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If you cannot live without coffee in the morning, you probably know how a cup of coffee can turn a dreary day into a colorful one.
However, did you know that coffee — in the form of coffee scrubs — can greatly benefit your skin?
It’s true! But how is a coffee scrub good for your skin? What are the benefits of coffee scrubs?
A powerhouse of caffeic acid and antioxidants, coffee nourishes, brightens, and exfoliates your skin, slowing down signs of aging!
But those reasons are only the tip of the iceberg! This natural ingredient has a lot more to offer.
This article will discuss the benefits of coffee scrubs in detail and offer you some easy DIY coffee scrub recipes for your face and body.
If you want to learn all these in one go, keep reading.
What Are Coffee Scrubs?
Coffee scrubs are what you think they are: a body or face scrub made of coffee grounds. To be more specific, finely ground coffee scrubs are used for physical exfoliation, which nourishes your skin.
This means coffee scrubs can physically slough off and eliminate dead skin cells from the surface of your skin through gently scrubbing.
Coffee grounds are prized for their antioxidants and caffeine content, which are reported to be good for the skin when topically applied.
8 Benefits of Coffee Scrubs
Is using coffee scrubs as an exfoliator new to you? If that’s the case, you’re probably curious about the benefits of a coffee scrub for your face, skin, and body.
So what does coffee scrub do for your skin?
Here are some of the greatest coffee scrubs benefits that you should know:
Eliminates Dead Skin Cells
The large coffee particles in coffee scrubs work as a physical exfoliant that peels the impurities and dead skin cells off the skin’s surface, revealing brighter-looking skin.
Meanwhile, the antioxidant properties in coffee boost new skin cell growth, improving your skin’s texture by rejuvenating and smoothing it.
Improves Your Circulation
Did you know that you can get your blood pumping by simply scrubbing your body?
Using coffee as body scrubs will give your skin additional benefits thanks to its caffeine content, which helps stimulate blood flow and eventually improve circulation.
As a result, your skin will instantly feel nourished and rejuvenated every time you use coffee scrubs.
Skin Tightening
Caffeine is the way to go if you want to tighten your skin.
The caffeine inherently present in coffee scrub can help minimize the appearance of swelling, redness, and inflammation on your skin.
Moreover, you can eliminate puffiness around your eyes since caffeine restricts blood vessels and acts as a stimulant that makes your eyes less tired-looking and more alive.
Helps With Acne
What about using a coffee scrub for face benefits? Does it help with acne?
Luckily, the answer is YES!
Acne happens when your pores are clogged with dead skin cells, oil, and other substances. These clogged pores will then be infected by bacteria, causing inflammation.
Luckily, scrubbing coffee grounds on your face helps unclog the pores by clearing away dead skin cells.
The chlorogenic acids, stimulants, and antioxidants in coffee may make the coffee scrub an effective acne-fighting scrub.
Chlorogenic acids protect your skin against bacteria, pollution, and inflammation. Caffeine also helps reduce inflammation by constricting blood vessels, reducing blood flow, and minimizing the redness linked with acne.
Has Anti-Aging Properties
Since coffee scrubs are packed with antioxidants, they help the skin combat signs of aging like fine lines, sunspots, wrinkles, dull skin, scars, large pores, and more.
Its antioxidant properties can help slow the aging of the skin due to regular exposure to the sun.
Repairs UV Damage
The antioxidant properties in coffee, such as polyphenols, can help protect your skin from UV rays and repair UV damage.
Aside from that, these antioxidants help keep decelerate signs of aging linked to sun exposure.
Whether you’re struggling with hyperpigmentation or sun spots, a coffee scrub can effectively work to make your skin flawless with continuous use.
Stretch Marks
Using coffee body scrubs to remove dead skin cells can help in fading stretch marks and scars as well. Once the dead skin cells are removed, the dermis is activated to make new cells.
Furthermore, caffeine also helps in healing skin as it promotes collagen production and improves stimulation, which can greatly help in eventually fading all types of scars.
However, take note that exfoliating using coffee scrubs cannot totally remove stretch marks. Instead, coffee scrubs will just fade them like old marks but at a faster rate.
You will notice a difference after one to two months of regularly using coffee scrubs.
Cellulite
Like stretch marks, coffee body scrubs can’t completely get rid of cellulite and clear your skin, but they may help reduce the appearance of your cellulites with regular use.
