Best of Cleveland 2016: Charcoal Soap

Oily-skinned teenagers and grubby-handed mechanics alike have discovered the benefits of Barrs Bars Ltd.’s charcoal soap ($13). Co-owner Rebecca Barchanowicz formulated the vegan puck as an affordable alternative to the pricey department store facial bars she was using. “Activated charcoal as an ingredient is used as something that extracts — it pulls,” she says. “It absorbs oils out of your skin. It absorbs impurities and toxins out of your pores.” Barchanowicz and her husband use the old-fashioned cold process of soap-making — one that she says better preserves the ingredients’ integrity — to craft the circular bar. In addition to the main ingredient, you’ll find extra-virgin olive oil, babassu palm, avocado and rice bran oils, mango-nut butter and a cleansing tea tree oil. One wash and you’ll notice a difference. “You’re feeling skin in its natural state,” she says. 216-309-2277, barrsbarsltd.com