Teach Soap

Hi1

I would like to make a coffee soap/add ground coffee to it...is there anything I should know before doing this? Is there a tried and true recipe I can find on the web? Any recommendations for scent?

I love the smell of coffee but don't drink it. However, I've seen people use coffee for "gardener's" soap and I would love to try it. I'm not a gardener but a painter and when oil paint is on my hands, the smell can last for awhile! This would be great!

Thank you in advance for your help. = )

You can sub triple strength coffee for your water. Get it really cold. Be aware that it will stink when the lye hits it, but that will go away. You will need to add coffee fragrance or absolute if you want any scent.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

is the coffee water to neutralize the odor of dirt and such or is it to color it?

Coffee helps to neutralize odors. It does color it too.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

What happens if the coffee is still warm? I made a small batch and my coffee was warm. Could this be why my bars are still soft four days later?

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

It was 8.74 oz of coffee, 3.27 oz lye, 7 oz coconut oil, and 16 oz of olive oil. I ran it through SoapCalc too! =(

Here is a couple of things that I can think of. If the soap gelled, it might have overheated, or if your olive oil is adultarated with another oil like canola for eaxmple. Or your scale might be off.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

do the same rules apply for teas?

i made black tea soap the other night, probably double-triple strength straight black tea. added the lye, stunk to high heaven... the mixture did stay hot for an awful long time, i finally immersed the container in cold water to get it to chill down.

after everything was said and done... the soap smells and feels great, but the edges where the soap hit the freezer paper (but not the air touched sides after i unmolded and cut it) is alot darker than the inside of the soap. its only about 2-3 millimetres, and it actually looks oddly good.

any ideas why this happened? overheated?

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

well the dark edges are a wicked colour, so i look forward to it!

again, thanks soapguru... err buddy!

XD

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

another really quick tea question-

people refrain from using dried herbs and flowers because they turn black in soaps.... but using black tea wouldnt exactly discolour.. is there any other reason than aesthetic not to use herbs?

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.