charcoal soap Archives

Charcoal Beer Soap

April 14, 2021 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

PS000289_BeerCharcoalSoap_main

The natural sugar in beer boosts lather in cold process soap, and it’s also great from a marketing perspective. This soap is colored with activated charcoal and titanium dioxide to create a dramatic contrasting swirl. Because Oatmeal Stout Fragrance Oil does discolor, it’s added to the charcoal portion only. Over time, the discoloration will migrate slightly into the lighter portion – but will still look great! The lather does have a slight color, due to the charcoal and fragrance.

Working with alternative liquids takes a little extra prep work. In this case, that means boiling the beer to remove the alcohol and letting it sit uncovered for 1-2 days to get rid of carbonation. You can also freeze the beer to prevent further discoloration. Because this soap features a darker color palette, we were not concerned and added the lye directly to the boiled and chilled beer. Because of the extra prep work, we recommend this recipe for more advanced soap makers.

Charcoal Facial Soap Kit

April 10, 2018 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

The Charcoal Facial Soap is one of our most popular recipes to date. We decided to make it into a kit so it’s even easier to try. The Charcoal Facial Soap Kit comes with ingredients like tamanu oil, activated charcoal, and tea tree essential oil. The ingredients were specifically chosen for oily and combination skin.

The kit also comes with the new 6 Cavity Silicone Rectangle Mold, easy-to-follow printed instructions, and printed labels. It’s a great project for beginners and advanced soapers alike. To see a larger batch of the recipe in action, check out the How to Make Charcoal Facial Soap video on Soap Queen TV.

This recipe benefits from a slightly high soaping temperature (120-130° F) and being placed on a heating pad (we like this one) once poured into the mold. The hotter temperatures and 15% water discount helps the soap harden faster so it’s ready to unmold in just a few days.

What You Need:
*All items are included in the Charcoal Facial Soap Kit
6 Cavity Silicone Rectangle Mold
0.7 oz. Castor Oil (5%)
3.5 oz. Coconut Oil (25.4%)
3.5 oz. Palm Oil (25.4%)
5.6 oz. Olive Oil (40.6%)
0.5 oz. Tamanu Oil (3.6%)
2 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
4 oz. Distilled Water (15% water discount)
0.6 oz. Tea Tree Essential Oil
2 tsp. Activated Charcoal
1 tsp. Sodium Lactate

3.0 from 1 reviews

Charcoal Facial Soap Kit

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour

Create 6 bars of soap that leave your skin feeling clean and fresh.

Author: Soap Queen

Recipe type: Cold Process Soap

Serves: 6 bars of soap

Ingredients

6 Cavity Silicone Rectangle Mold
0.7 oz. Castor Oil (5%)
3.5 oz. Coconut Oil (25.4%)
3.5 oz. Palm Oil (25.4%)
5.6 oz. Olive Oil (40.6%)
0.5 oz. Tamanu Oil (3.6%)
2 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
4 oz. Distilled Water (15% water discount)
0.6 oz. Tea Tree Essential Oil
2 tsp. Activated Charcoal
1 tsp. Sodium Lactate

Instructions

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

Slowly and carefully add 2 oz. of lye to 4 oz. of water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool to about 120-130 degrees F. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, add 1 teaspoon sodium lactate.
Completely melt the bags of coconut oil and palm oil in the microwave with the caps on. Weigh 3.5 oz. of coconut oil, 3.5 oz. of palm oil, 0.7 oz. of castor oil, 0.5 oz. of tamanu oil, and 5.6 oz. of olive oil into a medium glass container. Set aside until it reaches 120-130 degrees F.
With gloves and goggles on, add the lye water to the oils. Pulse the blender on and off to mix. Continue to pulse and stir for about 1-2 minutes.
Once the soap is a pudding-like texture and the oils are fully mixed, add 0.6 oz. of essential oil and 2 tsp. of charcoal. Whisk until combined.
Pour the soap into each cavity of the mold. Tap the mold on the counter to get rid of bubbles. Place the mold onto a heating pad set to medium for 2-3 hours. Turn the heating pad off and allow the soap to harden for 2-4 days.
Pull two sides of the cavity away from the bars of soap. If the cavity releases easily, pull the other two sides away and gently press the soap out from the bottom. If the soap sticks to the mold, let it harden for another day and try again.
Allow the soap to cure on a well-ventilated shelf for 4-6 weeks to create firm, long-lasting bars. Enjoy.

Talking with Toushonta of Scentsational Soaps

June 19, 2017 Filed Under: Business Musings

Toushonta Hogan started her company, Scentsational Soaps, in 2007. Scentsational Soaps focuses on using natural ingredients to create soap, candles, body butter, scrubs, and more. Toushonta sells her products in a variety of ways, including online and wholesale. Recently, several Target stores in California started carrying Scentsational Soaps! Learn more about Toushonta and her creative journey in the interview below.

How long have you been soaping and how did you get started?
I’ve been soaping for 10 years and got started after receiving a wholesale order after trying my hand at melt and pour soap.

