How to: Coffee and Orange Scrub

Coffee scrubs are all the rage.  People can not get enough of them, but what is so special?  It is thought that coffee's  many chemical compounds including caffeine, can be good for soothing and detoxifying the skin. It's believed to be good for dark circles around the eyes as well as to even out the complexion.   Though, it has to be said the research into the effects of caffeine is mixed.

Probably one of the most popular coffee scrubs on the market is by Frank Cosmetics.  It is a combination of ground coffee beans, sweet almond oil, soy bean oil, sugar, salt and orange essential oil. It's a pretty simple formulation, so I thought I would try and make one. For this interpretation, fresh coffee grounds were used, but you can use 'spent' ones that have fully dried. Doing the latter allows for the smell of the fragrance or essential oils to come through, but the downside is there are going to be less of the chemical constituents that are supposed to be beneficial for the skin.  What is really nice about this scrub is the  oil content. There only needs to be a small amount to coat the coffee grains and when used it leaves a light film on the skin and little in the shower or bath tub. 

A moisuriser is not needed after and the risk of slipping is relatively low in comparison to other scrubs. However,  it is a bit messy to use - coffee tends to get everywhere - and there is a risk that over time it could block the drain.  Despite this, it seems to be a hit for a lot of people. Ingredients:

The Formula

Ingredient 150g %

Almond oil 45g 30%

Sugar 22.5 15%

Salt 22.5 15%

Coffee 58.5 39%

Orange Essential oil 1.5 1%

Method:

Simply mix all of the ingredients together and pop them into a container.  I used foil pouches to keep mine in as it looks like something coffee would be in.  Feel free to play around with this one, try adjusting the levels of all the ingredients to suit your own preference.

Rebecca xx