As you massage the skin affected by cellulite using body scrubs, you also remove the impurities and dead skin cells from the surface.
Consequently, it allows the scrub’s active components to seep through the deeper layers of your skin.
Coffee may help minimize cellulite appearance in three ways:
- It has antioxidant properties that help combat free radicals and keep the skin plumper and smoother.
- It improves blood flow and dilates blood vessels, which helps fight cellulite formation and fluid retention.
- As a diuretic, it eliminates excess water from the skin and tightens it, visibly reducing cellulite dimples.
DIY Coffee Face and Body Scrubs Recipes
After knowing about the great benefits of coffee scrubs for face, skin, and body, you’re probably itching to know the different ways to make them and how to add them to your skincare routine.
Without further ado, here are four DIY coffee scrubs that you can whip up in a few minutes using the ingredients you can commonly find in your kitchen and beauty stash:
Coffee + Coconut Oil + Sugar Body Scrub
If you are searching for a quick and natural body scrub that makes your legs and hands appear instantly smoother, then this coffee body scrub mixture is meant for you!
Coffee works well in terms of tightening the skin while delivering a burst of antioxidants. Coconut oil leaves your skin supple and soft, while sugar helps gently remove ingrown hair and dead skin cells.
Pro tip: This body scrub must be used before shaving!
Here’s how to do it:
- Take 2 tablespoons of ground coffee along with 1 tablespoon each of the coconut oil and sugar and mix them well.
- You can add more coconut oil if the mixture is too dry.
- After mixing the ingredients well, apply this DIY scrub to your torso, legs, and hands. However, make sure not to scrub it on your face.
- Start gently exfoliating your skin using circular motions.
- Rinse it off with warm water.
- Apply a nourishing body lotion after rinsing and drying off your skin.
Coffee + Yogurt Facial Scrub for Dry Skin
Yogurt is a particularly moisturizing ingredient that can keep your skin from becoming too dry.
Exfoliating using skin-nourishing ingredients is one of the best ways to moisturize super parched, dry, and flaky skin. This can help remove dead skin cells, leaving your skin supple, soft, and bright.
To do this mixture, you need to:
- Mix 2 tablespoons of yogurt and 1 tablespoon of coffee powder.
- Apply this mixture to your neck and face. Make sure to avoid applying it too close to your eye area.
- Let it stay on your skin for approximately 15 minutes.
- Use gentle circular motions to exfoliate your skin.
- Rinse it off with warm water.
- Don’t forget to apply some moisturizer on your face after.
- For best results, use this face scrub recipe at least twice per week.
Coffee + Olive Oil + Sugar + Cinnamon Body Scrub
This combination is a great remedy for lackluster and dull skin.
Cinnamon helps in healing and preventing skin infections. Plus, your skin will be given the extra moisture it needs, thanks to olive oil.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Mix about ½ cup of ground coffee, ½ cup of sugar, ¼ cup of coconut oil, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder.
- Scrub this mixture on your entire body gently in a circular motion to eliminate dead skin cells, revealing glowing, softer skin.
- Rinse the mixture with cold water.
- Always end the process by applying a moisturizing body lotion.
Coffee + Olive Oil + Bentonite Clay Scrub for Oily Skin
This DIY coffee scrub is perfect, especially for those with oily skin.
Adding olive oil protects your skin from being too flaky and dry. On the other hand, bentonite clay helps restrict the excess production of sebum, resulting in grease-free skin.
To do this scrub, do the following:
- Add 1 tablespoon each of bentonite clay, fine ground coffee, and olive oil in a bowl, and mix them well.
- Apply this mixture onto your neck area and face and leave it on for 15 minutes to let it do its magic.
- Use gentle circular motions to remove the mixture.
- Rinse the area for oil-free and fresh-feeling skin.
Coffee + Carrier Oil + Essential Oil for Hair Scrub
This DIY recipe is for you if you want to revive your dull, dry hair. This hair scrub can be used to exfoliate your scalp and eventually result in good hair growth.
Here’s how to do it:
- Choose the carrier oil (i.e., coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil, etc.) and essential oil (tea tree oil, peppermint oil, rosemary oil, etc.) you want to add to your hair scrub.
