DIY charcoal soap

i figured i'd start off the week with a super simple DIY. i love making soaps, they make great gifts and you get to melt stuff (which is always high on my agenda.) in the past i've generally stuck to novelty ones like this but today i'm sharing a more grown up version- detox charcoal soap!

activated charcoal is pretty awesome and kinda trendy right now. not only is it a natural teeth whitener (dip your toothbrush into some and scrub!) but regular use can help battle oily and spot prone skin as it draws out toxins and impurities making it a great ingredient for a clarifying soap.

if you fancy making some for yourself read on..

you'll need:

melt and pour soap base.

activated charcoal. 

tea tree essential oil.

silicone soap mould.

i made two batches of charcoal soap- the black version above and a more rustic grey soap in the photo below. the method is the same i just used two different coloured melt and pour bases!

for the creamy grey soap i used this melt and pour base. for the deep black deep soap i used this melt and pour base. this DIY is based on 500g of soap base which make 3-4 soaps.

1. cut the required amount of soap base into chunks and place into a microwaveable container.

2. microwave the soap base for 20-30seconds, stir and repeat this process until it has all melted. (don't be tempted to heat it for longer than 30sec intervals or you can get in trouble.)

3. once fully liquid add 10-15 drops of tea tree essential oil and approx one teaspoon of activated charcoal and mix carefully until distributed. (you can totally add more charcoal if you wish!)

4. pour into a soap mould and leave to dry! 

for the more rustic soap above i poured the soap into a silicone loaf tin and sliced it into bars once it had dried. (to create the rough top i just scraped the excess semi dried soap from the melting container and dumped it onto the top!) 

if you do decide to use a loaf tin instead of a individual soap mould be aware 500g of soap base won't be enough to fill it- i cut a piece of cardboard and used it as a divider to section off half of the mould before i poured my soap base in. 

let me know if you try making your own!

back soon

caroline x

ps. both my bars soaped up to a light grey lather so you don't need to be worried about the charcoal staining your face. i might add more charcoal next time just to see what difference it makes..