Charcoal and Shea Butter Soap

Last updated: October 2026

How to make charcoal and shea butter soap

Dissolve the lye in the distilled water (always lye into water) and let it cool, then melt the shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil and castor oil together. When both are around 100-120°F (38-49°C), pour the lye solution into the oils and blend to trace. Stir in the activated charcoal and essential oil, pour into a mould, leave 24-48 hours, then cut and cure the bars for 4-6 weeks before use. Baraka's version of this bar is built on unrefined shea butter made by hand at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana's Upper West Region. More in Directions

Charcoal and shea butter soap recipe: ingredients, amounts and yield

Use 1 lb (454 g) shea butter, 1 lb (454 g) coconut oil, 8 oz (227 g) olive oil, 8 oz (227 g) castor oil, 6.7 oz (191 g) sodium hydroxide (lye), 13.5 oz (382 g) distilled water, 2 tbsp (30 ml) activated charcoal and 1 tbsp (15 ml) essential oil. This makes about 4 pounds of soap, cutting into 8-10 bars. If you change any oil or its weight, re-run the recipe through a soap calculator first, because the lye and water amounts are set for this exact blend. More in Ingredients

An intermediate cold-process bar. This recipe follows the same method as How to Make Shea Butter Soap, with activated charcoal added to turn the bar dark grey to black. It is one of the soap recipes that grew out of Baraka's Definitive Guide to DIY with Shea Butter. It suits anyone who has made cold-process soap at least once before: the batter comes together quickly, and the rest of the work happens during the weeks of cure that follow.

In This Recipe:

• What This Recipe Is For
• Why Make This Yourself
• Why These Ingredients Work Together
• Ingredient by Ingredient
• Before You Begin: Soap-Making Safety
• Ingredients
• Directions
• Troubleshooting
• Storage and Shelf Life
• Scaling and Substitutions
• Customisation Ideas
• Essential Oils
• Application Tips
• What We Know and How We Know It
• FAQ
• Try These Next
• Disclaimer

What This Recipe Is For

A rich, everyday bar with a dark look. This soap is for anyone who wants a handmade bar that lathers well, rinses clean and stands out on the shelf.

• Everyday hand and body washing with a rich, creamy lather
• A bold, dark grey to black bar for a distinctive shower or sink
• Replacing a store-bought bar with one where you know every ingredient that went in
• Practising cold-process technique with a colourant that is simple to work with
• Giving as a handmade gift once the bars are fully cured

Why Make This Yourself

You choose every ingredient. There's something satisfying about watching a liquid oil-and-lye mixture turn into a firm, dark bar over a few weeks. A handmade cold-process bar also keeps the glycerin that forms during saponification inside the soap, and you decide exactly which oils, colourant and scent go into it.

Honest comparison. A shop-bought charcoal bar is often made by a different process and lists a different set of ingredients, so the two are not the same product. The difference is one of composition: here you know the four oils, the lye, the water, the charcoal and the scent, and nothing else.

• Skill level: Intermediate. The recipe is forgiving about charcoal amount and mould choice, but the lye and water must be weighed exactly.
• Prep time: about 45 minutes, plus 24-48 hours in the mould.
• Cure time: 4 to 6 weeks before use.
• Yield: about 4 lb (1,814 g) of cured soap by weight, cut into 8 to 10 bars.

Why These Ingredients Work Together

Conditioning oils balanced with lathering ones. This bar pairs oils that make a mild, creamy bar with oils that make bubbles and hardness, then adds charcoal for colour. Shea butter brings a smooth, creamy texture. Coconut oil is the main cleansing and lathering oil, producing big, bubbly suds and a hard bar. Olive oil softens the feel of the bar, while castor oil boosts and steadies the lather that coconut oil starts. Activated charcoal turns the bar dark grey to black, and the essential oil gives it a scent.

Why the balance matters. Shea and olive alone would make a soft, slow-lathering bar; coconut alone would make a hard bar that feels drying. In this recipe coconut oil is one third of the oils by weight, shea butter another third, and olive and castor share the last third, which is why the bar is both firm and creamy.

Ingredient by Ingredient

• Shea Butter: Baraka's shea butter is unrefined, strained and filtered only, and made by hand at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana. Shea butter is traditionally used on dry skin, lips, hands, feet and hair. In soap it gives a creamy, conditioning bar, and its natural colour, from ivory to pale yellow, disappears under the charcoal.
• Traditional Coconut Oil: Pressed from fresh coconut kernel in Ghana's coastal coconut belt, it drives the rich, bubbly lather this soap is known for and contributes hardness.
• Olive Oil: A mild liquid oil that softens the feel of the bar and slows the batter down, which gives you time to stir the charcoal in evenly.
• Castor Oil: Steadies and enhances the lather, helping the bubbles last longer in use.
• Activated Charcoal: A fine black powder used in soap as a colourant. Two tablespoons in this batch gives a dark grey to black bar; less gives a lighter grey.
• Essential Oil (optional): Adds scent. Choose one you like, or a skin-safe fragrance oil, within the limit in Essential Oils below.

