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Morihata Binchotan Charcoal Facial Cleansing Mask x Skincare Product Review

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.

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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!

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Burt’s Bees Brightening Dark Spot Corrector x Review

When I purchased the Burt’s Bees Brightening Dark Spot Corrector with Daisy Extract I was sold on the promises marketed on the packaging. Its a huge goal of mine to fade out the dark spots and so called freckles on my cheeks that were caused from too much sun exposure. If you have sun damage, you know how difficult and annoying it is to apply a full face of foundation because the freckles will easily give your attempts away which sucks! Sun damage causes age spots by the UV rays, hyperpigmentation and collagen damage. For me, sun spots are tough to tackle, so this post is a review of my first impressions on this $20.00 drugstore product.

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The packaging is cute with a daisy printed on the center of the box followed by a yellow, gray and red packaging color palette. The wholesomeness of its appearance shows the honesty of the company’s 100% natural and gentle ingredients (which I love). If you would search on google ways to remove sun spots, one of the options is to bleach your skin which honesty seems unnatural and more damaging long term then sun damage.

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Although it took a while to see some difference on the surface of my skin, there were a few qualities of the product that I didn’t enjoy. If you’ve tried this product before, let me know about your experience in the comments below…

Personally, I hated the smell because it was a bit bitter and like sour tea. Although I didn’t expect it to have a lot of fragrance, in my mind I envisioned a subtle floral scent or nothing at all. The smell was out of left field in a strong bad way and its was the main reason why I wasn’t using it every single night and morning like the directions suggested.

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During the times I did use it, the liquid would sometimes come out clear without any traces or hints of some color even after I would shake it. It was weird. But then there were times that it looked slightly brown. Then as I got close to finishing the bottle, the color of the liquid was brown… brown? whether that was normal or not, it seemed a bit odd. After seeing that, I can’t help but feel as if I didn’t get any product throughout the time that I used it especially since it was a clear liquid that smelled bad.

From afar, I can’t notice most of my dark spots except for the ones that are in ackward places on my face which sucks. My old job required me to drive a lot and most of the time I would forget to put on sunscreen so I got more damage on one side of my face then the other. To completely thank this product is hard because for most of the year it was winter and now that its summer, I’ve been putting on sunscreen even to go to the corner store.

One thing I should have done to really monitor the product performance was to take before and after pictures. Now I know for next time but weather or not I’ll be spending 20$ for another 1 oz bottle… I don’t think so.

Thank you so much for checking out my blog! Have you had a similar experience before with this product? Whats your summer beauty must haves? Let me know in the comments below and have a blessed day!