Coffee Scrub

When making a coffee scrub, I always add between 10% and 20% dry coffee grounds to the Foaming Bath Whip. The more coffee you add the “scrubbier” it will be. What I also add to my coffee scrub is 5% kaolin clay. I find that the kaolin clay gives a nice slip to a coffee scrub but it is optional. Sugar is not necessary in a coffee scrub as the coffee grounds are the exfoliator.

If you want to add white cane sugar you most certainly can. I am always careful that I don’t cause an abrasive scrub. In a sugar scrub, add sugar up to 60% of your foaming bath whip base. Again the more sugar you add the more abrasive your scrub will be. I would suggest that you add 10% coffee grounds and 40% sugar to start with. Test it on your own skin. Remember you can always add more coffee grounds and sugar but once it is in, it’s in. To rectify it, you will have to add more foaming bath whip to tone it down if it is too harsh and then readjust your recipe from scratch taking into account what you have just made.

This is how I formulate my coffee body scrub:
Whip the foaming bath whip until it is light and fluffy (follow the instructions on the jar and any notes you may have received)
Mix the polysorbate 80 with your fragrance or essential oil
Note: For essential oils I only add in 0.5% (they are powerful herbal products) if you overdose the product and a client has a condition you are unaware of, it may have side effects. Personally I prefer using fragrance oils at 3% in my sugar and my coffee scrubs. FWS has a huge variety.for delicious fragrance oils. Polysorbate 80 helps fragrance oils disperse when it comes into contact with bath/shower water – it is a liquid emulsifier.
Add this PS80 mix to the whipped mixture and whip again. Stir with a spatula as well
Add the coffee grounds slowly and mix in with a spatula and give a quick whip
Add the white cane sugar slowly stir in and give a quick whip (I don’t use brown sugar as it has a higher water content than white sugar, which can eventually make the scrub runny)
Add the Kaolin clay slowly and whip (optional)
You can add another 0.5% of Euxyl K712 to your whipped foaming bath. Maximum usage rate for Euxyl K712 is 1.5%, the foaming bath whip already has 1% in it. So you have 0.5% available to add to the scrub. Make sure it is properly mixed in.
I let my scrub mixture sit overnight. This allows me to add more sugar or exfoliator if needed.
Next morning, I then place the scrub into a piping bag (no nozzle needed) and pipe the desired weight into my jars.

Note: For essential oils I only add in 0.5% (they are a herbal medicine and if you overdose your product, the client may develop a side effect. Personally I prefer using fragrance oils at 3%. FWS has a huge variety of fragrance oils. Polysorbate will help the fragrance oil disperse when it comes into contact with bath/shower water as it is a liquid emulsifier.

I test my scrubs in the crook of my elbow, not on my hands. Hands like our feet are tough and can handle rough scrubs. If it is not scrubby enough, slowly add small quantities of coffee grounds and sugar until you are happy with the scrub. Sometimes scrubs can thicken overnight and that needs to be taken into consideration. I do not exceed the maximum of 60% sugar and 20% coffee. Personally I think 60% sugar and 20% coffee grounds together are going to be too harsh on the skin but that’s just my opinion.

Your recipe should look like this:
500g foaming bath whip
0.5% or 3% Polysorbate 80 (i.e. 2.5g essential oil OR 15g fragrance oil)
10% or 50g coffee grinds (maximum of 100g)
40% or 200g white cane sugar (maximum of 300g)
5% or 25g Kaolin Clay
0.5% or 2.5g Euxyl K712

I hope this helps you formulate wonderful scrubs. Good luck.