Before You Begin: Soap-Making Safety

Lye needs care. Sodium hydroxide is caustic, so set up before you open it.

• Wear protective gloves and eye protection whenever you handle lye.
• Work in a well-ventilated area — open a window or work near an extractor fan.
• Always add lye to water, never water to lye.
• Keep lye, raw soap batter, and curing soap well out of reach of children and pets.
• This is an adults-only project from start to finish.

Ingredients

About 4 lb (1,814 g) of cured soap. Weigh the oils, lye and water on a digital scale.

• Shea Butter — 1 lb (454 g)
• Traditional Coconut Oil — 1 lb (454 g)
• Olive oil — 8 oz (227 g)
• Castor oil — 8 oz (227 g)
• Sodium hydroxide (lye) — 6.7 oz (191 g)
• Distilled water — 13.5 oz (382 g)
• Activated charcoal — 2 tbsp (30 ml)
• Essential oil of your choice (or a skin-safe fragrance oil) — 1 tbsp (15 ml)

Note: these lye and water amounts are calculated for this exact oil combination and weights. If you change any oil or its amount, always re-run the recipe through a soap calculator before making it — see the calculator links in Customisation Ideas.

How the lye and water are calculated

191 g of lye, 382 g of water. Each oil's weight is multiplied by the grams of sodium hydroxide it needs per gram, the results are added, and about 5% is taken off so a little oil stays unsaponified in the bar (the superfat).

• Shea butter: 454 g × 0.128 = 58.1 g
• Coconut oil: 454 g × 0.183 = 83.1 g
• Olive oil: 227 g × 0.135 = 30.6 g
• Castor oil: 227 g × 0.128 = 29.1 g
• Total before superfat: 200.9 g
• 5% superfat: 200.9 g × 0.95 = 190.9 g, rounded to 6.7 oz (191 g) of lye
• Water at twice the lye: 13.5 oz (382 g)

Directions

About 45 minutes of work, then a 4 to 6 week cure. Read every step before you start.

1. Put on gloves and eye protection before handling lye.
2. In a heat-resistant container, slowly add the sodium hydroxide to the distilled water (never the reverse), stirring until fully dissolved. The mixture will heat up — set it aside in a ventilated area to cool.
3. Melt the shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, and castor oil together gently until fully liquid.
4. Once the lye solution and the oils are both around 100–120°F (38–49°C), slowly pour the lye solution into the oils, stirring continuously.
5. Use a stick blender in short bursts, alternating with hand stirring, until the mixture reaches trace — it will thicken and leave a visible trail when you drizzle it across the surface.
6. Add the activated charcoal and essential oil, stirring until evenly distributed and no streaks remain.
7. Pour the mixture into a soap mould, tap gently to release air bubbles, and cover.
8. Let the soap set in the mould for 24–48 hours before unmoulding.
9. Cut into bars once firm enough to handle, then set the bars on their sides in a well-ventilated space to cure for 4–6 weeks before use.

Troubleshooting

Most problems show up in the first two days. Here are the ones that come up most with this bar, what causes them and what to do.

• Black specks or streaks of charcoal in the cut bar. Cause: the powder clumped when it went into thick batter. Fix: next time, stir the charcoal into 1 to 2 tbsp of the melted oils until smooth before adding it, and stir it in at light trace rather than thick trace.
• Grey lather, or grey marks on a washcloth. Cause: a heavy charcoal load. Fix: it rinses away; for a lighter lather, use 1 tbsp (15 ml) of charcoal instead of 2 tbsp in the next batch.
• White, powdery film on top of the bars (soda ash). Cause: air reaching the raw batter in the mould. It is cosmetic only. Fix: cover the mould well; on finished bars, plane the film off or wipe it with a damp cloth once cured.
• Batter thickened suddenly after the essential oil went in. Cause: some scents speed up trace. Fix: work quickly, spoon it into the mould and tap it level; next time, add the scent at very light trace or choose a different oil.
• Soap still soft after 48 hours. Cause: a cool room or a recipe change. Fix: leave it in the mould another day or two. If the weights were changed without recalculating the lye, set the batch aside and check the numbers against the calculation above.
• A crack or dark ring across the top. Cause: the soap overheated while setting, which a dark bar can hide until it is cut. Fix: next time, soap at the cooler end of the temperature range and do not wrap the mould in towels.

Storage and Shelf Life

Cure 4 to 6 weeks, then keep cool and dry. Store fully cured bars in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight — a drawer or shelf with airflow works well. Cure time is 4–6 weeks; do not use the soap before curing is complete, as it needs this time to fully harden and mellow. Once cured, bars typically keep well for 12–18 months. Between uses, store on a well-draining soap dish to extend the life of each bar.

