It is a good idea to start by leaving your molds sitting out at this point, so that they are ready to fill. Measure our your shea butter soap. How much you need is going to vary based upon the silicone mold you choose. The best way I have found to gauge how much to use is to chop up the soap first into small square pieces and then set them into the molds to see how much you need (see photo below). It ends up being about 10 ounces for 4-6 of the smaller bars like I made. I always add a couple extra pieces to the end amount so that it ends up being about 1.5 pieces per mold and it comes out great. For the larger molds you should get 2 of them filled instead of 4-6 of the smaller size.
Once you’ve gotten your soap base all chopped and measured out, place the soap base into a double boiler over medium heat, stirring frequently until the soap base is completely melted.
Next, go ahead and measure out the jojoba oil and add it to the soap base and stir until well combined. It may take some extra work to get the oil worked into the soap.
Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the essential oils. Do this carefully and slowly. Both of these oils are very runny and if you tip the bottle over fully, you’ll have easily twice the drops you intended to.
Next, measure out and add the charcoal powder, stirring it well to work the powder in all the way. Be sure to get down into the sides and bottom and be sure the whole mixture turns the dark gray color throughout before you stop stirring. If you need to return the pan to the heat, please do so.
The activated charcoal soap mixture should be fully melted and smooth at this point. Unless you see any lumps in it, it works best not to stir it now, but just to go ahead and pour it. When you stir, you tend to create lumps that have to be re-melted.
Pour the base into the molds slowly to just below the top edge and to keep them smooth, be sure not to touch or move them unless you have to. I like to keep my mold on a baking sheet or cutting board to keep it more stable.
At this point, all that you need to do is to allow them to fully cool off. Leave the soap out on the counter and give it about 45 minutes to an hour to cool. Partly this timing will depend on the thickness of the molds. Feel the bottoms to see if they are still warm in the center, and if they are cooled, then you are ready to pop the soaps out of them. Carefully pull the corner of the mold with one hand, while pulling the soap out with the other and they normally come out with no problems, nice and smooth.