The lore of children receiving a lump of coal for Christmas occurs in many cultures. While the origin stories are all slightly different, one aspect is consistent: bad children receive a lump of coal and good children receive a present. These Lump of Coal Soaps put a fun spin on holiday gifts. Your friends and family will actually want these in their stockings.
They’re created with rebatch soap base. Rebatching refers to melting grated cold process soap over low heat. The soap can then be customized with color and fragrance. The Luxury Grated Rebatch Soap used in this project contains a skin-loving blend of oils and butters such as shea butter and olive oil. It’s made fresh so it’s easy to melt down.
Rebatch soap can be melted using a few different heating methods. In this video, the rebatch soap is melted using a double boiler. You can also use a Crock-Pot, as shown in this tutorial. For this project we used a Presto Pot, which is similar to a fondue pot. The key is low, consistent heat.
Once the soap is melted, activated charcoal is added to give a coal-like appearance. Then Sandalwood Vanilla Fragrance Oil is mixed in for a sultry and delicious scent. The soap is allowed to cool slightly and formed into balls using your hands. Finally, a touch of Snowflake Sparkle Mica and a bit more activated charcoal are sprinkled on top. Because of the large amount of charcoal, these bars do lather gray.
What You Need:
48 oz. Grated Luxury Rebatch Soap
3-4 oz. Distilled Water
2 Tbsp. Activated Charcoal
1.2 oz. Sandalwood Vanilla Fragrance Oil
Snowflake Sparkle Mica
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ONE: Place the Luxury Rebatch Soap into your Crock-Pot, double boiler, or fondue pot. If using a Crock-Pot or fondue pot, turn the temperature on low and add about 1 ounce of water. Allow the soap to “cook” for a few minutes to gauge the temperature. If you see the soap starting to melt slightly, you can increase the temperature to low-medium and stir frequently.
TWO: As the soap cooks, add small splashes of water to help it melt down smoothly. Continue stirring frequently so the soap at the bottom of the pot doesn’t burn.
After a few minutes, the soap will look like very thick mashed potatoes, as shown below. Continue cooking slightly past this point to melt down any pieces of soap still present. Add a bit more water if necessary.
THREE: Once the soap is smooth, add 1.2 oz. Sandalwood Vanilla Fragrance Oil and thoroughly mix in for several minutes.
FOUR: Add the activated charcoal 1 teaspoon at a time. Stir thoroughly between each addition.
FIVE: Once all the charcoal is added, the soap will have a gray color. If it’s still very thick, add small amounts of water to achieve a smoother consistency. We don’t recommend adding more than 4 ounces of water. If you still see large chunks of rebatch, let the soap continue to cook for several minutes. Turn up the heat if necessary, just be careful to not let the soap burn!
SIX: Lay down several pieces of wax or parchment paper down on your work surface. Then spoon dollops of soap onto the paper. You can make them whatever size you like. Our soaps weighed about 2-3 ounces each.
SEVEN: As the dollops of soap sit, they will cool and harden. Once they are still soft but cool to touch, use your gloved hand to form them into the lump of coal shape you prefer. We made some of ours round, and some more oblong.
EIGHT: Sprinkle Snowflake Sparkle Mica and a touch of activated charcoal onto each soap. Use your hands to press the colors into the soap. There is really no right or wrong way to do it, and don’t worry about making them perfect. If the soap is still too warm and not holding its shape, allow it to cool for a few more minutes.
NINE: Allow the soap to fully cool and harden on the paper for a few hours. Once they are completely firm, transfer them to an area where they can cure for at least a week. Rebatch soap is ready to use once it’s cool, but we find letting it cure for at least a week allows any excess water to evaporate and creates a longer-lasting bar. Enjoy.
NOTE: These bars do lather gray due to the charcoal content.
Lump of Coal Soap Tutorial
Ingredients
- 48 oz. Grated Luxury Rebatch Soap
- 3-4 oz. Distilled Water
- 2 Tbsp. Activated Charcoal
- 1.2 oz. Sandalwood Vanilla Fragrance Oil
- Snowflake Sparkle Mica
Instructions
- Place the Luxury Rebatch Soap into your Crock-Pot, double boiler, or fondue pot. If using a Crock-Pot or fondue pot, turn the temperature on low and add about 1 ounce of water. Allow the soap to “cook” for a few minutes to gauge the temperature. If you see the soap starting to melt slightly, you can increase the temperature to low-medium and stir frequently.
