Activated Charcoal Bar
Black bar with activated charcoal — popular for face soap and acne-prone skin marketing.
Activated charcoal at 1% gives a dramatic black bar with a velvety lather. Popular for face bars and oily-skin marketing. Pairs well with peppermint or tea tree EO for a tingle.
Ingredients (1 kg batch)
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
Olive oil Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil | 400.0 g (40%) |
Coconut oil 76° Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil | 250.0 g (25%) |
Shea butter Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter | 150.0 g (15%) |
Castor oil Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil | 50.0 g (5%) |
Sweet almond oil Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil | 150.0 g (15%) |
NaOH (lye) | 141.2 g (99% purity) |
Distilled water | 330.0 g |
Fragrance / EO (3%) | 30.0 g |
Activated charcoal | 10.0 g (1% of oils) |
Open the recipe in the calculator to scale up or down by gram, ounce, kg, or pound.
Expected qualities
Step-by-step
- Standard CP. Pre-mix activated charcoal with a small amount of oil before adding to the batch — adding dry powder causes specks.
- Add at light trace.
- Add fragrance / EO at light trace as well.
- Pour, unmould 24–48 hours, cure 4 weeks.
Notes & troubleshooting
- Charcoal stains everything (including your face cloth in the early days). Good shower drainage helps.
- Avoid claiming it 'detoxifies' — that crosses into drug-territory wording. Stick to sensory claims.
Regulatory disclaimer
FormulaNorth helps organize cosmetic formulation, label, costing, and CNF preparation information. It is not legal or regulatory advice and does not replace Health Canada guidance, professional regulatory review, or the maker's responsibility to verify product compliance before sale.
Selling in Canada?
Soap sold to the public in Canada is generally regulated as a cosmetic. Save this recipe to a free FormulaNorth account, then use the bilingual label drafter and CNF preparation tools to get ready for sale.
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