Struggling with activated charcoal

[shunt2011]

If I remember correctly I used 2 tsp ppo in my last batch and it's pretty black. It does rub off on my scrubby but the suds are not grey. It doesn't stain anything. Just washes out in the laundry.

 

[loriag]

Are you using activated charcoal intended for soap? Is it as fine as dust, or is it more granulated?

Yes it’s fine, I get it from my soap supplier.

 

[loriag]

Did your soaps gel? The only time I notice soap taking longer to remove from the mold is when they don't gel. But I have never made a layered AC soap, so cannot address that one.

With individual molds I'd cover them well and CPOP them to encourage gel.

I do gel. I just might do coop.

 

[Maria Morando]

I have been struggling working with activated charcoal. I am hoping for some tips on what I can do to make this work. I tried my regular recipe 50% OO, 4 Castor, 22 CO, 21 Palm and 3 Cocoa and 2 tsp of activated charcoal in single cavity molds. It took 3 to 4 days to unmold as it was so soft. I made the mistake of using 4% lemongrass EO and don't like the smell. The hubby said he doesn't mind it so he will use it.

Second attempt with activated charcoal- I used same recipe with black cherry FO at 3%, with water as percentage or oils my normal which is 33%. I had just 1/4 inch layer of activated charcoal at the bottom of the soap loaf (with mica line on top but not too much as I have done plenty of mica lines without issues) and after 3 days in the mold when I un molded it the charcoal separated from the loaf. It was so much softer than the rest of the loaf.

Is activated charcoal finicky to use? Why is it so soft always?

Now I really want to make a regular loaf mold with activated charcoal my regular recipe and not have issues. How can I make this happen? Do I need a steeper water discount? If so how much? How long would I need to leave it in the mold? Any help/ suggestions would really be appreciated.

I have never had a problem with activated charcoal except when I layered it as you have experienced. I have used it in my goat milk soaps, and my water based soaps dozens of times. My recipe is always predominantly Olive Oil, then Coconut and Palm Oil, with an added soft oil, as well as Castor Oil and some sort of butter. I add the activated charcoal powder right to my batch at light trace and mix it in by hand. I don't make any modifications or changes in my recipe for charcoal additions. It always blends beautifully and saponifies just fine. As far as your separated mica line, I have had that experience with charcoal soaps having a separation between layers as well. I don't know why that is, but it has happened to me twice when a charcoal layer with a mica line has separated. I would recommend a good gel stage with some added heat to make the layers stay together, but that is not a guarantee. It could also be exacerbated by the fragrance oil used. I have experienced that as well. I can understand that a 1/4 inch layer at bottom would separate. But as far as the soap being soft with charcoal, I have only experienced that one time in a loaf mold that did not go through gel stage. The rest of the time, it unmolds quite nicely. Even the goat milk soap (which does not go through gel stage), unmolds just fine, but I unmold it as soon as I take it out of the refrigerator. I use a slab mold for milk soaps. As far as my water based soaps, I use loaf molds. I have always added some heat to make them gel. They firm up quite nicely. I hope this helps.

 

[loriag]

You need to forget about the water as percent of oils. It gives inconsistent results. You want to choose the lye concentration option on soapcalc

Thank you @Obsidian I have done a little more reading and have now started using lye concentration, it makes sense. I am thankful for all info I pick up from asking questions and reading posts.