Coffee soap recipe - nourishing, exfoliating and uplifting. Contains fresh coffee grounds, strong brewed coffee and even the coffee beans on top are made of soap. A great gift for any coffee lover!
In this tutorial I'll show you how to make your own soap from scratch using lye. Which is a necessary ingredient for the soapmaking or saponification process. If you want to make soap without using lye, check out my goat milk melt and pour soap recipe for a fun and easy craft project.
Benefits of Coffee Soap
- Coffee grounds gently exfoliate dead skin cells and stimulate cell turn over
- Handmade soap cleanses the skin without stripping it of natural acid barrier
- May reduce appearance of cellulite
- Nourishing oils prevent drying
- Peppermint essential oil is uplifting and refreshing
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this gorgeous coffee soap.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, you can find my full disclosure here.
- Melt and pour soap base
- Activated charcoal powder
- Cappuccino mica
- Espresso or strong brewed coffee
- Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)
- Avocado Oil
- Coconut Oil
- Shea Butter
- Rice Bran Oil
- Cocoa Butter
- Castor Oil
- Peppermint Essential Oil
- Used coffee Grounds: 2 tsp
Find exact amounts in recipe card.
Equipment
- Coffee bean soap mold
- Goggles and gloves
- Immersion blender / stick blender
- Digital scale
- 3 Medium sized containers (not glass)
- Small plastic spoon
- Single cavity soap mold
- Whisk
- Silicone spatula
How to Make Coffee Soap
If this is your first time cold process soap making, please familiarize yourself with all the safety precautions and steps in my How to Make Soap at Home Beginner's Guide
- Brew espresso / coffee and save the coffee grounds for later
- Let coffee come to room temperature
- Cut melt and pour soap base into small chunks and melt in a water bath on medium heat or microwave in 20 second bursts
- When fully melted whisk in charcoal powder and mica
- Carefully pour into coffee bean mold
6. Gear up for safety! Put on gloves and goggles, wear long sleeves and make sure you're in a well-ventilated area
7. Create lye water solution by adding lye to espresso and stir until fully dissolved. Don't inhale fumes coming off the lye solution!
8. Melt coconut oil, shea butter and cocoa butter over low heat in a water bath or on short bursts in the microwave
9. Add avocado oil, rice bran oil and castor oil
10. Add essential oil
11. Carefully pour lye solution into oils
11. Stick blend until soap batter is at medium trace (light pudding consistency)
12. Mix in coffee grounds
13. Place soap mold on a cutting board
14. Pour soap mixture into soap mold
15. Tap mold and cutting board down to release air bubbles
16. Texture the top with a small plastic spoon, place 3-4 soap "coffee beans" on top of each bar and gently push them into the batter
17. Unmold bars of soap after 48 hours by pulling on sides of mold first
18. Cure for 4-6 weeks
FAQs
1 Year, if kept away from moisture and sunlight.
Absolutely, but your soap will turn out darker than mine. You can gel your soap using the cold process oven process method. To do that you would preheat your oven to 170 degrees F, put your soap in the oven, turn the oven off and leave the soap in there for a couple of hours.
No, it will fade after a while. To get a real coffee scent you can add a fragrance oil. Keep it mind that it will darken your soap.
Looking for more natural soap recipes? Try:
Until next time. Happy Tinkering!
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Coffee Soap Recipe (Cold Process)
An exfoliating bar of soap made with strong brewed espresso, coffee grounds and bright peppermint essential oil. A soap recipe not just for coffee lovers.
Materials
- Melt and pour soap base: 2 oz
- Activated charcoal powder: ½ tsp
- "Cappuccino" mica: ½ teaspoon
- Espresso or strong brewed coffee: 7 oz / 200 g
- Lye: 2.52 oz / 71 g
- Avocado Oil (30%): 5.56 oz / 158 g
- Coconut Oil (23%): 4.26 oz / 121 g
- Shea Butter (20%): 3.70 oz / 105 g
- Rice Bran Oil (12%): 2.22 oz / 63 g
- Cocoa Butter (8%): 1.48 oz / 42 g
- Castor Oil (7%): 1.30 oz / 37 g
- Peppermint Essential Oil: 18 g
- Used Coffee Grounds: 2 tsp
Tools
- Coffee bean soap mold
- Goggles and gloves
- Immersion blender
- Digital kitchen scale
- 3 Medium sized containers (not glass)
- Small plastic spoon
- Single cavity soap mold
- Whisk
- Silicone spatula
- Cutting board
Instructions
- Brew espresso / coffee and save the coffee grounds for later
- Let come to room temperature
- Cut melt and pour soap base into small chunks and melt in a water bath on medium heat or microwave in 20 second bursts
- When fully melted whisk in charcoal powder and mica
- Carefully pour into coffee bean mold
- Gear up for safety! Put on gloves and goggles
- Create lye solution by adding lye to espresso, stir until fully dissolved, set aside
- Melt coconut oil, shea butter and cocoa butter over low heat in a water bath or on short bursts in the microwave
- Add avocado oil, rice bran oil and castor oil
- Add essential oil
- Slowly and carefully pour lye solution into the oils
- Stick blend until medium trace (light pudding consistency) is achieved
- Mix in coffee grounds using a whisk
- Place soap mold on a cutting board
- Pour soap batter into soap mold
- Tap mold and cutting board down to release air bubbles
- Texture the top with a small plastic spoon, place 3-4 soap "coffee beans" on top of each bar and gently push them into the batter
- Unmold after 48 hours by pulling on sides of mold first
- Cure for 3-4 weeks
Cari says
This must smell amazing! Thanks for the great recipe.
Celine says
THank you Cari!
Kyla @ A Life Adjacent says
This sounds absolutely delicious! Like a peppermint mocha soap. Thanks for sharing!
dedi says
Can I add coffee essential or fragrance oil??
Celine says
Hi Dedi, yes you can. You’ll have to reduce the amount of peppermint essential oil accordingly. Beware the fragrance oil will make the soap darker. Happy Tinkering!
Michelle says
I bet this smells amazing!! Saving this so I can try it with my leftover coffee.
Celine says
Great idea!
Sash says
Hi! Can the oatmeal milk and dried oatmeal be added to a coffee soap?
Celine says
Hi Sash, absolutely! That sounds great 😊
Shelli says
I am new to soap making (3 batches so far...but I am hooked!) I have heard that FO's are not as good for your skin and could even cause reactions while EO's tends to be better for your skin but the scent tends to fade. If you are wanting a strong coffee scent but are afraid of the skin reaction, what would you suggest I use? Thank you in advance for your help. Your insight has helped me out a lot.
Celine says
If you wanted to use an essential oil, there's coffee bean absolute essential oil. I've never tried it, but I hear that paired with triple brewed coffee and unrefined cocoa butter it's a great coffee scent. It's pretty expensive though. Fragrance oils aren't that bad in my experience, you might want to give it a try. Be aware that it might turn your soap very dark though. Hope that helps!