Vanillan and Activated Charcoal

[msunnerstood]

I received a request to make an activated charcoal soap but scented with cinnamon bun fo. The scent has a pretty high percentage of vanillan. My question is, will the fo discoloration affect the color since the charcoal will be black?

It will be my first batch with activated charcoal so I want to avoid disaster if I can.

 

[lmosca]

Even a heavy-hand with charcoal will never give you a perfect black, more of a gray shade (more or less black). Thus I believe that discoloration from vanillin will mute it to a warm(er) shade of brown, as opposed to the neutral appearance of gray. If you ramp up the charcoal (1+ Tbsp ppo) you will get an almost black soap, however, you will see it thickening faster than normal, at least in my experience, just so you know. At the same time, you will have gray lather and staining on washcloths.
If you don't want to use as much charcoal, and still achieve a really black soap, then black oxide pigment is one of the most powerful ones. And it really takes a little to bring a gray-looking soap to almost perfect black.
;-)
L.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Sorry for the semi-hijack, but will activated charcoal mute the vanilla scent? I mean, AC absorbs organic scents almost by definition...

 

[jcandleattic]

Even a heavy-hand with charcoal will never give you a perfect black, more of a gray shade (more or less black). Thus I believe that discoloration from vanillin will mute it to a warm(er) shade of brown, as opposed to the neutral appearance of gray. If you ramp up the charcoal (1+ Tbsp ppo) you will get an almost black soap, however, you will see it thickening faster than normal, at least in my experience, just so you know. At the same time, you will have gray lather and staining on washcloths.
If you don't want to use as much charcoal, and still achieve a really black soap, then black oxide pigment is one of the most powerful ones. And it really takes a little to bring a gray-looking soap to almost perfect black.
;-)
L.

I think this all depends on the recipe. I use charcoal all the time, at a 1tsp ppo and get a jet black color that never produces grey lather or stains the wash cloths.

I personally don't like a straight vanilla scent in soap, so don't use it often, but every soap I make, I use a vanilla stabilizer, because there are several scents that have vanilla as a base note and other scents that have no vanilla in them that will discolor soap. When I use the VS I rarely if ever get discoloration in my soaps for at least 9 months to a year.

 

[msunnerstood]

Its not straight Vanilla, its a Cinnamon bun scent with a 9% Vanillan content. Just didnt know if a brown discoloration would overtake the grey/black.

I do have black oxide so I may go that route. Odd combination she wants but being she orders again every time she gets an order, I'll do what I can for her.

 

[cmzaha]

You actually can get a true black soap with AC, but it will take a lot which is why I use it for black swirls. AC can make a bit of a scrubby bar which is why I prefer to not use it for full black. When I want a black soap I mix AC with New Moon Black Mica from Micas and More, it makes black without using a lot

 

[TeresaJean53]

You actually can get a true black soap with AC, but it will take a lot which is why I use it for black swirls. AC can make a bit of a scrubby bar which is why I prefer to not use it for full black. When I want a black soap I mix AC with New Moon Black Mica from Micas and More, it makes black without using a lot

Thanks for the tip on mixing the AC with black mica - Does it make the bubbles gray or stain a white wash cloth? I'm thinking no...

 

[cmzaha]

Thanks for the tip on mixing the AC with black mica - Does it make the bubbles gray or stain a white wash cloth? I'm thinking no...

Yep it can make gray bubbles, but really never had it stain. I do put a warning on my soaps that handmade colored soaps can stain wash cloths. I tell my customers when they buy a charcoal bar not to use a $20 white wash cloth. Usually get a laugh...

 

[earlene]

For me, AC darkens lather, but does not stain wash cloths (the stuff washes out.) But some fabrics that I don't use myself, could stain, I suppose, so it's something to think about. Not all wash cloths are plain cotton.

 

[lmosca]

will activated charcoal mute the vanilla scent? I mean, AC absorbs organic scents almost by definition

In most cases, probably not. It might absorb some of it, but not completely. In a mixed environment like soap is, definitely hard to predict, however, I believe that the charcoal will be "mostly" loaded with oils of low molecular weight (perhaps the capric/caprylic/myristic fraction), or saponified fatty acids.

For me, AC darkens lather, but does not stain washcloths (the stuff washes out.) But some fabrics that I don't use myself, could stain, I suppose, so it's something to think about. Not all washcloths are plain cotton.

That is something I've experienced as well, cotton does not get stains from AC, but I've noticed that one of those plastic shower puffs did not get completely clean from AC. But AC is a solvophobic Janus, so in water it behaves like a hydrophobic/lipophilic material, while in organic solvent is lipophobic/hydrophilic.

 

[Bann51]

You could give her a gift of a scrubbie with her order and suggest she uses that. A clear explanation of avc will probably insure she'll return.

 

[msunnerstood]

You could give her a gift of a scrubbie with her order and suggest she uses that. A clear explanation of avc will probably insure she'll return.

What a great idea!

 

[penelopejane]

Its not straight Vanilla, its a Cinnamon bun scent with a 9% Vanillan content. Just didnt know if a brown discoloration would overtake the grey/black.

I do have black oxide so I may go that route. Odd combination she wants but being she orders again every time she gets an order, I'll do what I can for her.

I’ve had an FO discolour very dark grey AC soap to dark brown.

I put enough AC in to make very dark grey but is doesn’t discolour or make grey lather. I find if you SB the AC into the batter you get a darker grey soap with less AC than if you hand blend it in.

 

[Complexions]

I made a lumps of coal soap last year for Christmas gifts. I used AC and a kid friendly vanilla FO that had a very high vanillin %. I still got black lumps of coal. Lather is gray, but hasn't stained anything yet.