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Black Ice is infused with activated charcoal, which is black. Black Ice works by combining the analgesic power of menthol with the power of activated charcoal to reduce inflammation--like ice! But you don't have to worry about the black staining. Black Ice is designed to leave no residue and just sticks and peels off. The activated charcoal in Black Ice is almost pure carbon and not like the briquettes you barbecue with or like the char on burnt toast. 

Charcoal has been used as a natural remedy since ancient times. Egyptian texts dating to 1500 BC document various medicinal uses for charcoal. Roman and Viking soldiers survived non-mortal wounds by packing their wounds after battle with charcoal. The Chinese write extensively about charcoal use in ancient medicinal texts. The Ancient Hindus used charcoal for water purification dating back to 400 BC. After the suppression of the sciences through the Dark Ages, charcoal reemerged in the 1700’s and 1800’s within the use of medical treatments and for industrial use - both for its adsorbent properties of fluid and gases and for its disinfectant properties. Some popular uses during this time period included poultices made from charcoal and bread crumbs (used by army and navy surgeons) as well as charcoal powders to alleviate bed sores, gangrene, acidity in the stomach, and even nosebleeds. By the 1900’s charcoal was starting to appear in lozenges, tooth powders and even food! Activated charcoal was listed in the US Drug Pharmacopoeia until the 1950's when it was quietly dropped in favor of the many other options emerging by Big Pharma at that time. It wasn't until the 1980's that activated charcoal was again introduced as a remedy for emergency poison treatment simply because of how well it worked and soon found its place in every ER and first responder vehicle in America.

Over 4,000 chemicals, drugs, plant and microbial toxins, allergens, venoms, and wastes are effectively neutralized by activated charcoal, at least when it is administered in sufficient quantities. Activated charcoal has this effect as it is a special form of carbon that can bind other substances on its surface (adsorption).

Adsorption is a process in which atoms and molecules move from a bulk phase (such as a solid, liquid, or gas) onto a solid or liquid surface. As activated carbon (activated charcoal) is a crude form of graphite, the graphite structure gives it a very large surface area, which allows the carbon to adsorb a wide range of compounds. Activated charcoal actually has the strongest physical adsorption forces, or the highest volume of adsorbing porosity, of any material known to mankind. For a little bit of context here, 3 grams of activated charcoal can have the surface area of a football field, or a 50 gram dose can have the surface area of 10 football fields. This is due to activated charcoal’s surface area of 1000m²/g or greater.

If you’re really interested in the adsorption process, you have to understand London Dispersion Forces (yes, that is a real thing). 

Adsorption is caused by London Dispersion Forces, a type of Van der Waals Force which exists between molecules. The force acts in a similar way to gravitational forces between planets.

London Dispersion Forces are extremely short ranged and therefore sensitive to the distance between the carbon surface and the adsorbate molecule. They are also additive, meaning the adsorption force is the sum of all interactions between all the atoms. The short range and additive nature of these forces results in activated carbon having the strongest physical adsorption forces of any material known to mankind.

These forces are what seem to cause an anti-inflammatory response when mixed with water (in our case hydrogel) and then applied to the skin. When the body is injured, hormones and chemicals are released into the bloodstream at the area of injury. Charcoal adsorbs the toxins out through the skin through a transdermal process, relieving pain and reducing inflammation. This same transdermal process will adsorb insect toxins from mosquito bites, bee stings, ticks and even brown recluse spiders!  

Finally, activated charcoal adheres to oxygen, thereby bringing oxygen wherever it goes. The presence of oxygen on charcoal was discovered in hemoperfusion for temporary artificial liver support. So by putting charcoal on the injury, oxygen is transdermally introduced to the injured site, promoting healing. 

We are required to follow the guidelines set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which does not recognize charcoal as an active ingredient for pain relief. Charcoal is only recognized for poison control by the FDA. However, we include charcoal in our formulation because of how well it actually works for so many conditions. The word "activated" refers to the type of charcoal we use. When charcoal is "activated" it means it has been put through a steam process that generates super-porous charcoal particles. We use activated charcoal in our formula.

Menthol is the active ingredient for the medicated version of Black Ice, providing deep, cool pain relief. The lavender version is non-medicated and simply has lavender essential oil infused. The same amount of charcoal is contained in both. The lavender version is best for people who want the detoxifying effects of charcoal in a patch without the cooling sensation of menthol. People who want strong pain relief should opt for the menthol version and those who want to use the patch for other uses (such as rashes or skin conditions) or want to use it on small children, should opt for the mild, lavender version. However, the healing effects of charcoal can be experienced by either type of patch.