CharBar activated charcoal soap

One black bar. Face, body + hair.

This Tea Tree + Charcoal 3-in-1 Soap was formulated with combination-to-oily skin in mind, but like most things I make, the ingredients are where it gets interesting.

Activated charcoal gives the bar its unmistakable rich black color and deep gray lather. Tea tree essential oil brings its characteristic fresh, earthy scent.

The base is made with a carefully chosen blend of olive, coconut and castor oils, but the ingredient I really love in this formula is tamanu oil.

Tamanu isn’t something you’ll find in every bar of soap. It’s a distinctive botanical oil pressed from the fruit of the Calophyllum inophyllum tree, with a naturally deep color, rich texture and characteristic nutty aroma. I could make a much simpler charcoal soap without it, but simple and cheap ingredients have never really been my thing.

Every oil and botanical in an Old City formula is there because I chose it to be there.

Use this 3-in-1 bar for face, body or hair. One beautifully dark, earthy bar without a complicated routine.

A note about the charcoal: I don’t skimp on it, so this bar produces a gray lather. It rinses clean and does not stain washcloths.

Handmade and hand-cut in small batches.

This might just be the last charcoal bar you ever want to buy.