Coffee has many beneficial uses in bath and body products including toning skin, reducing redness, eliminating cellulite, and fading stretch marks and acne scars. It’s also packed full of antioxidants which improves circulation to firm and brighten skin. With all of these benefits, it’s no wonder that this DIY coffee & milk exfoliating soap is my new favorite! Better still, you can whip up an entire batch of it in less than ten minutes!
DIY COFFEE & MILK EXFOLIATING SOAP
What You’ll Need:
- Goats Milk Soap Base (2 lbs of soap base will yield eight large 4 oz. bars of soap)
- Soap Mold
- Coffee Grounds (can be used or unused)
- Coffee Essential Oil
- Microwave Safe Measuring Cup w/ Spout
I use about 1 lb (or half of the block) of soap base at a time which makes four large 4-ounce soaps. The block of goats milk soap base cuts easily with a kitchen knife. I slice the soap base into cubes, place them inside a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup, and melt in the microwave in 20-30 second increments, stirring well after each microwave session to ensure that the soap is completely melted. For 1 lb of soap, I generally microwave for 30 seconds, stir, microwave for another 30 seconds, stir again, and microwave a final time for 20 seconds.
When the soap base is completely melted, add the coffee grounds and 15 drops of coffee essential oil. You can use as much or as little of the coffee grounds as you prefer – they are mainly for exfoliation purposes as the majority of the soap’s fragrance comes from the coffee essential oil. Pour the mixture into the soap molds and allow to sit undisturbed until cool (about 30-60 minutes depending on temperature/humidity).
Remove the soaps from the molds and enjoy!
These coffee soaps make a fantastic quick & easy gift idea, too!
There’s nothing like the smell of fresh coffee to invigorate your mind and body, so this soap is a perfect morning pick-me-up!
You may also enjoy our other DIY bath & body product tutorials:
OMG coffee and soap..two things I could not live without lol! I love coffee soap and I am so glad I found a recipe to make my own! I would love it if you popped over to my blog in about 20 minutes and joined my party! i would be honored to have you there!!
Have a wonderful coffee filled week!
Jess
These are so cute….they look good enough to eat! Pinned (found you on Hit Me with Your Best Shot)
That is yummy looking soap! Your photography skills are wonderful.
Thank you so much, Gilly!
Would using these soap stain my white bath towels/washcloths?
I haven’t had any issues with mine, Nicole! 🙂
This sounds AHmazing! Definitely want to try this out soon 🙂
Thanks for sharing at the Monday Funday party!!
Thanks for linking up to Oh My Heartsie Girl WW – PINNED!
Holy cow I think I can smell the coffee through your photos! I’ve never made soap before but I think you’ve inspired me to try, these just sound too yummy. (Note to self, do not eat the soaps!)
Heidi, I can’t wait to try this! It sounds & looks wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing this at the Project Parade! Hope to see you there again this week:)
Love coffee and I’m betting this soap smells wonderful! Featuring you at the party this week! Thanks for linking up. <3 Christina
I have never made my own soap before. I would love to begin to using this recipe! Thanks for linking to the This is How We Roll Link Party. See you on Thursday!
I can’t wait to try this. I’ve never made soap before because the recipes always look so complicated, but I think I could actually do this one. And coffee! Love this! I am a coffee fanatic, the smell alone wakes me up in the morning.
Wow this is really easy! I love the ingredients and can’t wait to make and use this soap. I love a good exfoliating soap!
Where do you get the soap base? Can it be purchased somewhere?
Hi Jill,
You can purchase the soap base at your local craft store, or it’s also available on Amazon (just click the link in the post, and it will take you right to it). 🙂
Thank you for this idea! I was wondering, could I do it without the essential oil? Would the soaps sustain some coffee smells or no coffee smells at all without the oil?
There is still some coffee smell using only the coffee grounds, but it is a mild scent. Using the essential oil helps to intensify the fragrance, but you can absolutely still make it without it. 🙂
can you make this with Shea butter too? I prefer Shea butter to Goat’s milk
Absolutely, Terry!
Hi there! I have been reading about soap making recently and I am excited to try a few of yours. Do you ever cure your soaps? I don’t know much about it yet, but apparently it helps the soap to last longer. I’d love to hear your thoughts! Thanks 🙂
Hello! I am very new to soap-making – I made your 10-minute pumpkin spice soap for a baby shower favor and not only did I love making it, all of the guests loved it too! I’m interested in making more soaps and wondered how important the soap bases are to your recipes? For example, could I use a shea butter base in place of goats milk? Or even for some of the other recipes, Glycerine instead? IS it pretty much just preference?
Hi Rebecca! I’m so glad that these tutorials have inspired you to make your own soaps! Using a different soap base in my recipes may slightly alter the scent and/or color of the finished product, but it is mostly just personal preference as to which base you use. The only thing that is important in a recipe such as this coffee soap is to make sure that you’re using a suspension base (in any of the varieties). A suspension base allows the coffee bits to stay suspended and evenly mixed throughout the soap whereas in a non-suspension base the coffee would all float to the top in a single layer (that tends to not stick very well to the soap at all!). 🙂
I tried this and loved it. Is there a way I can include coconut oil to it…for skin benefits? I want to also make it darker…like coffee dark color.
Suspension soap base will keep those coffee grounds suspended evenly throughout the soap. I’m fixing to make a batch of Coffee and Cream soaps for sale on my website, and I’m so happy I found suspension soap base. It’s a little more expensive, but worth it for soaps like this IF the even distribution of solids is important.
If I don’t have coffee essential oil, can I just use coffee instead?
Melanie
Yes, you can, but the fragrance will be stronger and more pronounced if you use both. 🙂
This looks amazingly easy! I am buying everything I need to make this right now. I am hoping it turns out well enough so that I can make 100 for wedding favors to give my guests at my wedding in November.
Any helpful or useful tips for a first timer in making melt & pour soap?!?!?
Thanks for posting!
Would never in a million years have thought to combine coffee and soap…. Simply genius. Now I have to go and make some.
I wanted to make something a little more manly for my two brother in-laws and was wondering if you have had any experience adding a nice stout to this instead of the coffee essential oil or would have any recommendations on how to do this.
I love this!!! Since I don’t have coffee essential oil, do you think Tea Tree Oil would be a good substitute?
Hi Nadia,
If you don’t have the coffee essential oil, I would skip using an oil altogether since the fragrance of the tea tree oil would likely overpower the aroma of the coffee grounds. 🙂
Hi, I want to try to make these but I do not have a microwave. Can you melt in a broiler over stove?
How much coffee would you put in 2 lbs of soap base?
You can use as much or as little of the coffee grounds as you prefer – they are mainly for exfoliation purposes as the fragrance comes primarily from the coffee oil; however, I believe I used about 1/2 cup for 2 lbs of soap base as shown here.