What’s The Difference Between Tomatoes, Cucumber, and Charcoal for Skin Care Treatment?

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Key takeaways:

• Tomato, cucumber, and charcoal-based skin care treatments may offer benefits for your skin concerns. When choosing a skin care treatment, you’ll want to make sure you choose a product that suits your skin type and fits your budget. 

• A good skin care regimen should be followed daily and tailored to your skin type. On average, results are best noticed after six to eight weeks. 

• Before using any skin care product on a large area of your body, it’s a good idea to test the product on a small patch of skin to help predict whether you’ll experience skin irritation.

Putting together a skin care routine can be overwhelming. It can be difficult to know which product to choose, from cleansers and moisturizers to sunscreens, toners, and exfoliants. Before you buy anything, it’s important to understand your skin type to help choose skin care products formulated for your skin. It’s also important to understand your individual skin care goals. 

In this article, we’ll cover all there is to know about the difference between tomatoes, cucumber, and charcoal for skin care treatments — their potential benefits and side effects, how long they take to work, and where to buy these products.

Why use tomato skin care treatment?

Tomatoes contain antioxidants such as lycopene and Vitamin C. They are also a dietary source of Vitamin A, folate, and potassium. However, topical application of tomatoes hasn’t been well studied and proven effective yet. 

Because tomatoes are rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals, some people claim that tomato skin care treatments may offer benefits for the following skin concerns:

• Uneven skin tone
• Inflammation
• Age spots, fine lines, and wrinkles
• Dry skin

Why use cucumber skin care treatment?

Cucumber is 96 percent water, making it a gentle, hydrating addition to your skin care regimen. Because cucumbers are mostly water, cucumber skin care treatments are generally safe for people with sensitive skin and can offer benefits for the following skin concerns:

• Puffy, tired eyes
• Dry skin
• Irritated acne-prone skin (e.g., cucumber along with bentonite clay gently draws out impurities and hydrates your skin)

Why use charcoal skin care treatment?

Activated charcoal —also called activated carbon — is a black powder made from carbon sources like coal, wood, or coconut shells. It’s activated after these materials are heated and exposed to certain gasses. Charcoal skin care treatments focus on the idea that activated charcoal is very absorbent and can remove impurities from your skin, leading to a clearer complexion.  

It’s important to keep in mind topical application of charcoal has been studied, and clinical evidence does not support these claims. Some shampoos and other hair care products contain activated charcoal. These products claim to help remove oil and dirt from your hair. Further research is needed to support this claim. 

Which is best for general use?

One isn’t necessarily better than the other. Shopping for any kind of new skin care can be overwhelming and requires careful research. You’ll want to make sure you choose a product that suits your skin type (e.g., sensitive, normal, dry, oily, or combination skin) and fits your budget. You’ll also want to stay away from products that may irritate your skin.

We’ll discuss this in more detail below.

How long do they take to work?

Unfortunately, there’s not a straightforward answer for this. 

It can take weeks to months for tomato, cucumber, or charcoal skin care treatments to work. It is uncommon for your symptoms to improve right away. 

A good skin care regimen should be followed daily and tailored to your skin type. On average, results are best noticed after six to eight weeks following your routine because it takes 40 to 56 days for new skin cells to form. Keep in mind this timeline increases as we age. 

Depending on the products you are using and the issues you are dealing with, you should notice a change in your skin around two months. You should take this time to reevaluate the products you use, and if you don’t think one is working, it should be switched out to see if your results are better.

It is important to remember that you should talk to your healthcare provider about best managing your symptoms if your symptoms worsen.

Any potential side effects with these products?

Like all skin care products, side effects may occur after using tomato, cucumber, or charcoal-based skin care treatments. First, we need to know how our skin works to understand what happens to our skin care products once applied.

The skin is made up of three layers. The top layer is the epidermis. The outermost layer of the epidermis, the stratum corneum, is made up of dead skin cells that form a waterproof barrier to the environment. There are also special cells called melanocytes inside the epidermis. These cells produce a brown color which helps protect you from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet light. 

