Buzzing Beauty

As you may, or may not know, caffeine has become a star ingredient in many beauty products and treatments over the past year. As a person who has recently entered the wonderful working world of coffee I have been eager to find out as much as I could regarding these caffeinated beauty secrets. As a recent college graduate, I am also looking for ways to keep costs low. So why am I so excited about the use of coffee for beauty? No, it's not that I'm already on my third cup of coffee (just getting my health benefits), it's that so many of the effective but expensive beauty products and treatments on the market today can be recreated for a fraction of the cost in the privacy of your own home! 

• Coffee Face Mask 
• Coffee Cellulite Treatment Body Wrap 
• Simple Coffee Body Scrub 
• Coffee with Sugar Body Scrub 
• Skin-tightening/Pore-refining Face Scrub 
• Coffee Grounds Puffy Eye Treatment 
• Shiny Hair Coffee Rinse 

While there are many different types of recipes for these great DIY treatments, I have discovered that some work better than others. So allow me to be your grounds-for-beauty guru and guide you through the recipes I have done myself and had the best success with. 

Quick-Fix Coffee Mask  (from pureandhealthy.com) 

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons of ground coffee (organic and not of the “instant coffee” variety)
• About ¼ cup of whole milk
• 1 tablespoon of honey (Olive oil or lemon juice as alternatives)

Procedure

• Mix the ingredients together. Add more milk or coffee to achieve a paste consistency.
• Smear the paste on your face with a gentle circular massage to help with absorption and improve skin circulation.
• Cover everything even the under eyes, but avoid the lips. You may also smear a layer on your neck.
• Leave it on for about 20 minutes before washing off. Gently pat dry the skin.

The dark color may make you look scary at first, but at least you have that sweet aroma to keep you company! Immediately after washing you’ll feel an instant tightness to your skin, and notice a clean glow about you. Do this once a week for a regular facial boost.

Cellulite Treatment (from livestrong.com) 

Ingredients 

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh coffee grounds 
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 

Procedure

Gather about ¼ to ½ cup of fresh coffee grounds in a bowl. Add about 2 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil to the coffee grounds and stir them together. If the coffee grounds are not warm from recent use, warm them up in the microwave for about 10 seconds. 

Standing in the bathtub or on some old newspaper, take a loofah mitt and massage the warm coffee grounds and olive oil in a circular motion. Work this solution onto problem areas such as the thighs and buttocks. Leave as much of the coffee grounds sticking to the area as possible. Use plastic wrap to create a firm wrap around the area. 

After staying wrapped for about 10 minutes, remove the plastic wrap and wash the area with warm water.

* Hint - This one gets messy so be generous when laying down the newspaper, probably want to do this when no one's home, or with a friend for fun 

Simple Coffee Body Scrub (from lifestyle.iloveindia.com) 

Ingredients 

• 2 C Coffee Grounds 
• 1/2 C Raw Sugar or Sea Salt 
• 2/3 tbsp. Massage Oil (*I substituted Olive Oil) 

Procedure 

The first step would be to add coffee grounds, raw sugar or sea salt and massage oil, in a large mixing bowl and blend well. Apply the above blended mixture to a damp body in a circular motion and rinse off. Finish off by applying your favorite moisturizer. 

Coffee with Sugar Body Scrub (from lifestyle.iloveindia.com) - this one is a little more complicated but great

Ingredients 

• 1/2 C White Sugar 
• 1/2 C Brown Sugar (packed)
• 6 tbsp. Fresh Coffee Grounds 
• 8 tsp. Tea Tree Oil 
• 4 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• 8 tsp. Almond Oil 
• 4 tsp. Honey 
• 1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract 
• Oil from 2 Vitamin E Capsules 
• Dash of Cinnamon 

Procedure 

The first step would be to mix white sugar, brown sugar and coffee grounds in a large bowl. Mix until the ingredients are well-blended. To the above blended mixture, add tea tree oil, extra virgin olive oil and sweet almond oil. Make sure that the oils are well mixed to the sugar and coffee mixture. 

The next step would be to add honey, pure vanilla extract, vitamin E oil and cinnamon in the mixing bowl. Blend the mixture until the oils are completely incorporated with the other ingredients. Now, all you need to do is take a warm shower and massage your body using the coffee and sugar body scrub in circular motions. Do not forget to store the rest of the body scrub in a sealed glass jar, in the refrigerator, until you use it next time. 

Exfoliating Face Scrub (from ehow.com) 

Ingredients 

• 1/4 C Used Coffee Grounds 
• 2 to 4 pinches of Course Sea Salt 
• 1 Egg White 

Procedure 

Combine the coffee grounds, sea salt and egg white in a bowl. Mix well. 
Wash your face with warm water and pat it dry.
Apply the coffee mixture to your face, steering clear of your eyes and hairline and massaging it into your skin. Let the scrub dry for about 20 minutes. Rinse your face with warm water, gently scrubbing the coffee mixture into your skin with a washcloth. 
Dry your face. Apply moisturizer to your face if you are prone to dry skin, or if your skin feels especially tight. 

*Hint - If your skin tends to be a little dry, or sensitive, I added a drop of olive oil and tea tree oil once and really liked the extra emollient 

Coffee Grounds Eye Treatment (from speedyremedies.com) * Also great for dark circles! 

Ingredients 

• 3 tbsp. Clay Powder (* This was not something I had on hand, or really knew where to find so I substituted a bit of flour, water and salt - worked like a charm!) 
• 2 tbsp. Ground Coffee 
• 1 tbsp. Organic Honey 
• 1/4 tsp. Aloe Vera 
• 1/4 tsp. Vitamin E Oil 

Procedure 

Combine all ingredients together to make a paste. Apply carefully to under eye area, be sure to pat onto skin (or paint if you have a brush) so as not to pull the delicate eye skin. Leave on for about 5 min, then use a warm wash cloth to wipe away the mask.

Coffee Hair Rinse *For dark hair only!! 

Procedure 

Simply brew a strong, dark pot of coffee. Allow it to cool. Wash your hair with shampoo then massage some of the grounds into the scalp, leave on head for remainder of shower. Before finishing rinse out hair with the cooled coffee, then just rinse once with lukewarm water. This is great for dark hair, it adds a hint of color and a lot of shine. 

Now go on, I know you want to try one (or all) of these great DIY treatments. Trust me, you'll be buzzing about it in no time. 

Sip, smile, stay awhile