soap bars for men

THE SIMPLEST COFFEE MELT AND POUR SOAP RECIPE

Coffee Melt and Pour Soap: A Beginner-Friendly Recipe for Quick, Natural Bars

Coffee melt and pour soap is an ideal, easy recipe for beginners. With just a few special ingredients, you can create a large batch of healthy, moisturizing soap free from harmful chemicals. These bars come together so quickly, you’ll never want to go back to store-bought soap!

Making useful things from scratch really gives you that “winning” feeling when it comes to homemaking. Swapping a homemade creation for a store-bought one brings you one step closer to living like a homesteader—at least, that’s what I like to tell myself. There’s something deeply satisfying about it.

Check out my homemade orange blossom face wash and honey oatmeal soap with pink clay.

One of the main reasons I started making soap for my family was to avoid harsh chemicals found in store-bought options and save some money. Last Christmas, my girls and I decided to make gift baskets filled with useful, handmade items for their teachers. We tried soap making, and we were instantly hooked!

This coffee melt and pour soap recipe is so easy, and you’ll only need to buy a couple of ingredients and supplies to make a batch that can last for months. The process is quick, too—believe it or not, your soap will be ready to use in less than a day!

Homemade coffee soap also makes a fantastic gift for coffee lovers!

Ingredients And Supplies For This Melt And Pour Coffee Soap Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

  • Goat’s Milk Soap Base – Goat’s milk is rich in fatty acids that help promote healthy skin and lock in moisture.
  • Raw Honey – Full of antioxidants, raw honey helps repair skin damage while retaining moisture for a soft, smooth feel.
  • Used Coffee Grounds – Used coffee grounds provide a lovely coffee scent without being too grainy. They also stay suspended better in the soap than fresh ground coffee.
  • Vanilla Extract – Vanilla extract elevates the soap, making it smell like a delicious latte. Mmmmmm!
  • Essential Oils (Optional) – While not essential for this recipe (pun intended), essential oils add a delightful fragrance. I love using orange essential oil for an extra layer of scent. This brand is my go-to for projects like this because it’s affordable and has a strong, pleasant aroma!
  • Where to Buy – Hobby Lobby offers the best prices for goat’s milk soap base. Just keep an eye out for their soap-making supply sales!

SUPPLIES:

  • Soap Mold
  • Bowl to melt your soap base in
  • Whisk
  • Scale to weigh the soap base

What Is Coffee Soap Good For?

Coffee soap is fantastic for those with dry and itchy skin, as it helps to hydrate and soothe. It’s also gentle enough for kids to use, making it a family-friendly option for all ages.

Can You Use Coffee Grounds In Melt And Pour Soap Recipes?

Yes! It’s best to use coffee grounds that have already been brewed so that the soap isn’t too grainy. Simply remove the used grounds from your coffee filter and gently pat them dry with a paper towel.

When making melt and pour soap, wait until the soap base has cooled slightly before adding the coffee grounds. As the soap base cools, it thickens a bit, which helps keep the grounds from sinking to the bottom as they would in a hotter, runnier soap. This ensures an even distribution of the coffee grounds throughout the soap!

How Much Coffee Grounds For Melt And Pour Soap?

When using used coffee grounds for your soap, you’ll need about 1/4 cup of grounds per pound of soap base. This ratio ensures the soap gets the right amount of coffee scent and exfoliating power without becoming too gritty.

Can You Mix Honey In Melt And Pour Soap?

Raw honey is packed with antioxidants that are great for the skin, along with deep moisturizing properties. Additionally, raw honey from bees is known for its anti-fungal and anti-viral benefits, making it an excellent addition to melt and pour soaps. Despite its sweet, sticky nature, using honey in homemade soaps won’t make them sticky at all—just soft and nourishing!

What Essential Oils Work Well In Coffee Soap Recipe?

  • orange
  • geranium
  • cedarwood
  • vanilla
  • cinnamon
  • patchouli
  • grapefruit

How To Make This Coffee Melt And Pour Soap Recipe

Prep – Pat the coffee grounds dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.

Melt – Cut the soap base into 1″ cubes and melt it in a bowl in the microwave. Heat in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until fully melted.

Stir – Whisk in the coffee grounds, vanilla extract, and honey. If you’re using essential oils, add them now as well. Let the soap base mixture cool slightly to help prevent the coffee grounds from sinking to the bottom.

Pour the Mixture into the Soap Molds – Carefully pour the soap mixture into your molds, filling them all the way to the top.

Harden – Allow the soap to fully harden for at least 2 hours. Once set, simply pop the bars out of the molds and they’re ready to use!

Tips

  • Cool Slightly – Wait until the soap base has cooled slightly before adding the coffee grounds. As the base cools, it thickens, which helps keep the grounds from sinking to the bottom as they would in a hotter, runnier mixture.
  • Variations – Experiment with different essential oils in your coffee soap to add a unique fragrance and make it even more delightful.
  • To Store – Use the soap right away or store it in a dry place for later use.
  • Gifting – These homemade coffee soap bars make perfect additions to gift baskets for special occasions like Mother’s Day or Christmas!

conclusion

In conclusion, making your own coffee melt and pour soap is a simple and satisfying way to create a moisturizing, chemical-free product that’s perfect for both everyday use and gifting. With just a few ingredients like goat’s milk soap base, raw honey, coffee grounds, and essential oils, you can craft a batch of soap that’s not only beneficial for your skin but also easy to personalize. Whether you’re treating yourself or giving a thoughtful gift, homemade coffee soap offers a unique, practical, and natural option that’s sure to impress.