What sort of advice would you give to those soapers just starting their businesses?
I would advise soapers who are just starting their business to get involved in conferences, meet-ups, and Facebook groups. They are both beneficial and an awesome way to meet other creatives and develop lifelong relationships.

Toushonta Hogan, the founder of Scensational Soaps, creating a batch of cold process soap.

What is your favorite type of product to make?
My favorite type of product to make is soap. It’s so therapeutic.

Beautiful baskets of Scentsational Soap products.

What inspires you to create?
So many things inspire me to create. The weather, my atmosphere, colors, people, etc. I enjoy looking at things from a creative perspective and transforming it into soap.

How did you come up with the name for your business?
My husband and I randomly wrote a few names down and Scentsational Soaps just stood out to us. It had a ring to it.

Oatmeal Soap, made with ground oats for exfoliation.

You can find your products in select Target stores. Tell us more about how this partnership happened, and what you’ve learned from it.
I received a flyer from a dear friend (and was tagged by a few others) that Target was looking for local vendors. I filled out the application and unbeknownst to me, it was due the very next day. Of course, I said to myself that I wish I had more time. I filled it out and uploaded a few pics. A week later, I received an email inviting me to present my product to a panel. I was excited, nervous and blown away as I felt that I was not ready. It’s these moments where we have self doubt and it can really deter you from fulfilling your true dream.

Scentsational Soaps on the shelf at Target.

I presented our products and waited two weeks for their decision. It was exactly two weeks from the date of presenting that we received another email. This time, it was to congratulate us, as they welcomed the opportunity to partner with them in fall 2016 to have our products on their shelves. I couldn’t believe it! I was elated!!! Months later, the learning curve began and it was fast but steady. I definitely learned to not doubt myself, stay ready, and position myself for every opportunity imaginable. Take a chance!

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How to Make Charcoal Facial Soap

January 25, 2017 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

Charcoal face soap seems to be everywhere right now, along with charcoal face masks and bath bombs. It’s easy to understand why – charcoal is fantastic for the skin. It binds to dirt and oil and pulls it out of pores, leaving skin clean and refreshed. Because of its oil absorbing properties, it’s especially fantastic for oily skin.

This Tea Tree and Charcoal Facial Soap was formulated with combination to oily skin in mind. It contains activated charcoal, which gives the bars a rich black color. It does produce a slightly gray lather due to the large amount of charcoal, but does not stain washcloths. This recipe also uses tea tree essential oil, which has an earthy scent. Because this product is meant for the face, a small usage rate for the essential oil is used.

The oils in this recipe were specially chosen for facial skin. A high percentage of olive oil makes the bars gentle. Palm oil makes the bars firm, while coconut oil adds cleansing properties. Usually, I don’t use more than 2-3% castor oil in cold process soap recipes. But, in this recipe, a slightly larger amount of castor oil adds lather and cleansing properties. It also helps draw moisture to the skin to keep it hydrated. The soap is formulated with a 15% water discount to prevent stickiness and help it release from the mold faster. I also highly recommend sodium lactate for this recipe to aid in unmolding.

Last, but certainly not least, is tamanu oil. It is an incredibly unique oil with a dark color and nutty odor. If you search “tamanu oil,” you’ll find it is widely thought to benefit skin scarring, stretch marks and sores, and has anti-fungal properties. However, this recipe hasn’t been tested to prove it helps cure those ailments. We added it because it helps moisturize the skin. Learn more about tamanu oil here. Speaking of medical claims, making claims that this soap treats acne or other skin conditions qualifies classifies it as a drug by the FDA. This requires additional testing and approval. Learn more about cosmetic vs. drug claims here.

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Rose Clay & Charcoal Soap Tutorial

January 6, 2017 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

After the holidays, I always feel the need for a bit of detoxing and rejuvenation. That desire to hit the reset button inspired this soap recipe, which contains rose clay and charcoal. Both are known for their oil-absorbing properties. Charcoal in particular binds to dirt and oil in the skin, bringing them to the surface. In these bars, charcoal is sprinkled in between layers to create rustic-looking stripes.

The rose clay in this recipe is dispersed in distilled water rather than oil to help compensate for the absorption properties. Learn more about working with clays in your products. The clay, along with Rosehip Jasmine Fragrance Oil, will cause the trace to become thick rather quickly. For this design that’s totally okay. These bars are meant to have a natural and rustic look to them, so you don’t need to worry about the layers being straight or the top being smooth. These bars really play up the thick texture!

After a few washes, the rose petals will fall off. But, I think they are totally worth it – they really are the cherry on top! Of course if you want to skip them, feel free. When it’s time to cut the bars, the rose petals can get caught under the knife and create drag marks. I threw caution to the wind and used the Multi-Bar Cutter. That created drag marks on about half the bars. But, I think they actually contribute to the “natural” look and feel. Depending on your preference, cut the bars on the side to avoid the drag marks, or embrace them by cutting straight down.

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Find the supplies you need for this project below