I have pretty big pores... almost offensive. Well, they are offensive to me because how dare they be visible! So when I came across this Daiso Japan Natural Pack Charcoal Peel Off Mask, which I am going to call the charcoal mask going forward, I was intrigued.

Before I get into this I want to show you all the product, directions, and ingredients.

Daiso Japan Natural Pack Charcoal Peel Off Mask

Daiso Japan Natural Pack Charcoal Peel Off Mask

Daiso Japan Natural Pack Charcoal Peel Off Mask

Directions

Ingredients

Daiso Japan Natural Pack Charcoal Peel Off Mask

Daiso Japan Natural Pack Charcoal Peel Off Mask

I have been seeing charcoal in a lot of skincare items over the last few months. It seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. All of these brands are all of a sudden including charcoal in their facial products. I did a quick google search and I did see some reviews from 2013 on charcoal masks and facial cleaners. However, I could not find one legitimate web page, scientific article, educational report or paper on the positive effects of charcoal on the skin. It's also known as activated charcoal or activated carbon. I checked WebMD, Wikipedia, drugs.com, and even the FDA. Nowhere on their "activated charcoal" profile pages does it list charcoal as a use for skincare, not even as insufficient evidence. 

I know sometimes things like that aren't listed for pharmaceutical profitability reasons. Sometimes I tend to say hey, I'll try it anyway, but I am very surprised I could find nothing saying it's possible charcoal, or activated charcoal, can be used in any way on the skin for any reason.

So with all that said, I'm a big fan of "natural" skin care and home remedies. I tried this product anyway and I really didn't see any difference in the amount of oil my face, rather my nose, produces. I also did not see any difference in the size of my pores. I thought it would be similar to Biore strips, which I'm not a fan of, but it wasn't. It applied pretty evenly and I was able to peel it off evenly. I just don't think anything else came off with it. 

Perhaps I will use this on and off randomly, but I don't see it becoming a part of my skincare regimen. There are plenty of testimonials on charcoal masks so I don't doubt that there is some advantage to using charcoal masks, but this particular product was ineffective for me. 

-XX