This homemade coffee body scrub is a tiny superhero in a jar! It exfoliates gently which is great for sensitive skin, especially the face. It increases blood flow by helping dilate blood vessels and tightens our skin.
Therefore, it’s an awesome treatment for those of you who are affected by cellulite (which is about 80% of all women!!). Depending on what oil(s) you’re using, it also moisturises, rejuvenates, and brightens!
What else? Right: it’s zero waste because you’re “reusing” your coffee grounds for it AND it’s extremely cheap... because you’re “reusing” your coffee grounds.
The homemade coffee body scrub benefits
- cellulite treatment: reduces dimples
- removes dead skin cells
- rejuvenates, brightens and tightens skin
- depending on the essential oils: revitalising and youthful-looking skin
The caffeine in coffee is doing the magic! It helps the dilation of blood vessels which increases the blood flow. Massaging does that as well, but adding caffeine will support it even more.
When your blood is flowing properly, your skin looks rejuvenated and bright, and it tightens as well.
If you wanted to, you can add raw sugar to this recipe to remove dead skin cells even more. The sugar will make it a stronger peeling though and I do not recommend it for people with sensitive skin.
How to make a homemade coffee body scrub?
This quick DIY beauty treatment is really easy! All you really need is fresh ground coffee (no instant!). When you make fresh coffee at home (no matter which sort: ground coffee beans, capsules, K-cups…), you always end up with coffee grounds.
- If you’re using a filter coffee machine or a basket espresso machine, simply empty the filter/basket after brewing your coffee and put it in a jar or container to cool down.
- If you’re using capsules (Nespresso, K-cups, etc.), you can cut them open in order to get the grounds out. Please, only use pure coffee—no flavouring or anything in it, if possible.
- Combine coconut, sweet almond or olive oil (and essential oil(s), if using) and coffee grounds in a small bowl. You may need to adjust the amount of oil, depending on how wet your coffee grounds still are (or on the coarseness of your coffee). It should be a wet paste (as you can see in the picture), but not runny!
- Use your DIY coffee scrub right away or store it in a glass/mason jar preferably in the fridge to avoid mould. This body scrub has a relatively long shelf life when kept in the fridge—at least 2 weeks, probably much longer!
How often can I use this homemade coffee body scrub?
If using it for your face or for your whole body, I recommend not using it more than once a week. In some cases, twice a week is fine as well because it’s only a gentle scrub. You just want to give your skin some time to produce new skin cells. That’s all.
If using this homemade coffee body scrub as a cellulite treatment, then 2-3 times are OK. You’re only using it on adipose tissue (fat) which is less sensitive.
If any skin irritations occur, stop using the coffee scrub. It may be from scrubbing too hard, an allergic reaction to an oil, or your skin simply has enough and needs a break. If that happens, take a break and slowly start again, or change your oils.
One thing that I just want to mention is that coffee grounds may clog your drain. I mean, there’s a reason why you should throw coffee grounds in the bin/garbage or compost them, and not flushing them down the drain…
However, I think that the little amounts, used once a week max, should be fine. Just thought, you needed to know that.
What oils can I use?
You can use any oil in this recipe. Sweet almond oil, coconut oil or olive oil are my favourites.
The only thing about coconut oil is though: it solidifies in the fridge. So, if you do have leftovers, just remember to take it out of the fridge the night before, or slightly heat it up in the microwave.
I wouldn’t replace the oil by using water instead because oils also moisturise your skin and they have many other benefits, too!
Essential oils
I used geranium and grapefruit oil because geranium is known to beautify the skin and grapefruit for the mood-lifting citrus scent. If treating cellulite (I’ll talk about that in a sec), grapefruit essential oil is great for that, too!
Other oils: Cinnamon to help increase the dilation of blood vessels (yes, great for cellulite as well), Eucalyptus has a revitalising effect, Frankincense rejuvenates, Jasmine is great for a healthy glow, Patchouli and Sandalwood for smooth and glowing skin, and Roman Chamomile for youthful-looking skin.
How can I use this homemade coffee body scrub for cellulite?
As I mentioned earlier, the caffeine helps the dilation of blood vessels and tightens skin. The scrubbing motion additionally increases circulation in the affected areas.
This kinda plumps up your skin, making cellulite look less obvious. Over time, little dimples will disappear.
You can use cinnamon and grapefruit essential oils to fight cellulite. Cinnamon oil (only use 1 drop in this recipe! It’s very strong!!) is known to help dilating the blood vessels, while grapefruit helps break it down and prevent new fat cells from forming below the skin.
For a cellulite treatment, use this coffee body scrub 2-3 times a week, massaging it in circular motion on your affected areas. After a few weeks, you should see a noticeable effect.
BUT, remember!! This is a treatment. NOT a cure! It won’t magically get rid of cellulite. Science still hasn’t figured out the cause for it, so all we can do at the moment is to give it a treatment—as natural as we can, of course. And probably exercise (that helps me the most)!
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp coffee grounds cooled
- 2 tbsp oil coconut, olive, sweet almond oil, etc.
- 4 drops essential oils optional
Instructions
- Combine oil (and essential oil(s), if using) and coffee grounds in a small bowl. You may need to adjust the amount of oil, depending on how wet your coffee grounds are (or on the coarseness of your coffee). It should be a wet paste (as you can see in the picture), but not runny!
- Jump into the shower. After washing, apply body scrub wherever needed. You can give your whole body a nice massage and scrub!For cellulite treatment: Massage coffee scrub vigorously (as much as you can tolerate! Don’t irritate your skin—you don’t want to hurt yourself!) in a circular motion on affected areas (usually thighs and/or bottom). Leave out sensitive areas.
- Rinse thoroughly. A little redness is normal because you’ve just increased the blood flow—that’s what we wanted to achieve!
- Finish with a moisturiser of your choice. I just use coconut oil or almond oil (because of its soothing properties), but use whatever you prefer.
Notes
- If you have leftovers, keep them in an airtight container or a glass jar (that’s best when using essential oils) in the fridge. If using a glass jar like I do just be careful with it in the shower ;).
- You could add raw sugar to the coffee scrub to make it coarser and to enhance the peeling effect. I find, however, that you don’t need to. The coffee grounds are enough for my skin.
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