tamanu oil Archives - Soap Queen

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.

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.

[Read more…]

Sunday Night Spotlight: Tamanu Oil

June 14, 2015 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

Tamanu oil is pressed from the nuts of the tamanu tree, also known as the “ati-tree.” The tree is indigenous to Southeast Asia and blooms twice a year. The tamanu tree produces sweet-tasting fruit which contains a large nut. Once the kernel is dried in the sun for about a month, it becomes sticky with thick, dark oil. The oil that is pressed from the kernel is tamanu oil. The supply of tamanu oil is very small; it takes about 100 kilograms of tamanu fruit to make roughly 5 kilograms of tamanu oil.

Tamanu oil has a dark green, slightly brown color and a distinctive nutty and earthy aroma. It is widely thought to benefit skin scarring, stretch marks, sores and more. It also has anti-fungal properties. Tamanu oil feels amazing on the skin; it absorbs easily and does not feel greasy. That makes it a great choice for balms, body butters, lotions and more. Tamanu oil is rich in linoleic acid, oleic acid calophyllic acid and lipids. Tamanu oil may separate naturally at cold temperatures. If you notice small specks in your oil, place it in the microwave and heat using short bursts until the specks incorporate.

In cold process soap, we recommend using it at 5% or below. Because of the rich dark color, it may have an effect on the color of your final product, depending on how much you use. In the photos below, the recipe contains 5% tamanu oil. Notice the bright yellow color that the oil makes! The yellow color could be combated by using titanium dioxide, but you may want to avoid cool tones when using tamanu oil in cold process soap. [Read more…]

Find the supplies you need for this project below