Charcoal has been used for hundreds of years to soothe your stomach, lower cholesterol levels and (apparently) alleviate hangover symptoms. Its latest benefit? To cleanse your face like never before.

I often describe this cleanser as a "plunger for your face," and I mean that quite literally: It gets deep into my pores to remove the dirt and grime from my skin thanks to the activated charcoal ...

Charcoal is a natural, effective, and gentle way to detoxify and purify your skin. Give it a try and say goodbye to dull, congested skin.

And after doing a big dig through her magazine's beauty closet, a friend of mine passed along Carbon Theory's Charcoal and Tea Tree Oil Breakout Control Facial Exfoliating Scrub. I was super keen ...