5 Days Of Activated Charcoal | Try Living With Lucie | Refinery29 - video Dailymotion

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Our lifestyle host, Lucie Fink, does a deep dive into the currently trendy world of activated charcoal. In this week’s social experiment, Lucie takes advantage of 5 different types of charcoal treatments. Press play to see how this multi-use ingredient can change your life!  ABOUT SERIES Try Living With Lucie follows our favorite R29 millennial, Lucie Fink, as she dives headfirst into social experiments — five days at a time. From a week without sugar to full-blown street performing; there is nothing she won't try!   ABOUT REFINERY29  Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life. http://refinery29.com/  RELATED CONTENT 5 Days Of Eating Only Pizza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnrQkORcivA 5 Days Of Living On A $50 Budget https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGAiihQZxpI 2 Weeks Of Not Washing My Hair Challenge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPHP-rEz3B0  SEE MORE REFINERY29 VIDEOS http://refinery29.com/video  SUBSCRIBE TO REFINERY29 Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-r29 For the latest trends and videos, visit: http://refinery29.com Like Refinery29 on Facebook: https://facebook.com/refinery29 Follow Refinery29 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/refinery29 Heart Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/  TALENT Follow Lucie Fink on Instagram: https://instagram.com/luciebfink/  BU Filter Water Bottle: https://buproducts.co.uk/pages/filter-water-bottle

Transcript

00:00I'm Lucy Fink, and this is 5 Days of Activated Charcoal.

00:04Hey guys!

00:05What's up?

00:05Welcome back to our YouTube channel.

00:07If you haven't subscribed to us yet, please subscribe below.

00:10And if you've already subscribed, welcome back.

00:12Before we dive in, give this video a thumbs up, because this week, mwahaha, I'm going over to the dark

00:19side.

00:20Okay, so I'm not really going over to the dark side, but things might get a little dark.

00:25Like stained a deep, deep black.

00:27Ever since I did 5 Days of Natural Remedies, I've wanted to explore more natural health and beauty products,

00:34which led me over to today's episode on activated charcoal.

00:38So what is activated charcoal?

00:40Lesson number one.

00:42It's made from burning a natural source of carbon like wood, peat, or coconut shell.

00:46And unlike the type of charcoal that fuels our barbecue pits and cooks our burgers,

00:51activated charcoal is made with a bit of a different process.

00:55It's slowly dried, heated, and oxidized with carbon dioxide or steam.

01:00This creates tons of tiny pores across its surface, which can then trap toxins and chemicals.

01:06Personally, I have friends and coworkers that use activated charcoal for a whole slew of reasons.

01:11Digestive issues, teeth whitening, beauty care.

01:14But I've also read countless articles saying taking it every single day can lead to vitamin deficiencies

01:19and it can make any medications you're taking, such as birth control pills, less effective.

01:25Eek.

01:25So this week, I'm not going to be taking activated charcoal as a pill,

01:28but I am going to play around with it and see how else I can use it.

01:34According to some bloggers on social media,

01:37the path to whiter teeth involves first turning your mouth pitch black.

01:42Oh my god!

01:44That's so good!

01:45And apparently activated charcoal can remove stains from coffee, tea, and red wine.

01:50I started out with just the regular activated charcoal powder.

01:54I wet a brand new toothbrush and then I dipped it right into the powder

01:58and topped it with a little bit of baking soda and then I just stuck it in my mouth and

02:02started brushing.

02:03Almost immediately, my mouth was black.

02:06It looked like a Sharpie marker had exploded onto my teeth.

02:09But in terms of taste, zero.

02:12No taste.

02:12And I brushed for two whole minutes and then I rinsed it out.

02:15This was not a clean procedure and even though I didn't know it at the time,

02:18I took a really big risk by wearing a white shirt to this party.

02:22But somehow, I made it out without a hitch.

02:25Before I started using these products today,

02:27I took a before picture of my smile.

02:29But I didn't think it made sense to take the after picture

02:32until I've been using this toothpaste for a couple of months at least.

02:36So stay tuned for that on my Instagram account.

02:42Raise your hand if you do not drink enough water.

02:45Hey!

02:46I don't.

