Mysterious, woodsy, yet bright and refreshing is how I would describe the scent of this wonderful charcoal soap. Certainly more a masculine kind of scent, but one that might appeal to men and women alike. The best thing: YOU can make this soap, no matter if you're a beginner looking for a melt and pour soap recipe or a veteran soap maker who's comfortable working with lye. Here you'll find detailed instructions for both: an easy layered soap (using a soap base) and a more advanced swirled cold process soap.

This little bottle of precious Vetiver essential oil had been sitting on my desk for a very long time. Every now and then I would open it and take a sniff. I was intrigued by the thick, viscous amber colored fluid. The smell was like no essential oil I had tried up to that point: woody, earthy with a hint of smokiness.
Honestly I felt a little intimidated to use it. I had read up on different ways to blend it with other essential oils, and everyone seemed to say that it was good for anchoring scents, but too much would overpower the blend. What I wanted was to figure out a way to have the Vetiver front and center with supporting notes that would enhance it's deep masculine earthiness.
And here's what I came up with:
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Melt and Pour Soap Recipe
No experience required for making this beautiful soap: you melt, you add your scent and color and you pour - it's that easy. And yet the result looks sophisticated with intricate details and interesting layers. This would make a great handmade gift for the fellas in your life.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning at no additional cost to you will I earn a commission, if you choose to click through and make a purchase.
What you'll need:
- Sharp knife
- Heat resistant medium sized container
- Whisk
- Spatula
- 2 small cups (steel or glass is best)
- Silicone soap mold
- Spray bottle (for isopropyl alcohol)
- Digital kitchen scale (optional)
Materials for 8 bars of soap:
- Goat milk soap base (melt and pour soap base): 2 lbs (907 g)
- Activated charcoal: 1 ¼ tsp
- Isopropyl alcohol: 1 teaspoon plus more for spraying top of soap
- Vetiver essential oil: ¾ teaspoon (4 g)
- Cedarwood essential oil: 1 teaspoon (4.5 g)
- Lime essential oil: 1 ¼ teaspoon (5 g)
Instructions:
Step 1: Measure out 1 lb (453 g) of soap base (half of total amount) and cut into small chunks
Step 2: Mix 1 ¼ teaspoon activated charcoal powder with 1 ¼ teaspoon of isopropyl alcohol and stir
Step 3: Measure out vetiver, cedarwood and lime essential oils and combine them
Step 4: Melt soap base in microwave using 20 second bursts or in a water bath
Step 5: Add charcoal and whisk well
Step 6: Add half of the amount of essential oils (eyeballing is ok) and combine
Step 7: Pour melted soap base into each soap mold cavity until half full
Step 8: Spray the top with alcohol
Step 9: Wait until 1st layer is fully cooled and hardened
Step 10: Cut rest of the soap (1 lb) into small chunks
Step 11: Melt soap base in microwave using 20 second bursts or in a water bath
Step 12: Add rest of essential oil blend and whisk
Step 13: Pour melted soap base on top of first layer filling the cavities to the top
Step 14: Spray top with alcohol
Step 15: Wait until fully cooled (at least 2 hour) and gently remove for mold by pushing from the bottom
Step 16: Wrap in plastic or store in an airtight container
Enjoy!
Activated Charcoal Cold Process Soap Recipe (using Lye)
If you've never made cold process soap, make sure to read up on lye safety, equipment needed and my beginner tutorial, before you dive in.
What you'll need:
- three heat resistant containers: one to make the lye solution, one to blend up your soap and a smaller one to separate out the part of the soap that will be colored black
- stick blender
- accurate digital scale
- empty Pringles can
- freezer paper
- tape
- spatula
- whisk
- pipette (optional) to measure out essential oils
Activated Charcoal Soap Recipe (Cold Process): for 30 oz / 840 g of soap:
this recipe uses a superfat of 5% and a lye concentration of 38%
- lye: 3 oz / 84 g
- distilled water: 4.8 oz / 137 g
- coconut oil (30%): 6.3 oz / 180 g
- canola oil (25%): 5.3 oz / 150 g
- shea butter (20%): 4.2 oz / 120 g
- kokum butter (14%): 3 oz / 84 g
- castor oil (6%): 1.3 oz / 36 g
- sesame oil (5%): 1 oz / 30 g
- lime essential oil: 7 g
- cedarwood (virginia) essential oil: 8 g
- vetiver essential oil: 8 g
- kaolin clay: 1 Tbsp
- activated charcoal: ½ tsp
Instructions:
Preparing the Mold:
- Cut out a piece of freezer paper about 7 x 9 Inches
- Cut the bottom of the Pringles can off, so that the remainder measures about 7 Inches tall
- Firmly tape the cap on (you don't want any soap batter seeping out at the bottom)
- Line the can with freezer paper - the coated side facing inward
Making the Soap:
- Prepare the lye solution
- Measure and melt the coconut oil, shea butter and kokum butter over low heat
- Add canola, castor and sesame oil
- Wait until lye solution and oils have cooled down to room temperature
- Prepare kaolin clay by dissolving it in 1 tablespoon of oils from your base
- Measure and add essential oils
- Combine lye solution and melted oils and butters by stick blending until emulsified (this recipe traced quick for me, you want to allow yourself time to incorporate colors and swirls)
- Separate out a third (or 280 g) of the batter and add ½ teaspoon of activated charcoal
- Add kaolin clay to the remaining batter
- Thoroughly whisk in the colorants making sure there are no more clumps
- Create an "in the pot swirl" by pouring the black batter into the white. Pouring the batter in three different spots making a circle, take your spatula and go through each black spots only once moving in a circle
- Pour the batter into the mold and tap it down to release any air bubbles
- Insulate the mold with a heavy towel
- After 18 - 24 hours cut into bars
- Cure for 3-4 weeks
Want more awesome natural soap recipes? Why not try:
Until next time. Happy Tinkering!
