# Activated Charcoal



## jeremmy (Feb 3, 2013)

How much charcoal pp is recommended for a black color? I was following that salt bar recipe on youtube (the salt and pepper one) and she got a really great black color, but didnt mention measurements. I put 1tsp in half a pound of batter and still just got a nasty gray color...


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## ZandarKoad (Feb 3, 2013)

jeremmy said:


> How much charcoal pp is recommended for a black color? I was following that salt bar recipe on youtube (the salt and pepper one) and she got a really great black color, but didnt mention measurements. I put 1tsp in half a pound of batter and still just got a nasty gray color...



1 tsp does not compute.  We don't talk volumes.  Only weight measurements.  

Typically, colorants are described as a # of dry ounces used per pound of base oils.  Recently, I made an Activated Charcoal batch and I had 8.25 lbs of base oils.  I used roughly 3.2 dry ounces of Activated Charcoal.  That's about 0.388 dry ounces per lb of base oils.

Now, I don't recommend that, as I THINK at this point that I added too much.  It is a great black color, but I'm afraid it might bleed when used, and have gray or black suds.  I would suggest trying no more than 0.25 dry ounces per pound of base oils, and see if that's dark enough.  Then add more as needed.

Also, PICS when you're done!  8)

Edit:  I did some math on what you said, and from my experience it looks like you should have enough.  But someone recommended to me that I should use 0.5 oz per pound (about double what you used), so you could try that.


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## AlchemyandAshes (Feb 3, 2013)

If you plan on using a weight measurement with powdered herbs, I recommend weighing in grams. 3.2 oz of charcoal is A LOT of charcoal...definitely black soap, but probably black lather too.


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## hoegarden (Feb 3, 2013)

Hi Zandarkoad, you are using about 2.5% of dry powder to per lb of oil. Am I right in the conversion?

Do you add water to the powder so that it will mix more easily with the soap?


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## chicklet (Feb 3, 2013)

I use weight measurement for lye, water, milk, yogurt, and all oils including essential oils for fragrance, but I do use teaspoons and tablespoons for all my colorants - including charcoal. One tablespoon of charcoal per pound of oils is the amount recommended where I bought charcoal. Weight measurements are probably more accurate, especially if you measure in grams.


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## ZandarKoad (Feb 3, 2013)

hoegarden said:


> Hi Zandarkoad, you are using about 2.5% of dry powder to per lb of oil. Am I right in the conversion?
> 
> Do you add water to the powder so that it will mix more easily with the soap?



Right, 2.5% seems correct.

I did NOT ad any water to the powder before hand.  I added it dry to the mixture, but used a bit of extra water (3 oz) when preparing the lye solution.  It was kinda crazy when I poured in the charcoal, because it created small black hole at the bottom of my 5 gallon bucket.  I couldn't see past the event horizon.  But I had a stick blender, and I just beat the tar out of that singularity for like 5-10 minutes, and it all worked itself in just fine.  No dry pockets left over.


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## jeremmy (Feb 4, 2013)

i use grams for my oils/butters, liquid and lye. i use ml for fragrance and essential oils. 
so your recommendation is approximately .5 tb for .5 lb of oil (i divided my batch in half - one white, one supposedly black). I put approximately .3tb. I guess i was almost there...
Either way, I didnt know the recommended amount by weight OR volume :razz:



chicklet said:


> I use weight measurement for lye, water, milk, yogurt, and all oils including essential oils for fragrance, but I do use teaspoons and tablespoons for all my colorants - including charcoal. One tablespoon of charcoal per pound of oils is the amount recommended where I bought charcoal. Weight measurements are probably more accurate, especially if you measure in grams.



wow, that is some black soap! :shock:
yes, as mentioned above i do my main measurements in grams. i guess im so used to cooking that it made sense to take out my measuring spoons for the charcoal and kaolin clay (white side). 
Is your recommendation for colorants in general, or for charcoal specifically? I cant seem to find any advice for adding clays (or charcoal, obviously) of any kind...



ZandarKoad said:


> 1 tsp does not compute.  We don't talk volumes.  Only weight measurements.
> 
> Typically, colorants are described as a # of dry ounces used per pound of base oils.  Recently, I made an Activated Charcoal batch and I had 8.25 lbs of base oils.  I used roughly 3.2 dry ounces of Activated Charcoal.  That's about 0.388 dry ounces per lb of base oils.
> 
> ...


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## Hazel (Feb 4, 2013)

1 tsp computes for me. I measure the same way as chicklet. Weight measurements for all ingredients except for colorants - teaspoons & tablespoons. However, if you really want to be accurate then weigh out the charcoal in grams as was mentioned above. You might have to experiment and weigh the charcoal every time you use it so you'll know exactly how many grams produce a good black color. I can understand how weighing in grams would be more useful if you were making a huge batch. But if you're only making a few pounds,  it's easier and faster just to use measuring spoons.

I don't use activated charcoal a lot but I can say I've used 1/2 tsp in approximately 10 oz of soap and got a lovely black swirl. Although, it's possible 1/4 tsp might have been enough or at least 1/3 tsp. Here's a link to some pics of it but you have to scroll down a little. http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f22/halloween-soap-thanks-sanguine-30100/


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## jeremmy (Feb 4, 2013)

huh, i wonder how you were able to get such a nice black while all i got was gray...i guess ill just be 'forced' to make more soap now :shh:



Hazel said:


> 1 tsp computes for me. I measure the same way as chicklet. Weight measurements for all ingredients except for colorants - teaspoons & tablespoons. However, if you really want to be accurate then weigh out the charcoal in grams as was mentioned above. You might have to experiment and weigh the charcoal every time you use it so you'll know exactly how many grams produce a good black color. I can understand how weighing in grams would be more useful if you were making a huge batch. But if you're only making a few pounds,  it's easier and faster just to use measuring spoons.
> 
> I don't use activated charcoal a lot but I can say I've used 1/2 tsp in approximately 10 oz of soap and got a lovely black swirl. Although, it's possible 1/4 tsp might have been enough or at least 1/3 tsp. Here's a link to some pics of it but you have to scroll down a little. http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f22/halloween-soap-thanks-sanguine-30100/


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## Hazel (Feb 4, 2013)

jeremmy said:


> huh, i wonder how you were able to get such a nice black while all i got was gray...i guess ill just be 'forced' to make more soap now :shh:



I don't know but I assume it was due to the 1/2 tsp in 10 oz. It might have been slightly less but it was at least 8 oz (which would work out to 2 tsp for a pound of soap not for pound of oil). So, it wasn't close to the recommended 1 T ppo. I didn't weigh out how much soap I pulled from the batch. I use Ball freezer cups and I just fill up to a specific measurement line. It gives me an approximate amount to color. 

Yes, I know it's a hardship. But you're just going to have to force yourself to make more soap and experiment with varying amounts.


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## Delicato7 (Jan 2, 2018)

I think I'll stick with measuring spoons, thanks.  Has always been fine once I knew about how much.  Soap Queen gives out info on this and it sounds right.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Jan 2, 2018)

None of these members are very active any more (if it all!) - not sure that your post will mean much to them


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## Delicato7 (Jan 2, 2018)

So?  This is one of the first links that comes up when you Google, how much charcoal should I add to soap?  But not particularly helpful and that's why I mentioned another source.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Jan 2, 2018)

https://goo.gl/images/3bnjof


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