Feel Good Friday: DIY Coffee Scrub

Happy Friday! The weekend could not get here soon enough. Is it just me, or do the weekdays seem a little longer when the sun is out and begging us to come play? I am thoroughly looking forward to spending my Saturday and Sunday outdoors, either riding my bike or just hanging out in the park. This is, by far, my favorite time of the year.

Before indulging in this weather, I always spend some quality time exfoliating. Sloughing off dead skin cells before going outside leaves a smooth, even canvas to soak up the vitamin D that the sun so graciously provides us, not to mention it makes the skin glow! I actually exfoliate with a body scrub at least weekly year-round, but when summer rears its beautiful head, I bump that up to 2-3 times a week. While there are TONS of scrubs and exfoliating products on the market, I generally don’t bother with those and prefer to make my own with natural, good-for-me ingredients that pamper my skin. Today, I’m sharing one of my many scrub recipes that I use regularly. This scrub uses a blend of coffee and coconut sugar to exfoliate the skin, and coconut and olive oils to moisturize and soften. Read on for the recipe!

The ingredients:

¼ cup ground coffee (any will do!)

¼ cup coconut sugar (my preference, because it’s more coarsely ground, but really, any will do here as well)

3 tbs melted coconut oil

1 tbs olive oil

The method:

To make:

Combine oils in a bowl, then add coffee grounds and sugar and mix, mix, mix until incorporated. That’s it! Store in an airtight container and use regularly for soft, smooth skin.

To use:

1. In the shower, after washing, turn the shower off before using the scrub. You don’t want the water to wash away your efforts as you work!
2. Apply scrub all over your body with a circular motion. You shouldn’t have to press too hard to feel like you’re getting a good scrub going. I spend a good minute on each extremity to really buff it out.
3. Rinse with warm water and apply a good moisturizer after toweling off.
4. Bask in your newly glowing skin!

Tips:

• This scrub does get messy; you’ll want to wash the shower immediately after using. Just rinsing away the coffee grounds is not enough! The floor will likely be slick from the oils.
• I know that coffee stains everything (your teeth, the coffeemaker, your favorite shirt), but don’t worry, it won’t stain your skin.
• Some people ask if you ingest the caffeine from the coffee topically from the scrub. No worries! You can use this scrub at night with no consequences. Trust me, I am extremely sensitive to caffeine.

The benefits:

The caffeine in the coffee is a diuretic that draws out excess moisture from your skin, causing it to (temporarily) look and feel smoother and firmer. As you know, I’m always on the hunt to reduce the appearance of cellulite, hence why I love this scrub! Caffeine also has antioxidant properties that help prevent damage from the sun. In addition, the coconut oil provides “deep and real” moisture for skin, while the vitamin E in olive oil is a proven skin superhero.