The middle layer, the dermis, has sweat glands and blood vessels to help control body temperature. This is also where lymph vessels help fight infections, and sebaceous glands produce oil to help keep skin smooth. There are also hair follicles, collagen, and elastin in the dermis.

The bottom layer, also known as the subcutaneous layer, is made up of fat and connective tissue. This layer helps to conserve body heat and protects your inner organs. The subcutaneous layer thickness differs throughout the body and from person to person.

Most topical skin care products work on the surface of your skin. It is important to know that absorption means something has made its way into your bloodstream. When it comes to your skin care regimen, penetration is the goal. Penetration means that the active ingredient has made its way through the stratum corneum, the lower layer of the skin’s cells. 

Enter penetration enhancers, which are ingredients like water, glycols (propylene glycol), certain alcohols (ethanol), fatty acids (oleic and linoleic acid), and surfactants (e.g., cetyl or stearyl alcohol). These ingredients penetrate your skin and decrease the skin’s natural barrier. In doing so, they allow other ingredients to enter your skin with them.  

The following factors can impact skin care penetration: 

• Size of active ingredient
• Concentration of active ingredient
• Solubility of active ingredient
• Location of the skin care application site
• Thickness of your skin at the application site (e.g., some thinner areas with faster penetration are the eyelids and underarms)
• Physical condition of your skin (e.g., people with eczema or psoriasis have compromised skin barriers allowing for faster penetration of skin care products)

Now that you understand what happens to our skin care products once applied, it’s easier to understand how certain ingredients in our skin care products may cause skin irritation. If you’re sensitive to tomatoes, cucumbers, or charcoal, applying skin care products containing these ingredients to your skin could cause a skin reaction. Signs of a skin reaction include the following:

• Itching
• Rash
• Dry, flaky, scaly skin that may crack
• Burning or stinging feeling
• Hives
• Fluid-filled blisters that may ooze and leave crusts and scales

Before using skin care products that have tomatoes, cucumbers, or charcoal on a large area of your body, it’s a good idea to test the product on a small patch of skin, such as the underside of your arm or on your elbow. If you don’t experience any itching or redness after several days, it’s most likely safe to use on your skin. If you develop skin irritation, gently wash off the product and don’t use it again.

The best places to buy these products

You can buy tomato, cucumber, and charcoal-based skin care products online or in stores. 

Yes To makes affordable skin care products made with at least 95% naturally occurring ingredients, and they’re fully transparent about it. An ingredient is considered naturally occurring when it’s produced by nature and is directly extracted from plants. Their products don’t contain parabens, chemical sunscreens, and other potentially harmful ingredients.

Yes To is cruelty-free and a certified member of the Leaping Bunny Program — meaning that their products are never tested on animals.

The bottom line

Before you buy anything, it’s important to understand your skin type to help choose skin care products formulated for your skin. It’s also important to understand your individual skin care goals. 

Tomato skin care treatments are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Because of this, they may help certain skin concerns (e.g., uneven skin tone, inflammation, wrinkles, and dry skin). However, topical application of tomatoes hasn’t been well studied and proven effective yet. 

Because cucumbers are mostly water, cucumber skin care treatments are generally safe and used for dry and acne-prone skin. 

Charcoal skin care treatments focus on the idea that activated charcoal is very absorbent and can remove impurities from your skin, leading to a clearer complexion. It’s important to keep in mind topical application of charcoal has been studied, and clinical evidence does not support these claims. Shampoos and other hair care products claim to remove dirt and oil from your hair; however, more research is needed to support these claims.

A good skin care regimen should be followed daily and tailored to your skin type. On average, results are best noticed after six to eight weeks. Yes To makes affordable skin care products made with at least 95% naturally occurring ingredients, and they’re fully transparent about it. But before using any skin care product on a large area of your body, it’s a good idea to test the product on a small patch of skin to help predict whether you’ll experience skin irritation.

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References

Addor, F. (2017). Antioxidants in dermatology. Anais Brasilerios Dermatologia.

Alagga, A., et al. (2021). Drug absorption. StatPearls. 

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