Charcoal & Clay Facial Soap

This facial soap recipe uses activated charcoal and bentonite clay with a base of coconut oil, olive oil, castor oil, and essential oils. The activated charcoal in this natural homemade soap recipe helps to gently draw out impurities in the skin while lavender essential oil helps to soothe and calm. Our Charcoal Clay facial bar is an unscented blend of cleansing and conditioning oils; natural impurity removers and moisturizing skin loving goats milk. Handmade, cruelty-free and vegan, this charcoal and pink clay soap is the ultimate facial cleansing bar. Deep Cleansing, nourishing and brightening. You may have tried shop-bought soaps and washes that leave your face feeling dry, tight and unnourished. What your skin really needs is a delicate cleansing.

Charcoal Soap Ingredients:

172.36 grams (6.08 ounces) of filtered water
66 grams (2.33 ounces) Lye
181.44 grams (6.4 ounces) Coconut Oil
181.44 grams (6.4 ounces) Olive Oil
90.72 grams (3.2 ounces) Castor Oil
1 tablespoon activated charcoal powder
1 tablespoon bentonite clay powder
1 ounce of essential oil of choice (or blend) I used lavender and tea tree

How to Make Charcoal Soap

Make sure that your work area is clean, ventilated and that there are no children nearby. This is not a good recipe to let children help with since Lye is caustic until mixed with water and oils.
Measure the oils in liquid form (by weight) and pour into the slow cooker. Turn on high just until oils heat up and then reduce to low heat. At this time, Add the clay and charcoal and use a stick blender to incorporate fully.
While oils are heating, carefully measure the lye and water separately. TIP: This is the only thing I ever use disposable plastic cups for. They don’t weigh anything on the scale so they make measuring easy and I keep three separate cups labeled:
Water, Lye, and Oil to use for this purpose only. I reuse them each time so they aren’t wasted and I don’t worry about anyone drinking out of them since we don’t usually use these types of cups.
Carefully take the cups with the water and the lye outside or to a well-ventilated area. Pour the water into a quart size or larger glass jar. With gloves and eye protection, slowly add the lye to the water. DO NOT ADD THE WATER TO THE LYE (this is really important). Stir carefully with a metal spoon, making sure not to let the liquid come in contact with your body directly.
As you stir, this will create a cloudy white mixture that gets really hot. Let this mixture sit for about 10 minutes to cool. It should become clear and not cloudy when it has cooled.
When the oils in the crockpot have heated (to about 120-130 degrees F), slowly pour in the water and lye mixture and stir.
Quickly rinse the container used for the water and lye mixture out in the sink. I rinse well and then re-rinse with white vinegar to make sure all Lye has been neutralized.
Use the metal or wooden spoon to stir the lye/water mixture into the oil mixture in the crockpot. Once it is evenly mixed, use the stick blender to blend for about 4-5 minutes or until it is opaque and starting to thicken.
Cover and keep on low heat to thicken. I set a timer for 15 minutes and check it every 15 minutes until it is ready. It will start to boil and bubble on the sides first. After about 35-55 minutes (depending on crockpot) it will thicken enough that the entire surface is bubbly and the sides have collapsed in.
At this point, turn the heat off and remove the crock. If you are going to use essential oils for scent, add them now. I added lavender and orange.
Quickly and carefully spoon into molds. I’ve often heard of people using empty Pringles containers but haven’t tried it. I have used empty boxes lined with parchment paper.
Cover the molds with parchment paper and set in a cool, dry place.
After 24 hours, pop the soap out of the molds. It can be used right away, but I prefer to let it set for a few more days so that it lasts longer.

Charcoal & Clay Facial Soap