DIY Coffee Scrub :)

I mentioned in my Cold Brewed Coffee recipe that I kept the used coffee grounds so I could make an exfoliator- well I made it, and it turned out really well so I thought I'd share the 'recipe' for that with you too!

You will need:

Coffee grounds (I think you can use fresh, unused ones, but that seems a bit wasteful to me, as it works really well with brewed coffee grounds!)

Oil (a lighter textured oil is best- I used rapeseed oil)

And optional extras

cinnamon powder, peppermint flavouring, or any other scent you'd like :)

 

The recipe is really very simple- you take coffee grounds and oil in about a 2:1 ratio. For this batch I used about 4 tablespoons of coffee, and 2 tablespoons of oil.

This should give a nice mud-like texture; which is still thick enough to spread and use but thin enough to easily massage into the skin without the coffee crumbling off. I really did feel like I was playing mud pies (anyone else do this as a child?) Though there are no real 'rules' about this recipe, get it to a texture you like!

You can then add extra scents- I made a batch with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder. That smelled SO good- warm and rich and quite Christmassy! And I did a peppermint batch which reminds me of After 8 Mints (because I only ever eat them whilst drinking coffee) which was also amazing- it was Amy's favourite too :)

I have a feeling that adding cocoa powder would be awesome, but unfortunately I ran out of coffee grounds!

The good thing about a coffee scrub is that the coffee particles are fairly smooth- there's no 'sharpness'  which I find with sugar or salt scrubs, it feels more like fine sand- which means it gives a much more gentle , but still very effective, exfoliation. It also smells absolutely divine- I could sniff it all day!

Having tested it all over my body in the shower I'd recommend using it before washing with a shower gel- the oil does leave a residue behind (which does feel lovely, but it's not particularly practical, and also has a brownish tint to it!) The coffee grounds are small enough to go down the drains OK* and it's quite easy to rinse away so I don't find it messy.

Apparently you can also use this scrub to exfoliate your face- I haven't actually tried that yet, but I think it would work really well, as it is a gentle scrub. The caffeine in coffee is supposedly very good for your skin too, though how much caffeine can really travel through the scrub into your skin I don't know...

I poured my scrubs into small pots with secure, airtight lids. I don't think they will keep for too long, but I see no reason not to freeze the used coffee grounds until you're ready to use them and make it up in smaller batches.

This is a great way to reuse coffee grounds (when you think that you could have thrown them away, it makes this recipe practically free!) and makes a lovely, and super-cheap exfoliator! :)

Have you ever tried making your own exfoliator?

                                                                                                 xGretalRabbitx

* that said, I take no responsibility for any plumbing incidents you may have as a result of this scrub...