There’s nothing quite like coffee. It’s famous around the world for its unique aroma, distinct flavour and the ability to wake us up. But did you know it also has benefits for skin?
Now I’m not talking about pouring a fresh cup of coffee on your skin! I’m talking about coffee oil, cold pressed from roasted coffee beans.
This carrier oil has many benefits for skin and it is the perfect new carrier oil for you to try in your next soap making project.
Intrigued? Keep reading to find our cold process soap recipe…
Contents
What is Coffee Oil?
Our coffee oil is upcycled from the coffee industry. It is made by cold pressing roasted coffee grounds that would usually be thrown away. Our coffee oil also has a natural strong coffee aroma as it is extracted from roasted coffee beans.
Coffee oil is high in antioxidants and essential fatty acids like palmitic acid and linoleic acid. These fatty acids help to improve hydration in the skin and they provide a protective barrier.
In soap making, coffee oil adds to the creaminess, hardness and conditioning effect of the soap bar.
Coffee Oil vs Coffee Grounds vs Coffee Fragrance In Soap
There are many coffee soap recipes online, but they mostly use coffee grounds or coffee fragrance oil. So which is better in soap making?
Coffee grounds bring 2 key benefits, antioxidant properties and exfoliation. However, it doesn’t provide any other skin benefits or improve the soap function.
Coffee fragrance oil is a synthetic oil that is only used to provide a coffee aroma to the soap. It does not contain any natural coffee so it won’t bring skin benefits to a soap bar.
Coffee oil is the most well rounded ingredient for soap making. It contains antioxidants, as well as essential fatty acids that provide skin hydration and improve its natural barrier. It also has a strong natural coffee aroma, so there is no need for synthetic fragrances. The oil is a liquid, so it won’t provide exfoliation to the soap. But it does improve the soap's function, making it creamier, more conditioning and adding to the hardness of the soap bar.
Let's have a go at our homemade coffee soap recipe…
This recipe makes 9 -10 bars of homemade soap
Coffee Oil Soap Recipe
In this recipe, we are not using essential oils as we want the natural coffee smell to come through.
Equipment:
To make our coffee soap recipe, you will need:
- Gloves
- Goggles
- Digital scales
- Digital thermometer
- Stick blender
- Soap mould or DIY alternative
- Silicone spatula
- Heatproof bowl
- Plastic measuring jugs, ideally 2x 1L and 1x 2L
Ingredients
- Coffee oil 40g
- Coconut oil 240g
- Cocoa butter 240g
- Olive oil 280g
- Water 240g
- Sodium hydroxide 114g
- Golden brown mica powder 10g
Method
1. Mix the sodium hydroxide solution
- Put your gloves and goggles on.
- Open the window, the fumes are unpleasant.
- Weigh the sodium hydroxide in a jug.
- Weigh the water in a separate jug.
- Add the sodium hydroxide to the water, not the other way around.
- Mix well until combined. Careful, it will get hot!
- Leave to cool.
2. Weigh and heat the oils
- Weigh the coconut oil, coffee oil and cocoa butter into a heatproof bowl.
- Weigh out the olive oil, take a tablespoon out and put this in a separate bowl (this will be added again later). Add the rest of the olive oil to the other oils and butters.
- Heat gently above a pan of boiling water, or using short bursts in the microwave.
- Stir regularly until completely melted.
- Once melted, leave to cool.
3. Weigh the mica powder
- In the bowl with the tablespoon of olive oil, add the golden brown mica powder and mix with the oil.
- This helps the mica to disperse evenly when we add it to the rest of the soap mixture.
4. Test the temperatures
- Test the temperature of the water solution. It should be between 25C and 40C.
- Leave it to cool if necessary, but don't reheat it if it's too cool.
- Test the temperature of the melted oils. They should be between 35C and 40C.
- Leave it to cool or reheat if necessary.
- Once the temperatures are correct, add the lye solution to the oil mixture.
5. Blend until trace
- Mix the mixtures together with the stick blender, and blend with short pulses.
- Blend the mixtures until it reaches a light trace. This should be slightly thickened, but still runny.
6. Split the soap mixture
- Separate roughly 1/3 of your soap mixture into another jug.
- In the bowl with 1/3 of the soap mixture, add the mica powder mixture.
- Mix the brown mica powder into the soap until it has evenly distributed.
- You should have 1/3 of the soap in one bowl with brown mica powder mixed in and another bowl with 2/3 of the soap and no added colour.
7. Pour into the mould
- Pour the uncoloured soap mixture into your mould first.
- Tap on the work surface to get rid of air bubbles.
- Pour the brown soap mixture in from high above the mould, this helps the swirl penetrate the soap. The closer you pour the soap, the more it will sit on the surface.
- For the last little bit of the dark brown soap mixture, we poured it up close to the mould to let it sit on the surface.
8. Create the swirl pattern
- Place the spoon handle into the soap mould at one end.
- Push it all the way to the bottom of your soap mixture.
- Move in a spiral pattern towards the opposite end of the soap mould, like the picture above.
- Don’t do too much or the two mixtures will mix together and not form a swirl pattern.
9. Decorate and insulate the soap
- Once the swirl is finished, decorate the top with a spoon or spatula.
- Then insulate the soap with a towel and leave it to set for 48 hours.
10. Leave to cure
- Unmould your soap and cut it into equal sized bars.
- Place the bars with a space in between.
- Leave to cure for 4 - 6 weeks and then your coffee soap is ready to use!
Continue Reading
Now you know how to make your own soap, why not try more recipes?
- Learn how to make cold process soap with tea, with our rooibos soap recipe!
- Want to try melt and pour soap making? Check out this orange and cinnamon soap recipe!
- Interested in hot process soap making? Make soap with just extra virgin olive oil with this recipe!
Let us know how you got on with this coffee soap recipe! Tag us on Instagram or Facebook or use our hashtag #thesoaperyuk