02:46Five days of hydration helped me out a lot

02:49because it really got me into the habit of carrying a water bottle with me everywhere

02:52and drinking, drinking, drinking a lot during the course of the day.

02:55But truthfully, something that I rarely think about is filtering my water.

02:59I drink straight from the tap in New York City.

03:01I really hope that's fine.

03:03Enter activated charcoal.

03:05Our new friend for the week.

03:07Activated charcoal filters water through a process called adsorption.

03:11Not absorption.

03:12Adsorption.

03:13Time for a science lesson.

03:15When a material absorbs something, it means that it's adhering to it

03:19by way of a chemical attraction.

03:21And because of the large surface area on activated charcoal,

03:24there are a lot of bonding sites.

03:26So certain impurities and chemicals like chlorine

03:29attach to its surface and then get trapped.

03:32So today, I wanted to try out a few different filtering methods.

03:35The first thing I did was try out these little bamboo activated charcoal sticks

03:39that I found online.

03:40I just dropped a stick into my cup and then drank straight out of the cup.

03:44These filters did not have a brand name and if I'm being completely honest with you,

03:48I don't think I would recommend it.

03:50It looked like it was working in that the water was bubbling and it appeared as if

03:55some sort of adsorption chemical reaction was occurring.

03:59But some bits and pieces of black broke off of the filter and started floating around in the cup.

04:04Ehhh.

04:05So to try something a little bit more legit,

04:07I ordered a very sleek and stylish water bottle from a UK based company called BU.

04:13Here's how these bamboo filters work.

04:14The bamboo stalk is transformed into activated charcoal by being heated up in a kiln.

04:19The heating process opens up pores on the bamboo structure, creating those bonding sites.

04:24This product worked out much better for me than the activated charcoal sticks.

04:28No floaters came out in the water and it even had a little tiny additional filter at the very top

04:33that you snap in so that if there happened to have been any floaters that broke off of the filter,

04:39they would not wind up in your mouth.

04:43Happy Wednesday!

04:45So today is all about incorporating activated charcoal into my skincare routine.

04:49You know that activated charcoal peel off mask that a lot of people have been trying?

04:53You know the one that like rips your skin off when you pull it off?

04:57Yeah.

04:57I didn't want to try that.

04:59Instead, I started my day off with the Dr. Jart Poor Minimalist Sheet Mask.

05:03This is one of the few activated charcoal products that is black itself,

05:07but doesn't actually come off black on your skin.

05:09So it's entirely mess-free.

05:11Applying it to my skin felt really cold and juicy.

05:15It was slimy and it definitely seemed to slip around my face a little bit.

05:18But overall it stayed in place and I left it for 15 to 20 minutes and then peeled it off.

05:23And I so badly wanted to wash my face afterwards because my face was still slimy,

05:28but you're not supposed to do that, you're just supposed to rub in the serum and then let it dry.

05:32And then once all that serum dried, my skin felt really soft.

05:35I also tried out a bamboo charcoal deodorant that I bought on Amazon and it had a really good citrusy

05:41smell.

05:43And thankfully it was not black on my piss.

05:47Then later today when I got home from work, I was inspired to do a DIY activated charcoal mask.

05:52So I found this recipe on Pinterest and I would highly, highly recommend it.

05:56One teaspoon of bentonite clay which removes impurities.

05:59One teaspoon of activated charcoal.

06:01Half a teaspoon of raw honey for soft skin.

06:04Two teaspoons of water.

06:06And one drop of lavender essential oil for relaxation.

06:09Mix that all together.

06:10Next I spread it onto my face using the spoon because I didn't want to get my hands all black.

06:16It felt cold and refreshing and smelled like a little hint of lavender.

06:20The mask hardens on your face in 10 minutes and when you're done just wash it off with water.

06:25Your sink will be a complete mess.

06:28Try to clean as much as you can by hand first before getting a towel involved because you may ruin

06:33your towels.

06:34You may.

06:38Even though I'm avoiding taking activated charcoal as a supplement this week, I did check in with a medical expert

06:44and receive confirmation that although it's not recommended to ingest on a daily basis, that it is in fact safe.

06:51Whew!

06:51That made me feel a lot better because I've personally been seeing activated charcoal things pop up all over the

06:57place recently.

