Your skin has been clear all week, your pores so small that you couldn’t spot one with a microscope. You fall asleep looking forward to picture day, the party of the year, a hot date, whatever. BAM! The next morning you look in the mirror only to be confronted with a huge, throbbing zit on the end of your nose.How did this even happen? Why does the universe hate me? And most importantly: How can I stop this from ever happening again?

Enter activated charcoal.This type of charcoal is made by heating carbon-rich substances—like wood or coconut shells—to extremely high temperatures, resulting in a fine, black powder with incredible cleansing properties. When used as a facial cleanser, activated charcoal acts as a sponge by pulling dirt lodged deep in your pores to the surface of your skin, allowing all that grime to be easily washed down the drain. In addition, activated charcoal’s small particles create soap withjust the right amountof grit, leaving your skin feeling exfoliated but not raw. This is especially important for teens and tweens, because we need powerful cleansers that won’t also hurt our sensitive skin.

Activated charcoal alone may not cut it, though—that’s where tea tree oil comes in.Oil? On my face? ISN’T THAT WHY I HAVE ACNE IN THE FIRST PLACE??Yes and no. While acne certainlyis the product of excess skin oils, these extra oils are often produced because the skin is too dry in the first place.So my skin is too oily because it’s...too dry? Yeah, okay.Just stay with me for a second. Our bodies are really smart, so when they notice that something is wrong, they try to fix it. When your skin is overly dry, your body will oftentimes release extra oil because it thinks that you’re in, like, a blizzard or windstorm or something. So while rubbing vegetable oil on your face is probably a pretty bad idea, using soap made with certain oils—like tea tree oil—can actually balance out acne-prone skin and lead to abettercomplexion. In addition to balancing oily and dry skin, tea tree oil also reduces the redness and inflammation that accompanies acne. Definitely a win.

If you’re ready to embrace an acne-free existence (which, I mean, duh), check out the Turner and AddieRINGO face bar! It has the perfect blend of both activated charcoal AND tea tree oil to make sure you get the skin you deserve. What are you waiting for?

Stay clean,

Gracie Mika, age 15