"Coffee meets lecithin": Coffee scrub

Hi organic formulators,

For the upcoming bi-monthly challenge by Formula Botanica, we've prepared these fabulous coffee scrubs. These are so easy and so fun to make, one wants to dedicate her whole career to making scrubs. These scrubs make an amazing gift, give away or a nice product to be added to your portfolio. The sky is the limitation and by varying the exfoliant, the butters and oils you can have a versatile range varying between foot-and-hand scrub to body or facial scrub.

And to add to the advantages of this product: it is an amazing fun project to make with kids or during a workshop.

I usually make scrubs with a big contrast between the exfoliants and the matrix but for this specific formulation I added lecithin to the carriers and hence there is almost no contrast between the coffee and the rest.

Before we start I want to recommend you to read our older posts and general information regarding hygienic manufacturing practice in cosmetic lab, introduction to Basic equipment and utensils for a cosmetic lab. 

The formulation:

Procedure:

1- In a water bath, melt/heat all ingredients of phase A. Stir gently during melting.

2- As everything is melted/blended, stop heating and remove the beaker from the water bath.

3- Add the ingredients in phase B, blend and stop cooling. You can either rput the beaker in an ice water bath or put it in th efridge but stir the content every 10 minutes.

Stirring during the cool down is very important for a smooth and shiny texture of the scrub and to avoid graininess.

4- Stir gently till you reach a light trace. Add the coffee powder and the essential oil.

Obviously, coffee has a higher density than th emelted butters. Adding it at the trace, slows the rare of sedimentation. Otherwise all the coffee would sediment at the bottom of the mold.

5- Pour into wathever mold you like and put the mold into the fridge for 12-24 hours.

6- Unmold after 12-24 hours and enjoy your creation.

These scrubs shouldn't necessarily be kept in the fridge but avoid keeping them near to the heat source or exposed to sunlight.

I prepare small pieces which are consumed in 1-2 application. This reduces the risk of any contamination. If you prepare bigger pieces, you should be aware of the danger of contamination because these are going to be kept and used in the wet shower cabin. You may need to add a preservative to protect the product and the consumer from contamination depending on your exfoliant and the size of the scrub.

Thank you for being here and for sending me your comments and photos. I really enjoy your participation in our Facebook discussions. 

Be Happy and have fun