Coffee soap

[Potionsnpetals]

I have made a soap using coffee (my boyfriend and I are a little coffee obsessed!) but unfortunately my soap after 4 weeks of curing has no scent
I used whole coffee beans, ground myself and then made a cold coffee from them to which I added lye. Anyone know why I'm lacking scent? Would instant coffee be better?
Thanks, as always!

 

[krissy]

you wont get any coffee scent from the coffee. you would need to use a coffee flavored FO. there are some very very good ones out there.

 

[citymouse]

chocolate espresso from WSP is really nice.

 

[Jezzy]

I soaped a Caramel Latte that is unbelievable!

 

[Guest]

You could rebatch a small quantity and add instant coffee (make a thick paste from the powder). Try 2-3 teaspoons per bar of soap.

This way, you will get some flavor, not sure if enough to make you happy. I am sure the process can be optimized to minimize the loss of fragrance. Maybe rebatch in a closed plastic bag ... Could be more options here.

 

[xyxoxy]

You could rebatch a small quantity and add instant coffee (make a thick paste from the powder). Try 2-3 teaspoons per bar of soap.

This way, you will get some flavor, not sure if enough to make you happy. I am sure the process can be optimized to minimize the loss of fragrance. Maybe rebatch in a closed plastic bag ... Could be more options here.

In my experience no amount of actual coffee added to soap will result in any noticeable scent long term. You need to add a fragrance oil. But coffee does add a great color and ground coffee (used sparingly) is a great exfoliant.

Most of the coffee scents available tend to lean toward vanilla... but there are a few that actually smell like coffee.

 

[Guest]

Well, I am reasonably happy with my result and like it better than some commercial coffee soap which, as you said, was smelling like vanilla. I am making this stuff for short term, not sure about that part.

But maybe there are ways to trap the flavor inside, like keeping the soap in a sealed container or using vacuum sealed bags.

 

[busymakinsoap!]

You could rebatch a small quantity and add instant coffee (make a thick paste from the powder). Try 2-3 teaspoons per bar of soap.

This way, you will get some flavor, not sure if enough to make you happy. I am sure the process can be optimized to minimize the loss of fragrance. Maybe rebatch in a closed plastic bag ... Could be more options here.

In my experience no amount of actual coffee added to soap will result in any noticeable scent long term. You need to add a fragrance oil. But coffee does add a great color and ground coffee (used sparingly) is a great exfoliant.

Most of the coffee scents available tend to lean toward vanilla... but there are a few that actually smell like coffee.

I agree. I have made a few coffee soaps, including the use of ground coffee and the smell doesnt stick.

Also coffee makes a strong colour that runs, you do need to use it sparingly or you will get one hell of a messy soap (that one is also from experience :wink: )

 

[Dragonkaz]

The last batch of coffee soap I made, I added Sweet Cakes 'Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee' FO ... I love it and I'm still finding it hard not to eat my soap!

 

[judymoody]

Candle Science makes a great coffee FO that smells like the real deal.

Storing your soap in an airtight container won't help (and it will interfere with proper curing if the air can't get to it). The problem is that the lye does away with the scent of the coffee.

If you use too much instant coffee in your soap, you will get brown lather - ask me how I know!

 

[Guest]

Storing your soap in an airtight container won't help (and it will interfere with proper curing if the air can't get to it). The problem is that the lye does away with the scent of the coffee.

That suggestion only works for rebatching. If you don't use too much water, there is no need for cure.

I am sure fragrance oils work great, but some people avoid them, for various reasons.

 

[Cyndiejc]

I have a recipe from http://www.thesage.com. The recipe says to brew triple strength coffee and use that instead of plain water when mixing lye solution. 8oz Canola, 8oz Coconut, 8 oz Olive, 8 oz Hydrogenated Soybean (Crisco), 12 oz water (triple coffee), 4.5 oz Lye, and reserve some of the actual grounds to mix in (about 1 Tblsp).
She (author of recipe) says that using it removes odors from your hands: onion, garlic - even gas. And she's right!! But i will say that the scent dissipates on this one. The coffee scent will not stay.
They also sell a Coffee Butter.
Hope it helps!

 

[tryanything]

chocolate espresso from WSP is really nice.

I just got a chocolate espresso sample from BB. I'm not a huge coffee fan but this smells awesome!

 

[tlm884]

About a month ago I made a coffee and cocao soap. I used French Pressed coffee in place of the water (and let me tell you, this was STRONG, I used about 2 cups of espresso grounds in 4 cups of water) and let it steep until room temp, then poured out the grounds and put the coffee in the freezer until it was almost frozen. At trace I added about 1/2 cup espresso ground coffee (not previously brewed) and 2 TBSP of cocao. This was a one pound batch.

Maybe because I used so much coffee in the recipe, but it defiantly still has a coffee smell to the soap a month later.

 

[Soaplady22]

I just got that same BB sample and I totally agree!! I've never smelled a coffee scent before, nor have wished to - I may have been converted!!

 

[Soapy Gurl]

I did a vanilla hazelnut coffee scrub soap. I used 4x coffee concentrate, vanilla FO and hazelnut FO. Plus I added un-used coffee for exfoliation. It smelled incredible. The coffee scent stuck well in it and blended perfectly with the other too.