Not long ago, charcoal was only really found in fires or in an artist’s pencil case. So how has it ended up in one of our refills?

Well, we can assure you there have been no fires in the factory causing it, and after a few games of Pictionary within Team Wild, we can assure you there are no budding artists here who may have let their charcoal pencils into the mix!

You may have seen charcoal getting into other personal hygiene and cosmetics products recently, like toothpastes, shampoos, facemasks, as well as other natural deodorants. The basic principle is that, thanks to charcoal's porous nature, it is able to absorb impurities and unwanted oils that can cause things like staining, oil build-ups, and odours caused by bacteria.

As with all of our product ingredients, we did research on charcoal and it seems that we have the Egyptians to thank for discovering the useful properties of charcoal. It was noticed that charred wooden posts did not rot when used for building docks in the Nile, hence it was discovered that there was an antibacterial property at work here. From there, it was soon used to stop unpleasant wound odours in early medicine, and then later it was used in barrels of water to keep it fresh when sailors went on long voyages. So even though it seems like the new “must-have” ingredient, it’s nothing new at all!

As charcoal seems to be a hero in the world of bacterial and odour absorption, it’s a truly natural fit for a deodorant which seeks to get rid of pongy pits by absorbing the bacteria which are found in your lovely underarms when you start getting a little sweaty.

We’ve hence added activated charcoal into a limited run of refills to provide enhanced performance and maximum sweat security. The charcoal powder we use specifically is made from superheating sustainably sourced Danish Willow which, once activated, leaves a fine and porous charcoal powder.

This powder’s large surface area can absorb unwanted substances, like that moisture and pesky body-odour-causing bacteria called Staphylococcus Hominis which is often found in your armpits. This works really well alongside the tapioca starch in the Wild base formula which helps absorb sweat from under your arms to stop the smelly bacteria from thriving.

This makes our Activated Charcoal refill a super-strong deodorant that provides an extra shield against sweat, oil, and body odour with the same super-smooth Wild application, all without the use aluminium-salts, parabens or other synthetic ingredients.

It has a crowd-pleasing fresh scent of apple, azalea (a gentle floral) and litsea cubeba (a crisp, citrus smell), which we’re sure you’ll love. Plus, the refill is a pale, light grey so there's no chance it will be staining your clothes!

Shop the charcoal collection here.