Activated Charcoal Soap Recipe (Melt and Pour)
No experience required for making this beautiful soap: you melt, you add your scent and color and you pour – it’s that easy. And yet the result looks sophisticated with intricate details and interesting layers.
Materials
- Goat milk soap base (melt and pour soap base): 2 lbs (907 g)
- Activated charcoal: 1 ¼ tsp
- Isopropyl alcohol: 1 teaspoon plus more for spraying top of soap
- Vetiver essential oil: ¾ teaspoon (4 g)
- Cedarwood essential oil: 1 teaspoon (4.5 g)
- Lime essential oil: 1 ¼ teaspoon (5 g)
Tools
- Sharp knife
- Heat resistant medium sized container
- Whisk
- Spatula
- 2 small cups (steel or glass is best)
- Silicone soap mold
- Spray bottle (for isopropyl alcohol)
- Digital kitchen scale (optional)
Instructions
- Step 1: Measure out 1 lb (453 g) of soap base (half of total amount) and cut into small chunks
- Step 2: Mix 1 ¼ teaspoon activated charcoal powder with 1 ¼ teaspoon of isopropyl alcohol and stir
- Step 3: Measure out vetiver, cedarwood and lime essential oils and combine them
- Step 4: Melt soap base in microwave using 20 second bursts or in a water bath
- Step 5: Add charcoal and whisk well
- Step 6: Add half the amount of essential oils (eyeballing is ok) and combine
- Step 7: Pour melted soap base into each soap mold cavity until half full
- Step 8: Spray the top with alcohol
- Step 9: Wait until 1st layer is fully cooled and hardened
- Step 10: Cut rest of the soap (1 lb) into small chunks
- Step 11: Melt soap base in microwave using 20 second bursts or in a water bath
- Step 12: Add rest of essential oil blend and whisk
- Step 13: Pour melted soap base on top of first layer filling the cavities to the top
- Step 14: Spray top with alcohol
- Step 15: Wait until fully cooled (at least 2 hour) and gently remove for mold by pushing from the bottom
- Step 16: Wrap in plastic or store in an airtight container
Mary Wilkening
You always have all kinds of great ideas to try! Thanks for sharing!
Celine
Aww, thank you Mary!
I'm glad you enjoy it <3
Elizabeth Benton
Thanks for the recipe. Have to get some Kokum butter, which I am having a little trouble finding here in Aussie, so May have to end up using cocoa butter instead. So looking forward to making this and the two other ones you have on this page
Shadrach
I have really enjoyed the tutorials but I'm yet to try it.
I've not come across kakum butter and sesame oil here in Ghana before, so please what can I use instead?
Celine
Hi Shadrach,
you could try to use more shea butter instead of the kokum and maybe sweet almond oil instead of sesame oil. Whenever you make changes to a recipe, you HAVE to run the entire recipe through a lye calculator since the amount of lye needed will be different. I use Soapcalc. Happy Tinkering!
B.k.sodhi
If I want to add EDTA in my soap for its use with hard water.at what stage should I add
Celine
Hi, I’m not sure. I’ve never used EDTA in my soaps.
Kani
Hi Celine! I cannot wait to try it. Did you superfat though and at what percentage?
Kani
Sorry I just found the infos. I definitely need some glasses now😄
Thanks again for sharing.
Celine
😃
Aradhna
Hi Celine! Great Recipe! Thank you!
Just one query
Don't the lye & water have to be the same weight?
Celine
This recipe uses a lye solution that consists of 38% lye and 62% water. You can make a 50/50 lye solution, but you have to be very precise in your measurements and have to be ready to work fast since the soap will become solid quickly.
Henry B Molina Jr
Hey do you know if you can break the recipe down for me if I were to use a melt and pour soap base?. I have all the other ingredients needed.
Celine
Hi Henry, for the same amount of melt and pour soap base (30 oz/ 840g) you would use 5 g cedarwood essential oil, 5 g vetiver and 4g lime. Let me know if you have more questions!
Divine Daffe
Hi, Celine I am so happy to find you . I have learnt a lot , I'm eager to make my rose clay and coconut milk soap. Can I use it on my whole body?
Celine
Hi, yes you can 🙂
Joanne Clarke
Hi, I love your recipes! Just wondering what I can substitute for the sesame oil, it is a strong smelling oil, or is it not too noticable in the finished product?
Celine
It’s a very small amount, the smell isn’t noticeable. You could substitute with sweet almond oil.
Celine
Let me know if you have any questions:)
Holly
Celine, Iam not new to soapmaking, but I’m somewhat of a novice. I’ve been making soap for about 2 years now. How do you clean up your tools, bowls,etc. I usually wait until next day, then wash everything. Now I find out I have completely clogged up my sewer pipe with soap!! The plumber said I must be putting grease down my sink, andI told him I never do that. Once we got it cleared, you could see it was soap residue. I want to continue making soap, bit I REALLY dontwant want to log up the works again? Any hints?
Celine
Hi Holly, I ususually wait 3-4 days until the saponification process is really complete. Then I scrape off as much of dry soap as I can with a knife or old credit card and rinse the rest. I hope this helps.