Kiki Health activated charcoal powder, 70g
Buy now £9.95, Cultbeauty.co.uk
- Steps: Brush once daily
- Duration: Unlimited
- Rating: 8/10
Using pure activated charcoal on our teeth felt like a big leap. However, it’s incredibly straightforward to use. Prior to brushing your teeth, you just pour a small amount of powder into your hand, wet your toothbrush, and dip it in before gently brushing for two minutes.
The sensation is very different from using toothpaste. It feels rougher on your gums (especially if you don’t wet your toothbrush enough beforehand) and has an earthier taste which, while not unbearable, isn’t the nicest flavour in the world. There’s also an inevitable moment of panic when you look up and see your already slightly discoloured teeth are now covered in black goo.
We quickly learned to trust the process. When you’re done brushing, you just rinse and brush again with toothpaste – charcoal has lots of benefits but shouldn’t serve as a substitute for your usual oral hygiene routine. Despite how dramatic it looks, it does all wash off and leave your teeth their usual white-ish shade.
Read more: We tried the Spotlight Oral Care teeth whitening system
What we really wanted was something better, and we kept a close eye on our discolouration to check if that was happening. Teeth always look whiter when you’ve just rinsed off something so dark, so we were careful not to pass judgement on that alone.
We won’t lie, progress was slow. There was no one specific day where we saw a major improvement from the day before. But by the time the two weeks were over, we compared our teeth to their state 14 days earlier and did see an obvious lifting of stains.
It’s important to note here that these were just surface-level stains. Charcoal isn’t powerful enough to tackle anything deep-rooted, which is best left to a dentist who can utilise high percentages of hydrogen peroxide. However, what it can do is minimise the marks left behind by common culprits like tea, coffee, wine, or berries.
Read more: Can the Rio Smile whitening kit brighten teeth in just 20 days?
These were the kind of marks that we saw improving over time. A fortnight was enough to make progress, but with extensive use, it could help prevent any more marks from setting in in the future. Our teeth looked brighter and also felt much smoother than usual, without any increased sensitivity.
We originally assumed 70g of powder wouldn’t be enough to sustain us for two weeks, but it was more than enough. Only a small amount of powder is necessary each time, and when we did happen to use too much it felt much too thick on our teeth.
We also liked the fact that the product was so versatile and could be used for other health and beauty reasons if we so wanted.
The verdict: Kiki Health activated charcoal powderIt’s unrealistic to expect a dramatic dental transformation from a pot of activated charcoal. What you can expect with Kiki Health’s activated charcoal powder, however, is an easy addition to your daily routine that will help reduce the worst of surface-level stains from your diet or lifestyle.
Change doesn’t happen overnight. Unlike a lot of other teeth whitening products, you can’t pinpoint an exact time when things start to shift. However, what’s important is that eventually it does begin to wear minor discolouration down without breaking the bank or exposing your teeth to increased sensitivity.