Not without my morning coffee: how to make a coffee shower gel

Coffee is certainly something polarising. Some love it and some can't bear it (me included). But even if you don't like coffee as a drink, you may still like its scent and in this case, you're going to love this shower gel.

I've decided to create a kind of Arabian coffee (in the middle east, they usually brew coffee together with cardamon). For the water phase I used a combination of rosemary and bamboo hydrosols. You may even create this shower gel with cold or hot brewed coffee but then you may need to use another preservative blend or another dosage.

The rest is quite easy and ALMOST straightforward. We use a high shear mixer to add the gum to the water phase. Then slow down the mixer and add the surfactant blend (which has been blended by a magnetic stirrer) very slowly. None of the magnetic stirrer or the high shear mixer are necessary but they make your life much easier.

Let's jump to the formulation and procedure for this lovely shower gel.

Formulation:

Procedure:

1- Blend phase A and C separately at room temperature. We used a magnetic stirrer for phase B but it is not necessary.

2- Disperse the gum (phase B) in phase A. We used a high shear mixer. You can manage small volumes with a spatula.

3- When the gum is fully dispersed and the surfactant phase (phase C) is quite homogeneous, slowly and little by little add the surfactant phase to (A+B). Try to avoid agitation. You don't want to create a mountain of foam.

4- It's time to add the preservative blend. We know by experience that the shower gel has a pH higher than 6 at this stage and you can add the preservative.

5- Add the preservative (1388 eco and versatile BL) and blend gently. Prepare a 10% solution of the shower gel in distilled or demineralized water. Measure the pH. In our case it was around 6,4 and we have added lactic acid to reduce the pH. Add the lactic acid gradually and measure the pH again and again at intervals.

6- In our case, we added about 2% lactic acid 80% to reduce the pH to the desired range (for this preservative blend the efficacy range is between 5,2-5,5)

7- After the pH is adjusted take your stability and micro kit samples and fill the rest in suitable bottles or tubes.

Enjoy the amazing scent and the foam of this mild shower gel.

BeHappy and have fun