Carbon Coco Ultimate Carbon Kit: Teeth Whitening with Activated Charcoal

With the sheer amount of photos that will inevitably be taken, weddings are always a good excuse to work on your appearance, from hitting the gym more often to growing your hair longer for a fancy hairstyle (both of which I've been doing myself). Another thing I'm working on: teeth whitening thanks to Carbon Coco!

A while back, the company sent over their Ultimate Carbon Kit for me to try out. The star of the kit is Carbon Coco's Activated Charcoal Tooth Polish. A finely milled black powder, it's an oxidized version of charcoal with a hint of bentonite clay and lemon myrtle that supposedly whitens and polishes teeth without any chemicals or bad-for-you ingredients.

To use, you wet the toothbrush (conveniently made with dark bristles to avoid staining) and dip it in the powder. Brush in small circles for 2-3 minutes, spit out and rinse. The powder is odourless and tasteless but the sensation is a bit weird at first. You can feel the powder on your teeth, but it's not gritty and shouldn't cause any sensitivity.

The powder is followed up with the Activated Charcoal Toothpaste, which is also black in colour but foams up. I don't usually like spearmint flavours but this toothpaste was actually quite refreshing once I got past the strangeness of my teeth looking black while I brushed. Thankfully it does all rinse clear. The toothpaste acts as a protectant from staining to maintain your pearly whites.

Pretty easy to use, right? The main caveat I would give to anyone interested in trying these products is that they can get messy if you're not careful. The first time I tried the Tooth Polish, I accidentally used too much and got black powder all over my bathroom sink and counter. You only need to use a tiny bit of powder so once I got the hang of it, the mess factor was no longer an issue.

As for the whitening capabilities, my teeth are already pretty white but I have noticed they do seem brighter. The results are great for only 7-14 days of use (the recommended course).

Overall, I definitely prefer the Carbon Coco system over other more conventional at-home whitening products like Crest White Strips. I love not having to worry about harsh chemicals and potential tooth sensitivity, plus I need to brush my teeth anyway so it doesn't add much extra time to my night time routine.

The Ultimate Carbon Kit is super reasonably priced (on sale now for $59.95)... just make sure you factor in shipping time from Australia since it does take a while to get to North America.