Active charcoal fascinates me. Why isn't anyone using it as frequently as clays? It is so much more porous and non-reactive. Just 1 gram of activated carbon, or activated charcoal, has absorbing surface of 500 square metres – for comparison, a tennis court is about 260 m² (thanks, Wikipedia!). In olden times, activated charcoal was frequently used for all sorts of intoxications and bowel disorders, and many people swear charcoal is an ultimate hangover remedy. It's cheap and widely available. And best of all, it has no traces of aluminum, my cosmetic enemy du jour. Read more of this post