance or odd odor, no hints of natural or herbal ascents, which is great because sometimes fragrances in skincare can get very irritating to sniff. As I applied it throughout my face, it applied unevenly because of the watery texture. I kept on pumping more and more of the product out to get an evenly distributed layer to cover my entire face. It did get a little messy, which goes to show you how watery the product truly is and let me just warn you that it will definitely stain light colored sinks if it is not rinsed away.

As I was waiting the recommended 10-15 minutes until it was time to rinse off the product, at first it felt very cool on the surface of my skin. I did get a mild, tingly sensation as the product was hardening. It felt nice because once the mask become stiff, it was warm. As soon as I rinsed my face with lukewarm water, my face felt completely rejuvenated and there is possibly no words to describe that feeling unless you’ve personally experienced it. My face felt tightened and even a little brighter while my pores looked smaller. Since I had to rinse off the excess, I didn’t get a chance to analyze if there were any blackheads or white heads removed which would have been nice to see (yet completely gross yet sort of satisfying… you feel me? lol) I really enjoyed the experience and I’m planning to continue using it at least once a week to get the full benefits! Some of the benefits of activate charcoal are;

1. drawing out bacteria, poisons, chemicals, dirt and other micro-particles from the surface of the skin
2. helping to achieve flawless complexion
3. fighting acne
4. known to absorb thousands of times it own mass in harmful substance

Charcoal is seemingly everywhere, especially in products for your skin. If you scan the shelves of any drugstore, you might find a few products with charcoal printed boldly on the packaging as its main ingredient. Although the packaging for the Morihata Binchotan Activated Charcoal Cleansing Mask is very unimpressive with its plain cardboard like packaging and white labels, the product is well worth the splurge because of the novelty in the ‘activate charcoal’ ingredient. Binchotan charcoal is regarded as the purest and most effective type of activated charcoal deriving from the ancient kilns of Japan. And if your wondering ‘what the heck are ancient kilns of Japan?’ I’m right there with you friend because, essentially, they are ovens made from big rocks that were used during ancient times in Japan.

Thanks for reading along and let me know in the comments below if you’ve personally tried this product or something similar. Be sure to check out my previous blog post!

For more daily random updates, you can follow me on instagram or twitter!