Why I love Charcoal Toothpaste

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When the easy energy’s been burned from wood, sugar, or bone, it turns to charcoal, leaving stillness and purity. My friend Kathy recently gave me a tube of Charcle - charcoal toothpaste from Korea - and it got me thinking about the meaning, beyond taste, that charcoal conveys.

The package’s pearly finish and color suggested the toothpaste inside.

I knew this was charcoal toothpaste, but this plume of shiny gray still surprised me when I squeezed the tube for the first time.

I liked how elastic the stream of paste was compared to standard toothpaste. Unlike my pal Michael , I also liked brushing with it - the taste wasn’t too sweet, the foam was unusually thick, and spitting out blue-gray foam at the end was somehow satisfying. It’s actually the best toothpaste I’ve ever used, but not for these reasons. The physical experience could have been completely different and I would have still loved it.

Here’s why: I first saw pictures of the toothpaste on DesignNotes, then contacted Kathy about scoring some. It was a few days until we were able to meet. When we did, we ended up sharing beer and ideas and becoming better friends. I think waiting in line for an iPhone, hearing a song from a friend’s band before anybody else, or even saving up for a product you wouldn’t normally buy has the same effect. Narrative is like a codec for storing and playing back memories, and people seek opportunities to build small stories in their lives. People judge products that are unremarkably easy to acquire on how well the thing works, rather than on a story they’ve built around it (if a product is super-easy to acquire, that ease could be a story itself).

It’s also toothpaste made from charcoal, a gorgeous material that’s hard not to love.

burnt chaise lounge by Maartin Baas

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