Why it keeps. Curing lets excess water leave the bar, so a cured bar is hard and long-lasting. A bar that sits in a puddle softens and wears away faster, which is why drainage matters more than any container.

Scaling and Substitutions

Scale every amount together, and recalculate the lye for any oil change. The lye and water below are worked out from the same table as the main recipe, with 5% superfat.

• Half batch (about 2 lb (907 g), 4 to 5 bars): 8 oz (227 g) shea butter, 8 oz (227 g) coconut oil, 4 oz (113 g) olive oil, 4 oz (113 g) castor oil, 3.4 oz (95 g) lye, 6.7 oz (190 g) distilled water, 1 tbsp (15 ml) activated charcoal and 1 1/2 tsp (7.5 ml) essential oil.
• Double batch (about 8 lb (3,628 g), 16 to 20 bars): 2 lb (908 g) shea butter, 2 lb (908 g) coconut oil, 1 lb (454 g) olive oil, 1 lb (454 g) castor oil, 13.5 oz (382 g) lye, 27 oz (764 g) distilled water, 4 tbsp (60 ml) activated charcoal and 2 tbsp (30 ml) essential oil.
• Swapping coconut oil for palm kernel oil: Baraka's palm kernel oil gives a hard bar with quick lather. It is pressed from the kernel inside the palm fruit's stone and is not the same as red palm oil. It needs less lye than coconut oil, so the lye must be recalculated before you make the swap.
• No castor oil: replace it with more olive oil by weight and recalculate the lye; the lather will be a little less stable.
• No activated charcoal: leave it out for a plain cream-coloured shea bar; nothing else changes.
• A no-lye alternative: if you want a dark, traditional bar without handling lye, Baraka's Black Soap Base (Crumbs) is ready-made African black soap you melt and reshape. It is made from shea butter and palm kernel oil saponified with traditional potash from cocoa pod and plantain peel ash, and it contains raw honey, so it is not vegan.

Customisation Ideas

Change the look, not the oils. Every idea below leaves the oil weights alone; any change to an oil or its weight means the lye must be recalculated first.

• Adjust the amount of activated charcoal for a lighter grey or deeper black finished bar.
• Add texture with a tablespoon of ground coffee alongside the charcoal for extra depth.
• Adjust the mould to individual bar moulds instead of a loaf mould for a different shape.
• Always recalculate lye and water amounts with a soap calculator (see links below) before changing any oil or its weight.
• Swirl in white kaolin clay for a marbled, two-tone finished bar.

Popular soap calculators (external links, always re-run before adjusting oils): SoapCalc.net, HSCG Lye Calculator, LyeCalc.com.

Essential Oils

Up to 3 tbsp (45 ml) in total for this batch. In soap, use no more than 1 tbsp of essential oil in total per 16 oz (454 g) of oils. This recipe has 3 lb (1,362 g) of oils, so the ceiling is 3 tbsp (45 ml) for all essential oils together; the recipe uses 1 tbsp (15 ml).

• Fresh and herbal: lavender, peppermint or a blend of the two.
• Woody: cedarwood with a little lavender.
• Unscented: leave the oil out entirely; the bar works just as well without it.

Some scents speed up trace, so add the oil at light trace and work steadily.

Application Tips

Use it like any bar soap. Use like any bar soap for hands, face, or body — lather with warm water and rinse well. A soap dish with drainage will help the bar last longer between uses. Because this soap is rich in conditioning oils, a light lather goes a long way; no need to scrub aggressively. Store the bar dry between uses for the longest life.

What We Know and How We Know It

Mostly established soap-making practice. The method, working temperatures, set time, cure time and troubleshooting come from common practice in the home soap-making community. The lye figures are calculated from the saponification values Baraka uses for every soap recipe, with a 5% superfat. Facts about Baraka's ingredients come from Baraka's own product documentation. The charcoal amounts reflect common soap-making practice, where makers use from about 1/2 tsp to 1 tbsp of activated charcoal per pound of oils depending on how dark they want the bar.

FAQ

How do I make charcoal and shea butter soap at home?

Melt shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, and castor oil, combine with a dissolved lye-water solution, blend to trace, stir in activated charcoal and essential oil, pour into a mould, and cure for 4–6 weeks. At home you need a digital scale, a stick blender, heat-resistant containers, a mould, gloves and eye protection. Plan about 45 minutes of hands-on work, then 24–48 hours in the mould before you cut the bars. The full amounts and lye calculation are in Ingredients above.

What's a good DIY soap recipe with activated charcoal?

