Wednesday 15 June 2016

Anyone for coffee?

I'm so thrilled with my Cappuccino Coffee bar that I felt compelled to write about it!

Coffee is a buzz word these days, not only are we drinking it in huge quantities but it seems that coffee and the caffeine it contains offers many skincare benefits. Caffeine is a powerful anti-oxidant and also has anti-inflammatory properties; thus it can help reduce redness, even-out skin tone, prevent skin from premature ageing and on top of this it's a great exfoliator and leaves your skin feeling silky soft. Oh yes, I almost forgot, it's also said that caffeine reduces the appearance of cellulite.

I decided on an all-vegetable bar of soap with plenty of coconut oil, olive oil and shea butter. Once made I took away a quarter of the clear mixture saving this for the top layer and then added espresso coffee grounds (more caffeine in these!) to the rest of the mixture. Before pouring I added essential oils of patchouli and vetiver. This is a really great combination for this particular soap. Not only do these two oils contain great properties for the skin but the vetiver adds a dark chocolatey scent to the earthy patchouli. Mmmmm....


To complete the effect I sprinkled fresh ground coffee on the top.

This was made yesterday and today saw the great unveiling....


It looks good enough to eat and smells fantastic!

This is my second batch and the first was ready earlier this week and I can honestly say that this is one of the most glorious soaps I've ever made. It's rich and creamy and leaves your skin feeling fantastic. I use it on my face (yes, it's super mild) but it would be a great shower soap too.

A shower with this first thing and a cup of coffee at elevenses means you get a double daily caffeine hit. Nothing wrong with that!