My Activated Charcoal Soap Recipe For Glowing Skin

I don’t know about you, but I want my skin toxin and dirt-free at ALL times! This fresh-smelling activated charcoal soap recipe will do just that, suck out any nasty toxins that leave our skin prone to acne, blackheads, and other nasties we really don’t want.

Introduction

Have you ever heard of activated charcoal being used in hospitals? Well, it’s because of how good it is at binding toxins that they give it to people who they suspect have been poisoned.

While it does have quite a dark color and leaves this soap looking a little intimidating, the charcoal can do wonders for easing skin imperfections.

While this is one of many homemade soap recipes that are great for pretty much any part of your skin. I like to use this one just for my face as it is obviously the most visible part of our bodies. And like anyone, I always want this skin to look its best.

Vegan Friendly

One of my favorite things about this is that it’s totally vegan-friendly! I have a lot of vegetarian and vegan friends, and this is a great soap to use as a gift for anyone who takes animal rights seriously.

I’ve used a nice selection of essential oils in this recipe. While tea tree doesn’t smell all that good, the other EO’s I’ve chosen should mask any unpleasantness. You could consider leaving the tea tree out, but it’s absolutely fabulous for your skin and combined with the charcoal makes for a double-action, extra powerful soap to leave skin positively glowing!

Watch How To Make Basic Cold Process Soap

Before you make this soap, take a few minutes to watch the video below for the basic method. For more detailed information see how to make cold process soap at home.

Notes For Making Charcoal Soap

• This charcoal soap recipe makes around 6 individual bars which I find perfect for personal use. If you are considering gifting or selling it you may prefer to double up on the ingredient and use a loaf mould.
• If you are using the larger mould and working with a larger batch you won’t need to place the soap on to heat pad.
• This is a relatively soft soap, so sometimes it can be a little tricky getting it out of the mould. This doesn’t bother me as I like a rustic look to this soap and they’re simply for personal use.
• However, you can speed up the hardening of the soap by adding vegan-friendly sodium lactate. For this amount of batter, add 1tsp to the lye water once it has cooled (right before mixing into the oils). This will make the bars harder in general as well. The properties of the soap should remain unchanged.

How To Make Charcoal Soap At Home

A gorgeous activated charcoal cold process soap recipe that'll help clear up blemishes and ease oily skin

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Active Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Yield: 6 bars

Author: Angela Wills

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Equipment

• Digital Scales
• Mixing Bowl (Glass, Aluminium or PET)
• Heatproof Jug
• Basic Stick Blender
• Silicone Soap Mold

Ingredients

1x2x3x

MetricUS Customary

• 135 grams Coconut Oil
• 31.5 grams Shea Butter
• 180 grams Olive Oil
• 67.5 grams Avocado Oil
• 36 grams Castor Oil
• 126 grams Distilled Water
• 63 grams Soapmaking Lye
• 10 grams Tea Tree Essential Oil
• 5 grams Rosemary Essential Oil
• 5 grams Lavender Essential Oil
• 2.5 grams Peppermint Essential Oil
• 1 tbsp Activated Charcoal Powder

Instructions

• If you’ve not made soap before, take a look at my full cold process tutorial here.

  Make sure you are making the soap in a well-ventilated area. Put on your gloves and eye protection, your mask, apron, and long rubber gloves.
  
• I like to start off by making sure my essential oils are weighed out and combined in a glass container. As it can take some time to get these measurements right, it’s easier to do it now so you just have to tip it in later when it counts.

  Then, weigh out your sodium hydroxide/lye crystals and your water in separate containers. I like to use a glass jug for the water. When ready, pour the crystals into the water and stir with a stainless steel spoon.

  This will begin the chemical reaction, and the lye water rapidly increases in temperature. Avoid inhaling any fumes that release. Turn your head and lean away from the lye solution.

  Now, place the jug aside to cool, preferably somewhere with good ventilation and move on.
  135 grams Coconut Oil, 31.5 grams Shea Butter, 180 grams Olive Oil, 67.5 grams Avocado Oil, 36 grams Castor Oil, 126 grams Distilled Water, 63 grams Soapmaking Lye
  
• Weigh out the coconut oil and the shea butter. Then, melt together. You can use a water bath, although a series of 30-second bursts in the microwave works well for me.

  Then weigh the olive, avocado and castor oils and add them to the melted coconut oil and shea butter.
  
• Now that we’re almost ready to mix, check the temperature of the oils and the lye water and compare them. We want them between 90F and 120F.

  Once you’re satisfied that both fall within this range, pour your lye water into the oils and blend with a stick blender until you reach trace.

  Not quite sure what trace is? Take a look at our basic cold process soap recipe for a more in-depth description of trace.
  
• Now that we’re at trace, go ahead and add the activated charcoal and essential oils (in that order), mixing thoroughly after.
  10 grams Tea Tree Essential Oil, 5 grams Rosemary Essential Oil, 5 grams Lavender Essential Oil, 1 tbsp Activated Charcoal Powder, 2.5 grams Peppermint Essential Oil
  
• Now we’ve added our last ingredients, the batter will begin to harden. So, working quickly but carefully (as the batter is still caustic) pour or spoon your batter into your soap molds.

  While it saponifies, it’s important to keep it warm. I like to use a heating pad on a medium to the low setting for a few hours, but if you don’t have one just keep it well insulated with a piece of cardboard on top and an old towel that you’re not using anymore..
  
• Allow this to saponify for 24-48 hours before removing from the mold. If your soap is still spongy after the first 48 hours, leave it for another 24 hours before attempting to remove it. Or, when you come to make it again, try adding the sodium lactate.

  Then, when we have it out of the mold, we’ll need to let it cure for about 4 weeks in a cool and dry environment. Check with PH indicator strips to ensure that your soap is safe to use, especially before gifting or selling.
  

Soap Calculator & Formulation Guide

Select your chosen oils, along with the weight or percentage. The soap calculator will then show the total weight of lye and water required. The result can be instantly adjusted by changing your preferred superfatting level or water/lye ratio.

Try The Soap Calculator