Ingredient glossary / Texture and thickener
Activated charcoal
On the label: Charcoal Powder · Texture and thickener
What it is
Carbon processed to be porous; added to masks and cleansers for its absorbing reputation, mostly as a colour and marketing ingredient in the amounts used.
Texture and thickeners: Thickeners and film formers give a product its body and feel, from gums to silicones.
In the research
89 PubMed papers mention it with skin, cosmetics or hair; the three most recent:
- Thermal-enhanced self-heating microneedle patch for sustained progesterone delivery and improved pregnancy maintenance · Materials today. Bio, 2026
- In Vitro Shoot Cultures of Micromeria graeca: Micropropagation and Evaluation of Methanolic Extracts for Anticancer and Antimicrobial Activity · Plants (Basel, Switzerland), 2025
- Effectiveness of Activated Charcoal Toothpaste vs. 6% Hydrogen Peroxide Whitening Pen-An In Vitro Study · Dentistry journal, 2025
A paper is a paper, not a verdict: titles are listed so you can read them, and a study on cells or mice says little about a cream on a face.
Products whose label lists it
1 on the siteMatched from the ingredient list the supplier printed; the position in the list (first or thirtieth) is on each product page.
Other texture and thickeners
Dew & Balm describes ingredients from the public record and makes no claim about what a product will do for you. Statements about dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the FDA. If a product causes a reaction, stop using it; a reaction that spreads or affects breathing is a call to a doctor or 911.