Charcoal

[mom2tyler]

Where do you get the charcoal to use for soap colorant?
Is it regular charcoal??

Thanks

 

[American Valkyrie]

Soap Making Resource has it, but I've found that his prices are not that great.

http://www.soap-making-resource.com/nat ... rants.html

 

[Hertzyscowicz]

I suppose you could just go to the supermarket and pick up a sack of coals, and either sift out the dust or grind a few bits. I'm not sure if it being active is all that important in use as a soap colorant. I haven't tried it, though.

 

[IanT]

just do a search for bulk fine ground activated carbon and that should do the trick..

 

[ChrissyB]

I got mine at the pet store, in the fish tank section. It's packaged as Activated Carbon, but on the side says 100% charcoal. It's quite granular, I had to run it through the coffee grinder a couple of times to get it as powdery as I'd like. I mix it in some soap batter at thin trace, then strain that through a mesh seive as I pour it back into the rest of the soap.
By the way, if you do that, kiss your coffee grinder goodbye, it'll only be good for soap stuff, the charcoal gets into every nook and cranny. Although I've heard it's good for flatulence.

 

[Lindy]

I order mine through the drug store. They bring it in as a loose powder so I'm not having to play with capsules or grinding. Activated Charcoal is used to absorb poisons or toxins in the stomach as well as all the other things it does....

 

[mom2tyler]

Thank you all, I really didn't know much about it.
I look forward to getting some and attempting to make some pretty swirls!

 

[evergreen]

ChrissyB, thanks for posting this. I was wondering if I could use the activated charcoal I have for my fish tank. I have an already ruined coffee grinder (clove oil is embedded in the plastic cover.)

Are soaps with charcoal in them really that popular? Is it just the "black soap" curiosity?

 

[donniej]

The fish tank stuff works great.

Charcoal doesn't add any qualities to the soap other than making it black. Coffee also does this but not nearly as well as charcoal.

 

[evergreen]

>Charcoal doesn't add any qualities to the soap other than making it black.

There was someone on etsy selling soap with charcoal in it claiming it absorbs toxins. http://www.etsy.com/listing/5442579...ge=&order=&includes[0]=tags&includes[1]=title

There's another that says: "Activated charcoal enhances cleansing power and has the ability to absorb impurities and dirt. It also promotes blood circulation and is great for oily skin."
http://www.etsy.com/listing/5446855...ge=&order=&includes[0]=tags&includes[1]=title

I had never heard of charcoal in soap prior to a couple of weeks ago...it's in one of my books and I'd seen these listings. There are others on etsy too.

I have made coffee soap that's dark and a green tea soap that oxidized and turned darker than coffee soap. I like it but is it really appealing to customers?

Also are these listings crossing over to "drug" or "cosmetic" products? Others use the phrase, "CHARCOAL DETOXIFYING SOAP."

 

[Lindy]

Actually as a facial soap it is supposed to absorb impurities. I have a charcoal & pine tar soap that is reaaly popular with kids with acne because they wash their face wtih it, leave it on for 20 minutes and then wash it off. One kid has hidden his bar of soap in his room so his brother doesn't use it..... :shock:

 

[ilovedoxies]

I got mine from abnat.com, it was like 7.99 for a big plastic jar.

 

[justme]

I added charcoal to one batch, purchased from a pet store and run thru a coffee grinder.The comments I got were its a bit of an exfoliant and it seems to absorb the smell of fish off from your hands. I am gonna make another batch for the fish person so he can test it for me.

 

[ChrissyB]

I did find that my charcoal soap is beneficial for my teenage son's skin. He had the normal teenage skin issues.
I use it in a fairly standard OO, CO, Palm balanced recipe, don't go high on the cleansing, it only strips the skin of oils and then the skin over compensates for the loss and produces more.
I do use tea tree oil in this charcoal soap for my son, so the combination of them both may be what helped him. In the same soap recipe without the charcoal or tto, he didn't notice any difference in his skin, but within a week of using the charcoal/tto soap he noticed a big change, so I do believe that there is something working in there.

 

[GardenGirl]

Charcoal has long been used in emergency rooms for ingesting as a treatment for binding swallowed poisons. The charcoal seems to grab the poisonous substance and carry it through the intestinal tract - disallowing absorption into the body. The action it performs is an absorbant one. So, there seems to be reason to think that it could have benefits to the skin, possibly similar to clays.

 

[lily]

There is a good place for buying charcoal, plus they give very good informations : http://www.buyactivatedcharcoal.com/