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Make beautiful and cleansing activated charcoal soap at home! This cold process soap is such a fun one and is sure to make your skin feel incredible.
It sounds a bit strange, I know. But it’s becoming ever more popular to use activated charcoal in facial soap due to its incredible benefits of drawing out impurities and dirt from the skin.
I’ll admit that I was skeptical of using activated charcoal soap on my face at first, thinking it might cause a breakout or aggravate my skin, but boy was I wrong.
It’s now a regular part of my skin cleansing routine. I use it as a deep pore cleanser to keep spots and blemishes at bay and give my skin a good cleaning once or twice a week.
In this post, I’ll share my favorite activated charcoal soap recipe, so you can try making it yourself.
This is actually one of my husband’s favorite soap bars. It makes a nice, firm bar that rinses clean and doesn’t leave his skin feeling slick, just like my beeswax soap recipe, which also holds up really well in the shower.
Please carefully read the instructions in the recipe, as it is imperative to use the exact measurements and set aside the proper time it takes to make activated charcoal soap.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The addition of activated charcoal in this soap gives it a lot of wonderful skin benefits! Activated charcoal is believed to improve the texture and appearance of skin, remove impurities and deeply cleanse, and clear blemishes and acne.
- Making your own cold process soap is so rewarding! It is a more involved process than many of my other DIYs, but that makes it even more gratifying to use your own homemade soap.
- This soap is made with all-natural fats and oils, so you can skip any harmful or unwanted ingredients.
Ingredients
- Oils and fats: This soap uses a nourishing blend of avocado oil, coconut oil, palm oil, and castor oil. If you change any of the ingredients, be sure to recalculate the recipe with a soap calculator.
- Lye: When mixed the the oils and fats, lye reacts in a process called saponification, which is how soap is made. Always handle it with care.
- Water
- Activated charcoal: The star of this soap bar! It gives the bar a beautiful grey color and extra cleansing properties. I love activated charcoal for my face, so much that I also make a DIY charcoal peel-off mask.
Equipment Needed
- Safety gear: Safety gear is a must! Always wear gloves, safety goggles, and long sleeves when making soap.
- Digital scale: A digital scale is essential to getting precise measurements.
- Heat-proof glass container: I use a mason jar for this. Because of the chemical reaction between water and lye, this container needs to handle rapid temperature changes.
- Immersion blender: Make sure you have a dedicated blender that is used only for soap and never for food.
- Soap molds: I used a large brick soap mold for this recipe. You can also use individual bar molds.
How to Make Activated Charcoal Soap
Step 1. Use a digital scale to measure out the water. Then, add it to the heat-resistant container. Slowly add the lye to the water. Stir the lye into the water until dissolved. Note that the chemical reaction will cause it to heat up quickly. Set aside to cool to about 120-130°F.
Step 2. Melt the coconut and palm oil in a small saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Once melted, set aside to cool slightly. Add all the oils to a metal mixing bowl.
Step 3. Pour the lye water in with the melted fat and oil a little at a time and mix with an immersion blender.
Step 4. Continue adding the lye water and mixing between each round until the soap comes to trace. To check the “trace,” hold the immersion blender over the bowl; if the soap drips and pools up on the top, it’s come to the correct trace.
Step 5. Whisk in activated charcoal.
Step 6. Pour the soap into the mold and let dry for at least 24 hours, or up to 3 days.
Step 7. Remove the soap from the mold and cut it into individual bars.
Step 8. Stand the soap bars up with a couple of inches between each bar and let them cure for 5-6 weeks before using.
Important Safety Notes
- Always take proper precautions when working with lye. Lye is necessary to make soap, but in its natural form, it can damage the skin and cause burns or even blindness.
- Work in a well-ventilated area, or outside if possible, and always wear goggles, long sleeves, and gloves.
- Keep children and pets out of the room while mixing the soap, and store the ingredients out of their reach.
- Always add the lye to the water, never the water to the lye, as this can cause a dangerous reaction.
- Follow the instructions closely and don’t change any of the ingredients or quantities. If you want to alter the recipe, everything must be recalculated with a soap calculator.
Expert Tips
- If you’re new to soapmaking, it’s a good idea to read through the instructions a couple of times and assemble your supplies before beginning. That way, you can go into the process prepared and confident in the steps.
- The trick when making cold process soap is the waiting time. You must be patient with it and leave it for the number of weeks stated before using it. Don’t skip the curing time. It’s hard, I know, but so worth it!
Where to Find Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal is not the same as the charcoal you buy for your BBQ, don’t worry! Just in case you were wondering. It’s a reputable beauty product and safe to use.
Activated charcoal has been heated at a high temperature to ‘activate’ it, meaning it becomes more porous, so it collects more dust, toxins, and particles (aka impurities from your skin).
You can find activated charcoal in powder form in pharmacies, health food stores, and some grocery stores, and on Amazon.
When to Use Charcoal Soap
The answer to this question depends on the type of skin you have.
If you have oily skin, you could use a charcoal soap as a daily cleanser.
With normal skin, perhaps two to three times a week is enough.
