3 uses for coffee your skin will love

It's not just for drinking, folks! Whether you're a coffee drinker or not you can benefit from the healthful (that's right, healthful!) perks of coffee. For years coffee had a bad rep for having negative health effects but those days are gone! Now we recognize that the delicious flavor and caffeine buzz are not all bad and that in moderation it can do us loads of good.

"Coffee appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, cirrhosis of the liver, and gout, but it increases the risk of acid reflux and associated diseases. Some health effects of coffee are due to its caffeine content, as the benefits are only observed in those who drink caffeinated coffee, while others appear to be due to other components. For example, the antioxidants in coffee prevent free radicals from causing cell damage." from wikipedia

Coffee has made its way into cosmetics in the recent years for its hefty caffeine content. Caffeine is purported to have all sorts of advantageous effects on the skin from tightening, increasing circulation, and defeating every woman's arch nemesis, cellulite. The three ways you can pep up your morning with coffee, without drinking a drop are by using them on your skin!

1. Perk up the AM shower with coffee infused soap.

Coffee grounds are amazing at removing stubborn scents like garlic or onion on your hands where nothing else will work. They are also an amazing natural exfoliant making these bars super scrubby and leaving your skin soft and rejuvenated. Plus the scents of vanilla, chocolate, hazlenut, and coffee in the tan colored mochaccino will bring you comfort while the uplifting scents of citrus and mint along with coffee in the mintaccino will brighten your mood and boost your energy.
The set is no longer available but mintaccino is sold year round at strawberryhedgehog.com..

2. Make your own coffee scrub to exfoliate, soften, and improve circulation.

homemade coffee scrub
1 part coffee grounds (freshly ground or immediately after brewing)
1 part raw sugar
1 part vegetable based oil
* optional essential oil or extract

Mix the coffee grounds with the raw turbinado sugar to create the coarse base for your scrub then add enough oil to saturate your mix. You can use any type of vegetable based oil you have on hand. Once blended together you can use this in the shower on damp skin by applying it in circular motions toward the heart, focusing particularly on cellulite or rough patches. This is ridiculously good fun but it makes quite a mess so be prepared to do a serious rinse of your shower when you're done and laughing maniacally while you rub coffee all over your body is good for the spirit. :c) Rinse completely and pat dry.

3. Make your own coffee-cocoa face mask.

coffee-cocoa face mask

1 part finely ground coffee
1 part cocoa powder
1 part ground oats
2 parts almond milk

Tighten pores, soften skin, and boost circulation with a simple coffee mask. Put the cocoa, ground coffee, and oats in the coffee grinder until as fine as possible. In a bowl mix the powders with the almond milk. Apply it to clean skin on your face and allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water and a wash cloth. This will stain your clothing and towels so be careful. :c)