06:58Ice creams, pizzas, lattes, juices.

07:01It seems that everyone these days is jumping on the activated charcoal train.

07:05Except for me because I've never had any of these.

07:08So I've been staring at this powder for days being like, can I swallow you?

07:13I've seen charcoal lemonade being sold at tons of juice shops in New York City, but instead of going out

07:18and buying one, I decided to make my own DIY version at home following a recipe that I found on

07:24Pinterest.

07:25Five cups of filtered water, a half a cup of agave nectar, three quarter cups of fresh squeezed lemon juice,

07:31and then five activated charcoal pills twisted to release the powder out of them.

07:36I stirred it up and then poured myself a glass.

07:38And to be honest, it was really good.

07:40If you had blindfolded me, I would never know that it was any different from regular lemonade.

07:45My only tweak is I would use more fresh lemon and less agave nectar.

07:49Next, I wanted to get out and about and try some of the activated charcoal treats that New York has

07:54to offer.

07:55I went to the Goodsort in Chinatown and started out with their activated charcoal and black sesame latte.

08:01Since the activated charcoal has no taste, they add in the sesame for a little bit of flavor.

08:05And then I had mine made with oat milk.

08:07And it was a delicious latte.

08:09As I was perusing the menu, I noticed that they sold a black waffle.

08:13Activated charcoal is mixed right into the waffle mix, so you have this sort of grayish, blackish batter.

08:19And then once the waffle is cooked, it's topped with a berry salad, maple syrup, and fresh coconut.

08:24It was, by far, the best waffle I've had in a long time.

08:30It's officially the last day of my activated charcoal journey, and I really wanted to stretch the imagination

08:37and try something that's a bit off the beaten path when it comes to how most people are using this

08:41product.

08:42After combing through the internet, I discovered that I could use activated charcoal to make my own eyeliner and mascara.

08:48Both of these were super easy to make and come from products that you might already have at home.

08:52Starting out with the eyeliner, I used half a teaspoon of activated charcoal, two teaspoons of coconut oil, and four

08:58teaspoons of aloe vera gel.

09:00Mix it all together and then pour it into an emptied out eyeliner pot.

09:04When I applied it, the texture was kind of juicy and it had a bit of a grayish hue.

09:08I think that you can probably make this product come out darker by using more activated charcoal and less aloe.

09:14And after I tried it on my face, I had my friend Empress try it too because we wanted to

09:18see what it looked like on a darker skin tone.

09:21And it looked great.

09:22It was definitely liquidy, so I would recommend letting it dry first before you open up your eye.

09:27But if you're not the type of person who's into the jet black eyeliner look and you'd rather something grayish

09:32or a little more subtle,

09:33this look is for you.

09:35Next, I tried the mascara.

09:36I heated up two teaspoons of coconut oil, four teaspoons of aloe vera gel, half a teaspoon of beeswax, and

09:43half a teaspoon of activated charcoal powder.

09:45Threw that all into a saucepan and then mixed it together.

09:48It was looking a little watery, so I sprinkled in some more beeswax to thicken it up.

09:52And once it was all mixed together and all the lumps were out, I poured it into a Ziploc bag,

09:57cut the tip off,

09:58and then carefully funneled it into an old lip gloss container.

10:01Once the whole container was filled, I tried it out.

10:04And I thought this mascara was awesome.

10:07It gave my lashes length and definition without giving them that globby and clumpy look.

10:12I had so much fun playing around with activated charcoal this week because it really felt like a deep dive

10:17into a topic that so many people are discussing,

10:19but something that I knew nothing about.

10:21Now I want to know if you use activated charcoal, and if so, comment below letting me know how.

10:27And as always, let me know in the comments what you want to see me try next time for five

10:31days at a time.

10:31Hey YouTube!

10:32Thanks for watching 5 Days of Activated Charcoal.

10:35Click here to watch another video on our channel, right here to subscribe to us on YouTube,

10:40and here for my personal YouTube channel.

10:42Bye!

10:43Bye!

10:43SafeScaro!鹏No.

10:43Poleleader!

10:43Bye!

5 Days Of Activated Charcoal | Try Living With Lucie | Refinery29

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