Charcoal soap

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

chrishino15

New Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2017
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
I just made a batch of charcoal soap for the first time I let the bars sit in the mold for 24hrs and as I took them out to cure they were like clay or powdery. Is there something I did wrong or is that the texture of these soaps?

Recipe:

6.08 oz water
2.33 oz of lye
6.4 oz of olive oil
6.4 oz of coconut oil
3.2oz of castor oil
1 table spoon of activated charcoal
1 table spoon of bentonite clay powder

IMG_3923.jpg
 
Ok, I've put this in % format (for me, it's easier :) )

40% Olive
40% Coconut
20% Castor
plus additives (charcoal & clay)
5% SF
approx. 28% lye concentration

Looking at the picture of your soap, it looks like the soap was soft when you cut it - it looks like this soap needed more than 24 hours before cutting.

You have quite a bit of castor oil in your recipe, which will make your soap fairly soft.
 
I agree that it looks like the soap wasn’t hard enough. What kind of mold did you use? With a silicone mold it can take me up to 5 days to unmold and another day to breathe before I cut (unless I gelled). After a day or so you should be able to plane the soaps if you want them to look prettier.
 
I use a lot less AC than you have used in this recipe. I used 3 teaspoons in 800g of oils. That's about 1/2 what you have used. Mine is very dark grey but does not have grey lather and does not stain. I find that if you soak the AC in water for 15 mins or so then SB it into the oils it disperses better and the batter is darker. If you use the same amount but only hand mix it it will be a paler grey.

I also think Different suppliers have different quality AC so you might have to test your on small batches (as you've done) to get the amount exactly right for the colour you want without grey lather - if that's important to you.

I also soak my bentonite clay and use at least 1/2 what you do.

If I were you I'd drop the castor oil to 5%. Higher amounts make a soft soap.
Next time try waiting longer before you unmold your soap.
 
Part of the problem is too much castor makes a sticky bar of soap and you also have 40% Olive and full water. You just needed to let it sit in the mold longer. I would also recommend less charcoal and clay. Too much can actually make the soap very drying to the skin. Drop the castor to 5-7% going forward and that will help.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top