A shea butter-based cold-process soap with activated charcoal works well, adding a striking dark tone to a traditional soap base. This recipe uses shea butter and coconut oil as its two main oils, with olive and castor oil for mildness and lather, and 2 tbsp (30 ml) of charcoal for a dark grey to black bar. Baraka's unrefined shea butter, made by hand at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana, gives the bar its creamy feel.

Can I use activated charcoal in soap?

Yes — activated charcoal is commonly used in cold-process soap as a colourant, giving the finished bar a distinctive grey to black colour. It needs no special handling beyond stirring it in evenly. Makers commonly use from about 1/2 tsp to 1 tbsp per pound of oils; more charcoal gives a darker bar and can turn the lather grey. Mixing the powder into a little of the melted oils first helps prevent black specks in the cut bar.

How long does homemade soap need to cure?

Cold-process soap like this typically needs 4–6 weeks to cure fully. Curing lets excess water evaporate and allows the bar to harden, so don't use it before this time is up. Stand the bars on their sides with space between them in a dry, airy room, and turn them now and then so every face dries. A longer cure makes a harder bar that lasts longer in the shower.

The Impact of Your Purchase

When you make skincare with Baraka ingredients, you are buying from women's cooperatives that earn fair wages and keep traditional processing methods alive. Baraka's 2025 Social and Environmental Impact Report records income opportunities for more than 3,000 women in northern Ghana, over $100,000 invested in women's enterprise infrastructure, and equipment and fuel recovery that have cut the carbon impact of shea processing by up to 90%. At the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana's Upper West Region, Baraka's shea butter is made by hand, and the waste left over from making it is dried into fuel blocks that fire the next batch. Baraka also offsets 100% of the carbon cost of shipping to customers. You get full transparency about what touches your skin and your family's skin, and about where it came from.

To see how Baraka's shea butter is made, step by step from shea kernel to butter, read How is Handcrafted Shea Butter Made?. Baraka's short film introduces one of the shea butter producers it works with: Shea Butter Producer: Zenabo Imoro.

Shop the Baraka Ingredients in This Recipe

Shea Butter | Shop Shea Butter | Unrefined shea butter, traditionally used on dry skin, lips, hands, feet and hair, that gives this bar its creamy, conditioning feel.

Traditional Coconut Oil | Shop Traditional Coconut Oil | Virgin coconut oil that contributes the hardness and abundant lather this soap relies on.

More to explore: Butters, Black Soap Bars and Recipe Kits.

Try These Next

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like:

• Shea Butter and Turmeric Soap — another shea-based cold-process bar that uses a natural powder for colour, this time a warm golden one.
• Shea Butter and Goats Milk Soap — a creamy shea bar for when you want to try soaping with milk.
• Honey and Shea Butter Soap — a shea bar with a touch of honey, using the same core technique.
• Creamy Cow Milk and Shea Butter Soap — a pale, creamy contrast to this dark bar.
• Shea Butter and Aloe Vera Soap — a shea bar made with aloe, a good next step once you are comfortable with cold process.
• Rose and Shea Butter Soap — a softer, floral alternative if you want a lighter-coloured bar.
• Peppermint and Shea Butter Soap — a cooling, invigorating scent for a different kind of energizing wash.
• Vanilla and Shea Butter Soap — a warm, sweet-scented option for an everyday bar.
• Chocolate and Shea Butter Soap — a rich, indulgent variation with a naturally cocoa-scented character.
• Avocado and Shea Butter Soap — a creamier, extra-conditioning variation for a different kind of richness.

About These Ingredients

This recipe is expanded from our comprehensive Definitive Guide to DIY with Shea Butter, which explores additional formulations, ingredient options, and variations. Visit the full guide for more approaches to shea-based DIY skincare.

Disclaimer

The information in this article is for general education. It reflects traditional use, reported experience and, where noted, published research. It has not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or Health Canada. Baraka products are cosmetics and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or medical condition. Always patch test a new ingredient, keep products away from the eyes and out of reach of children, and speak to a qualified healthcare provider about any skin or health condition. If you add essential oils, use no more than the amount given, and leave them out for young children, during pregnancy and on sensitive skin. Individual results vary.

A note on the traditions in this post: the practices described here come from conversations with, and time spent among, the community members and cooperative partners we work with in West Africa. We share them as anecdotal, first-hand impressions — not as verified fact or expert accounts. These traditions vary from family to family and region to region, so what follows is indicative rather than definitive. We offer it with respect and humility: to share a little of what we've encountered, not to speak for these communities or claim any authority over their traditions.

About the Author

Wayne Dunn is the founder of Baraka Impact and a former Professor of Practice in Sustainability at McGill University. He holds an M.Sc. in Management from Stanford and has spent over 15 years working directly with the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana's Upper West Region to source traditionally made shea butter and natural oils. He shares DIY skincare recipes and ingredient guides designed to be made at home with real ingredients — and sourced with full transparency about where they come from.