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.

Find the supplies you need for this project below

Grated Rebatch Soap - LuxurySandalwood Vanilla Fragrance OilSnowflake Sparkle MicaActivated Charcoal

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. 

5.0 from 2 reviews

Lump of Coal Soap Tutorial

 

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Cook time

2 hours

Total time

2 hours

 

Your friends and family will actually want these skin-loving lumps of coal in their stockings.

Author: Soap Queen

Cuisine: Rebatch Soap

Serves: 2 pounds of soap

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Once the soap is smooth, add 1.2 oz. Sandalwood Vanilla Fragrance Oil and thoroughly mix in for several minutes.
4. Add the activated charcoal 1 teaspoon at a time. Stir thoroughly between each addition.
5. 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!
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.

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