We get this question asked a lot, what are the differences if any, between the activated charcoals that we carry.
Before I delve into this, let me say this first, that if I had just been poisoned with drugs or had extreme diarrhea or severe vomiting and needed charcoal fast, I would not labor over whether I had the hardwood, bamboo or coconut shell activated charcoal powder. If it was food grade and it was powder, I would mix it with water and take it as quickly as possible so that the charcoal would start adsorbing the toxins on contact.
Activated charcoal can be made from a wide variety of media such as wood, coal, bamboo, coconut, pecan, and walnut shells and so much more. If you lived where there was an abundance of coconut shells and or bamboo, then most likely you would have an affordable access to charcoal made from these natural resources. In Australia they have access to eucalyptus trees and some people think that the charcoal from these trees is simply the best. Perhaps they had a wound or an upset stomach, used the eucalyptus charcoal powder and it worked perfectly, so why in the world would they use anything else? As the old saying goes, don’t try to fix something that isn’t broken, right?
Let’s take an easy example, tires. Why would you want one tire over another? They get you from point A to point B, so they are all the same, or are they? Obviously there are tires that are better for certain applications, such as large tread tires for off road exploration, wide tread for snow, multi-type tread tires for all weather use, smooth tires for racing and of course the quality of the tires, how well will a particular tire perform over other brand tires.
Activated Charcoal all does the same thing, draws and adsorbs toxins and poisons. However, each type that we carry has, in our experience, unique properties that make it ideal for various applications in both commercial and consumer settings.
A good share of the differences in activated charcoal tends to be more applicable to industries that use charcoal for air, water or other liquid purification or to remove unwanted colors, odors or toxins. And because we service a lot of manufacturing industries we want to carry charcoals that will best suit their many needs as well.
For instance, if you called us up and needed something to remove color from a juice, or a supplement do you know which charcoal would be best? If you guessed the hardwood you are right.
“I would only use the hardwood for I know first hand how hard it is to get the coconut shell or bamboo charcoal off the skin and tub.” -Kimberly
Activated charcoal made from hardwood adsorbs the large color molecule easily, so this is your best choice. Please check out this short video on removing color from purple grape juice with our hardwood activated charcoal powder, it is pretty cool.
Due to the texture of our hardwood activated charcoal powder, it works very well in a foot bath for soaking your feet in, taking a detox bath or making charcoal poultices or patches. It stirs easily into water, when mixing up charcoal gel for a poultice or patch, and when using for a foot soak or a detox bath.
Another wonderful feature of the hardwood charcoal, is that it rinses off the body more easily than other charcoal powders. Hardwood activated charcoal is categorized as mezzo porous, that is, it can adsorb a broader range of intermediate size molecules, a size range in which many body toxins fall. This makes it well suited for topical applications on the body, where activated charcoal can literally draw toxins from deep tissue.
“It was in Asian countries that it was first used as an antidote for poisoning and is still taken internally as a home remedy.”
You may have noticed that we have three kinds of coconut shell activated charcoal powder… what is up with that?
The Detox 1600 USP grade has the highest surface area, and it is an extremely pure and fine powder, so that when it is ingested it immediately begins to adsorb the toxins in your stomach. This is the one that I personally take on a daily basis because, in my opinion, it is simply the best of the best for internal use. It is the Detox 1600 that I use for the 13-week protocol that you can check out on this BLOG post.
Our newest coconut shell M-28 USP is also an excellent coconut shell activated charcoal powder, however, it is more dense than our other two and it has a slight grit to it which makes it ideal for making tablets and capsules and other commercial applications. However, for Charcoal House, the Detox 1600 USP, is what we use and will continue to use in our veggie charcoal capsules.
Last but not least, our second most popular coconut shell is our Ultra Fine Activated Charcoal Powder is also ideal for internal use being that it is food grade, however, it doesn’t have as high of a surface area as the Detox1600 and it is not USP Grade. The advantage to this super black powder is that it is an extremely fine powder, almost grit free. This silky black powder has become a favorite for DIY tooth powders and other at home oral care remedies like oil pulling and teeth whitening treatments. It is also extremely popular for juicing and smoothies because of its velvety smooth consistency, which is why we classify it primarily as a dietary ingredient, but as with all charcoals it has many possible uses and one of them being a wide array of cosmetic uses.
Last but not least, we have the bamboo activated charcoal powder. The beauty behind bamboo charcoal is that it too has been ground to a very fine powder similar to that of the coconut shell powder. However, it is more mezzo porous, so it can adsorb a wider variety of toxic molecules, and, like the hardwood, can be used in poultices and patches, but not ideal for taking a charcoal bath as it is too fine a powder.
We have classified our Wildcrafted Bamboo for beauty and cosmetics as it has a long Oriental history as an ingredient in soap making and facial masks. Its density, exotic origin, and lustrous shimmer make it a wonderful addition to your cosmetic and beauty products.
In Japanese culture, it is often used in confectioneries. Perhaps for that reason, it is found in baked goods and exotic dishes served up by chefs worldwide. Once again, we clarify that all charcoal can be used in multiple facets.
Bamboo in many parts of Asia is used extensively for odor control and the reason that they do so is because it works, not to mention that the bamboo stalks look cool sitting out as they purify the air. However, science has long proven that activated charcoal made from coconut shell outperforms all other charcoals when it comes to odors. This is, in great part, due to the fact that coconut shell-activated charcoal is microporous, and because odor molecules are so tiny, the coconut charcoal can adsorb them faster and more efficiently.
Coconut shell-activated charcoal has another little ace tucked away in its pore structure, it also adsorbs radiation. Yes, you read that right, activated charcoal made from coconut shells adsorbs harmful radiation such as what is zapping me as I type away on my laptop. For this reason, we use a proprietary blend in our eye masks to soothe weary computer eyes and other ailments. Of course, you can always make your own eye poultice and you can use any of the activated charcoals when doing so, however, my first choice for radiation adsorption will always be the coconut shell activated charcoal.
Take note, we do not solely depend on charcoal, we take common sense precautions as well, such as keeping our cell phones off our bodies, using the speaker option only and we just recently had our wireless removed from our business site and our home and went back to wired Ethernet. When we were still wireless at home, we not only turned off the wireless and all our computers, phones, and iPads but we unplugged them every night as well. Being healthy is a lifestyle that entails taking care of the whole body, mind, and soul.
So as long as this article is, that is the short answer to the differences in the activated charcoal powders. There are other differences that space and time do not allow, and perhaps we can cover in another article. I hope this helped some, but if you have more questions, please let us know and we will do our best to answer them.
For more information on coconut shell charcoal and radiation, please click here.