- As the soap cooks, add small splashes of water to help it melt down smoothly. Continue stirring frequently so the soap at the bottom of the pot doesn’t burn. After a few minutes, the soap will look like very thick mashed potatoes, as shown below. Continue cooking slightly past this point to melt down any pieces of soap still present. Add a bit more water if necessary.
- Once the soap is smooth, add 1.2 oz. Sandalwood Vanilla Fragrance Oil and thoroughly mix in for several minutes.
- Add the activated charcoal 1 teaspoon at a time. Stir thoroughly between each addition.
- Once all the charcoal is added, the soap will have a gray color. If it’s still very thick, add small amounts of water to achieve a smoother consistency. We don’t recommend adding more than 4 ounces of water. If you still see large chunks of rebatch, let the soap continue to cook for several minutes. Turn up the heat if necessary, just be careful to not let the soap burn!
- Lay down several pieces of wax or parchment paper down on your work surface. Then spoon dollops of soap onto the paper. You can make them whatever size you like. Our soaps weighed about 2-3 ounces each.
- Sprinkle Snowflake Sparkle Mica and a touch of activated charcoal onto each soap. Use your hands to press the colors into the soap. There is really no right or wrong way to do it, and don’t worry about making them perfect. If the soap is still too warm and not holding its shape, allow it to cool for a few more minutes.
- Allow the soap to fully cool and harden on the paper for a few hours. Once they are completely firm, transfer them to an area where they can cure for at least a week. Rebatch soap is ready to use once it’s cool, but we find letting it cure for at least a week allows any excess water to evaporate and creates a longer-lasting bar. Enjoy. NOTE: These bars do lather gray due to the charcoal content.
Thank you for this great tutorial! I made re-batch soap that turned out a very unattractive brown/grey. Someone suggested re-re-batching with activated charcoal so I did just that and used this tutorial to make lump of coal soap! I followed the instructions and it turned out GREAT! In addition to the many skin benefits, using the activated charcoal was great because it helped me transform the ugly soap into a beautiful dark grey. The touch of snowflake sparkle mica and charcoal sprinkling at the end gave the soap a lovely finish.
Oh that’s awesome, glad your bars turned out well. This is a great way to rework a batch that may not have turned out like you planned.
Hi, everybody. This is, indeed, a clever concept. To those wondering about your own vs purchased rebatch soap, yes you can. I have rebatched a lot of my own for various reasons with soap ranging from fresh to fully cured and beyond. Two things to remember when rebatching your own: the colors will all blend into one and mine are usually charcoal grey. Also, the older the soap, the more water and time it will take to fully melt, but it WILL work. I think Brambleberry sells a fresher soap that will rebatch quicker and easier. Patience is the key!! I hope this helps!
Thanks for the great tips Eric.
Hi! Thanks so much for your ideas. I’m quite new to soaping but found your website, tried the charcoal tea tree MP soap and it’s just fantastic for the face!
I love this coal effect – it would be a great present for the men in my life! – but currently not making CP soap – is there a way to get a similar texture with MP soap?
That’s awesome, glad you’re enjoying that recipe. You can use liquid glycerin and melt and pour to get a coal shape, learn how in this tutorial: https://soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/melt-and-pour-soap/lump-of-coal-soap/
Pure Charcoal Melt and Pour Soap: https://soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/pure-charcoal-melt-pour-soap-diy-silicone-mold-sale-starts-today/
Omigosh! I don’t have the time this year to complete this cute soap with re-batch soap. So, the MP version worked out perfectly! Too much fun! And, I used Frankincense and Myrrh Fragrance Oil.
Oh glad to hear that Gwendolyn. The Frankincense and Myrrh is such a great holiday scent.
Frankincense and Myrrh Cybilla Fragrance Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Frankincense-And-Myrrh-Cybilla-Fragrance-Oil-P3372.aspx
Can I make the batch of soap and grate it the next day to rebatch?
Yes, you can make soap to grate for rebatch. After the first day it may still be too soft to grate. If that’s the case, you can wait a few days and try again.