This recipe is very gentle and kind to the face, as it contains coconut and avocado oil, which complement the cleansing abilities of the charcoal.
My only concern would be if your skin is dehydrated. Charcoal soap may dry the skin further in some instances.
It draws out excess oil and impurities, so if your skin is naturally dry, I would use this soap once a week and use a DIY moisturizing soap bar the rest of the time. A homemade face cream will also help rehydrate the skin after cleansing.
My advice with every product is to try it on a small area first and see if it’s suitable for your skin type.
Recipe FAQs
There have been rumors that charcoal is suitable as a skin lightener, but in fact, there’s little evidence of this being true.
Perhaps there’s confusion here, as charcoal tends to reveal the natural skin color from its cleansing abilities?
So perhaps this is where the claim comes from. Your skin can look clearer and brighter by using charcoal in your skincare routine.
You’ve probably heard that it can be dangerous, and that’s because of the lye. Lye is a caustic substance that must be handled with care and proper safety gear. However, once the lye is mixed into the soap, it’s no longer dangerous. Lye is a necessary part of soapmaking, so don’t fear it. Just be cautious and read through the instructions and safety notes before beginning!
More DIY Soap Recipes
- Lard soap recipe
- DIY olive oil swirl soap bars
- Homemade clear glycerin soap bars
- Goat milk soap recipe (melt and pour)
- Cold process chamomile soap
- Hot process aloe soap
If you tried this activated charcoal soap recipe or any other tutorial on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Activated Charcoal Soap Recipe
Equipment
- Safety goggles
- Gloves
Ingredients
- 6 oz Avocado oil
- 4 oz Palm oil
- 8 oz Castor oil
- 14 oz Coconut oil
- 1 tbsp Activated charcoal
Lye & Liquid
- 4.70 oz Lye
- 10.51 oz Liquid
Instructions
- Cover any exposed skin, wearing gloves, eye protection, and work in a well ventilated area.
- Use a digital scale to measure out the water. Then, add it to the heat-resistant container.
- Slowly add the lye to the water. Stir the lye into the water until dissolved. Note that the chemical reaction will cause it to heat up quickly. Set aside to cool to about 120-130°F
- Melt the coconut and palm oil in a small saucepan on the stove over medium heat.
- Once melted, set aside to cool slightly.
- Add all the oils to a metal mixing bowl.
- Pour the lye water in with the melted fat and oil a little at a time and mix with an immersion blender.
- Continue adding the lye water and mixing between each round until the soap comes to trace.
- To check the “trace,” hold the immersion blender over the bowl; if the soap drips and pools up on the top, it's come to the correct trace.
- Whisk in activated charcoal
- Pour the soap into the mold and let dry for 24 hours up to 3 days.
- Cut the soap into bars, and space out on a drying rack for 5-6 weeks to fully cure.
Video
Notes
- Always take proper precautions when working with lye. Lye Is necessary to make soap, but in its natural form, it can damage the skin, cause burns, and even blindness.
- Work in a well-ventilated area, or outside if possible, and always wear goggles, long sleeves, and gloves.
- Keep children and pets out of the room while mixing the soap, and store the ingredients out of their reach.
- Always add the lye to the water, never the water to the lye as this can cause a dangerous reaction.
- Follow the instructions closely and don’t change any of the ingredients or quantities. If you want to alter the recipe, everything must be recalculated with a soap calculator.
- Oil & Fats Total: 32.00 oz
- Lye & Liquid Total: 15.21 oz
- Total Batch Yield: 47.21 oz
Hi there! Does this soap turn the skin black while being used? Is it something that will leave black in the tub? Thank you!
I have not had any issues with this soap leaving any residue or color in the tub!
Hi, please in my area our coconut oil is already in it’s liquid state…..
Do I still use 14 oz as stated for the unliquid coconut?
Thanks please
Regular and fractionated coconut oil will result in a very different consistency.
Can we put the same amount of activated charcoal in the melt and pour base if we aren’t using lye?
Yes
What oil can I use if I don’t have palm oil?
I have all the other oils you listed except for palm. I have Grape seed and sweet almond. Would one of those work. Sorry I’m new to soap making !
You can use a different oil, but be sure to adjust the measurements using the soap calculator.
Can Lard be used for some of the oils/fats? I’d rather add in charcoal to a simple lard&lye recipe but I’m not finding one.
Thanks!
Yes, you can sub any of the oils & fats. However, you will need to recalculate the measurements using a cold-process soap calculator. I use the brambleberry calculator.
Can you make this with a pour and melt soap base?
Yes, absolutely. I have a melt and pour charcoal soap recipe on the site. Just search for charcoal soap.
Hi,
Hope you are well?
I’m new to this,
And I just want to confirm,
I’d like to add a fragrance oil to the batch, how much would be a good amount?
I’d also just like to find out, you say 10.51oz of liquid, does this only refer to water? Or would the fragrance be included in this?
Thank you for the recipe.
It really depends on the fragrance.
If you are using essential oils, around 20 drops would be enough.
The liquid refers just to the water.
Would this turn out if I swapped the castor and palm oil for olive oil?
You will need to use the soap calculator linked in the post to figure out the new measurements.