HOW TO MAKE PURE TALLOW SOAP FROM SCRATCH: A SIMPLE RECIPE

Pure tallow soap recipe

If you’re a fan of grass-fed tallow, you’ll love this simple and pure tallow soap recipe. It’s perfect for beginners looking to make soap from scratch.

As the owner of a skincare shop (which you can explore here), I’ve been crafting soaps with a blend of tallow, coconut oil, and olive oil for a while, and the results are amazing! The combination of oils works wonderfully together, enhancing each other’s benefits. However, after receiving numerous requests from my customers for a pure tallow soap, I decided to create this recipe to meet their needs.

Why use tallow for soap making?

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know how much I adore grass-fed beef tallow. It’s truly amazing, packed with nutrients that are fantastic for the skin.

I’ve previously discussed what tallow is and why skin loves grass-fed tallow. You can dive deeper into its benefits here.

Tallow is the perfect fat for soap making. It’s easily accessible, adds both hardness and creaminess to soap bars, and is incredibly nourishing for the skin. I love using it on its own in this pure tallow soap recipe or mixing it with other oils for added benefits.

For more reasons why I include tallow in my soap recipes, check out the full details here.

A true homesteader’s soap

I also love the fact that our homesteading ancestors made tallow soap like this for their own use. Making it ourselves today feels like taking a step back in time, reconnecting with a simpler, more sustainable way of living. It’s a wonderful tradition to continue, and it’s amazing to see how these old methods still benefit us today.

Things to know about soap making

If you’re new to making soap from scratch, there are a few safety precautions you should keep in mind. Soap making requires lye, which turns the oils into soap. Don’t worry—there’s no lye left in the finished soap after the curing process, but we do need to handle it with care during the process.

Lye is highly alkaline, and the lye water or soap mixture can burn your skin if it splashes on you. I recommend wearing gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection when working with lye. Additionally, when mixing the lye into the water, some fumes are released, so it’s best to do this outdoors.

That’s all! While these precautions might seem a bit intimidating at first, don’t let them discourage you from learning how to make soap from scratch. Once you get the hang of it, it’s such a fun and rewarding activity. If you follow the safety guidelines, you’ll be just fine.

I also have a post where I go over the soap-making process and share the essential equipment you’ll need. I recommend checking it out before you start!

Customize it

Like many other DIY skincare items, this pure tallow soap recipe can be easily personalized with your favorite essential oils. Whether you choose a single scent or get creative with a blend, the possibilities are endless!

Keep in mind that some essential oils are more potent as soap scents than others. For example, citrus oils tend to be too mild to provide a strong fragrance. Some of my personal favorites for soap are peppermint, lavender, and lemongrass.

If you prefer a more traditional approach, you can also skip the essential oils altogether, creating an unscented version just like the homesteaders used to make. This unscented option is especially good for those with very sensitive skin, who may find it more soothing.

Pure tallow soap recipe directions

INGREDIENTS:

  • 32 oz. tallow
  • 4.2 oz. lye
  • 12.16 oz. water
  • 1.5 fl. oz. essential oils (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Weigh the tallow and place it into a crockpot. It’s easiest to melt the tallow before weighing it. If the tallow is below 100°F, turn the crockpot on low to gently heat it.
  • Weigh the water in a heat-safe container or sturdy plastic bucket, and weigh the lye separately.
  • Check the temperature of the tallow. You want it to be around 100°F. Let it cool if necessary.
  • Once the tallow has reached 100°F, take the lye and water outdoors. Wear gloves and safety goggles, then carefully and slowly pour the lye into the water. Stir gently.
  • Once the lye water turns from cloudy to clear, leave it to cool for about 10 minutes.
  • Carefully pour the cooled lye water into the tallow.
  • Use an immersion blender to mix the soap. After a few minutes, it will become creamy and start to thicken. Continue blending until it reaches “trace,” a light pudding consistency.
  • Add the essential oils (if using) and blend again to incorporate them into the soap.
  • Pour the soap mixture into molds. Cover the top with wax paper and wrap the molds in towels to insulate.
  • After 24 hours, remove the soap from the mold and slice it into bars.
  • Let the soap cure in a well-ventilated area for about 4 weeks before using.

    Pure tallow soap recipe video

    CONCLUSION

    In conclusion, making pure tallow soap from scratch is a simple and rewarding process that allows you to create a natural, nourishing product for your skin. By following the steps carefully and taking the necessary safety precautions, you’ll be able to craft your own homemade soap using high-quality ingredients like grass-fed tallow. Whether you choose to add essential oils for fragrance or leave it unscented, this soap provides all the benefits of tallow, offering a creamy, skin-loving bar that’s perfect for everyday use. Enjoy the satisfaction of making your own soap while embracing a traditional, time-tested method!