Charcoal Powder

Activated charcoal's government name is Charcoal Powder. "Activated" means it's been treated with heat to open up millions of tiny pores, which gives it an enormous surface area for its size.

Superhero or supervillain?

Superhero. Its superpower is all that surface area. Oil and dirt cling to it (that's called adsorbing), so they rinse away with it.

What it does in my skincare

In soap, activated charcoal gives a color anywhere from soft gray to deep black, depending on how much I use. In the lather, it adsorbs oil and dirt on the skin's surface so they wash off. In a clay mask, it pairs with clay for the same reason.

The supervillain rumor

Charcoal gets sold as a "detox" for your skin. It doesn't draw toxins out of your body. What it does is hold on to oil and dirt on the surface of your skin so they rinse off. That's a real, useful job, and it doesn't need a fancier one.