- Mix 5 tablespoons of coffee grounds, 4 tablespoons of your preferred carrier oil, and 1 to 2 drops of your chosen essential oil.
- Apply to your scalp and hair strands. Ensure that all strands are covered.
- Massage the mixture into the scalp in circular motions for a few minutes.
- Shampoo and condition your hair.
- Rinse it well before styling.
Where Can You Apply Coffee Scrubs?
When thinking about scrubs, the first thing that comes to mind is facial scrubs. But did you know that you can use coffee scrubs all over your body?
Before you go about using coffee scrubs, though, remember that you can’t use all of them on the face, especially those with gritty, rougher, and larger ingredients like unrefined sugar and coarse ground coffee.
Be careful when choosing an ingredient to add to your DIY scrubs.
While sugar in scrubs is known to make the skin smooth and soft, unrefined sugar tends to be more abrasive and can be harsh on facial skin.
If you want to try less abrasive alternatives to unrefined sugar, you should opt for table sugar or granulated sugar.
And if you’re planning to make a coffee scrub for your face, do not use coarse ground coffee. Instead, opt for a fine to extra fine ground coffee as your scrub’s main ingredient.
Coffee scrubs that use rough ingredients should solely be used on the body. If you use them on your face, they may cause microtears and irritation.
Remember that a facial scrub’s goal is to exfoliate your skin gently, not irritate it.
Use our DIY coffee scrub alternatives that are safer for your face, particularly the one with olive oil and bentonite clay or the one with yogurt.
Aside from your face and body, your scalp can also enjoy coffee scrubs’ other perks!
If you want to clean, exfoliate, and moisturize your scalp, then feel free to use a coffee scrub in your hair.
Try the recipe with brown sugar and coconut oil/ olive oil / almond oil as your hair scrub and see the amazing before and after results yourself!
When used appropriately, the incredible benefits of coffee scrubs can be felt all over your body, leaving you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated after every use.
How to Store Coffee Scrubs
Here are important things to remember if you couldn’t use up all the coffee scrub you prepared and are planning to reuse for later:
- You can prolong the scrub’s shelf life by keeping it stored in your fridge for about three to four days max.
- You can use a resealable mason jar or any sealed container to store your coffee scrub
- Before reusing your coffee scrub, don’t forget to wait for a few minutes after taking it out of the refrigerator so that it softens.
- Since this type of scrub is pretty oily, you should use it before washing in the shower.
- If you observe any discoloration or smell, it means that you need to dispose it of as soon as possible and it’s time for you to make a new coffee scrub.
How Often Should You Use a Coffee Scrub?
Generally, it’s recommended to only use coffee scrubs as an exfoliator at least two to three times per week. But for sensitive skin, you should only exfoliate with coffee once a week — nothing more than that!
Note that the optimal frequency for using coffee scrubs may depend on the person’s skin type, age, specific skin problems, and more.
So it’s for you to decide how often you use coffee scrubs on your face and skin. Just pay close attention to your skin’s needs.
During the winter, coffee scrubs can give your dry skin the extra moisture it needs. It can also help remove lotions, sunscreens, or sweat during summer.
To see great results, it’s best to incorporate coffee scrubs into your regular body skincare routine and stick to it throughout the year.
Just don’t forget to use a moisturizer or a hydrating lotion after scrubbing as coffee tends to draw out moisture from the skin.
Potential Side Effects of Coffee Scrubs on Skin
Scrubs, in general, can be the cause of rashes, hives, and breakouts. Not using it every day and only using it sparingly can prevent such side effects.
Meaning, you can use coffee on your skin as long as you make sure not to overdo it.
If you’re planning to add coffee scrub to your skincare routine, you must be careful when using it on any body part to avoid over-scrubbing.
Otherwise, it can cause micro-tears on your skin, leading to inflammation.
And if you’re allergic to caffeine, it’s best not to use coffee as a body or face scrub since it may cause itchiness and redness on the skin.
What Is Your Favorite Coffee Scrub Benefit?
There are many coffee scrub benefits for the body and skin that you can experience if you decide to incorporate it into your regular beauty and skincare regimen.
If you’re new to using scrubs or always trying new ones, coffee scrubs are worth trying!
With coffee scrubs, you’ll feel soothed and refreshed as you give your skin that beautiful glow.
What are you waiting for? Make one of our DIY coffee scrubs today and try it out yourself!
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