Wake Up Tired Winter Skin with a DIY Coffee Scrub

The cold and blustery month of January is a perfect time to focus on taking better care of your skin. Of course, we’re usually too busy getting kids back into the swing of things to finish out the rest of the school year after winter break. Most of the time as moms we don’t have the time or energy to add more steps to our evening routine. This quick and easy DIY coffee facial scrub is a great addition to rejuvenate and heal tired itchy winter skin.

This DIY facial sugar scrub recipe can be put together with ingredients that many already have available in the home. We are using two different kinds, or rather grains, of sugar. If you only have one available it’s perfectly fine. The reasoning for using two grains of sugar is to help with exfoliation. If you are only using a granulated sugar you will have a finer exfoliation material to gently scrub dead skin cells away. If you are using a coarser turbinado sugar you will have a slightly stronger exfoliant.

What are the Benefits of Using a Coffee Scrub?

There are many benefits of using a coffee-based sugar scrub. A coffee scrub is extremely good for rejuvenating tired skin. The addition of coffee to a sugar scrub adds many antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties such as polyphenols. These properties help to fight puffiness, battle cellulite and improve circulation.

The addition of coffee to a basic sugar scrub can also help to remove dead skin cells to eliminate dullness and dry skin. By using a coffee sugar scrub you can reveal healthy, youthful skin in just a few minutes.

How Often Should You Use a Coffee Scrub

As with any exfoliation, less is more. Overdoing it with any type of scrub that is removing dead skin cells is never a good thing for your face and can lead to redness, irritation, and other skin issues.

How much is overdoing it though? As a general rule, you should be fine doing this scrub about 2 or 3 times per week. I would recommend using a gentle facial cleanser on days that you aren’t using your new coffee sugar scrub.

Magical Aspects of Coffee

If you’ve been following along with our Baby Witches Club you may have already begun looking into the magical properties of common ingredients in your home. Many witches enjoy adding a little magick to all kinds of everyday items. The coffee in our DIY sugar scrub is no exception!

Coffee can be a great way to remove any internal blocks that you have put up for yourself. It’s energizing properties can help encourage hard work and strengthen focus. Some believe that coffee is excellent in keeping depression, illness, and general “bad vibes” at bay.

Ingredients Needed for a DIY Coffee Scrub

This “recipe” is basically a sugar scrub with the addition of coffee. It comes together in just minutes. By making your own coffee scrub rather than purchasing one in a store you can easily add or leave out any ingredients you wish to substitute for something else. You can also control the quality of the individual ingredients much easier when you make your own coffee scrub!

If you are using just one type of sugar you can use 1 and 1/2 C of your sugar of choice. Once you have your ingredients combined you can add more sugar or more coconut oil if needed to adjust the grain of the sugar scrub mixture.

Items Needed:

1/4 C organic coconut oil

1/2 C granulated cane sugar

1/2 C coffee grounds ( you can reuse your morning coffee grounds if you want)

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional, you can also use about 15 drops of vanilla essential oil)

DIY coffee scrub in a jar — click me to go to the YouTube tutorial!

Directions to Make a DIY Coffee Scrub

It is important that you melt your coconut oil and let it cool well before starting this coffee scrub. You want to make sure that your coconut oil is cool enough that your sugar doesn’t melt. However, you don’t want it to solidify again.

Once your coconut oil has melted and cooled you can begin by adding your other ingredients. Begin with the coffee grounds you have chosen to use. You can use fresh coffee grounds or recycle your coffee grounds from your morning coffee for this project. If you decide to reuse your old coffee grounds make sure that they are as dry as possible as excess moisture can cause issues in this mixture.

Nothing too extravagant is needed here. Any coffee that you have on hand will do the trick. You can even use one of the Starbucks Via packs if you have them available. I find that they make a great grab and go for all kinds of beauty products and crafting!

I would avoid using a coffee with any added flavoring such as an iced coffee mix or a caramel coffee. Many times these flavored coffees can have additives that aren’t really the best for your skin.

Follow your coffee grounds with the sugar that you have chosen to use. There is a wide variety of sugar grains available to choose from here. Something with a coarser grain such as a turbinado sugar can cause some irritation if used for exfoliation too frequently. I decided to go with a pure cane sugar granule that was quite fine for a softer exfoliation.

Add the cinnamon if you are using it followed by the vanilla. Either of these items (or both) can be left out of the blend if you prefer. The cinnamon is merely used as a scent enhancer. The vanilla extract, which is made with alcohol, can be irritating to some skin types and should be avoided if you have extremely sensitive skin.

Once you have all of your ingredients added to the mixing bowl you can begin to combine them using a soft silicone spatula. You want to do this gently so that you don’t accidentally melt your sugar. The goal is to keep the mixture gritty for exfoliation but to be sure that all of the ingredients are evenly blended. When you are done mixing the creation should look a bit like potting soil.

Now that you have your DIY coffee scrub completely mixed together you can transfer it over to a mason jar or other sealable glass jar.

+ Watch the Video Tutorial on YouTube +

How to Use a DIY Coffee Scrub

You can begin to use your coffee scrub as soon as the ingredients are combined! There is no need to let it set up or “marinate” in any way. Of course, the longer that your scrub is stored the more powerful the vanilla and coffee scent may become.

To use a sugar scrub of any kind you want to take a small amount in your hand and gently rub it in a circular motion against the skin. Be sure to pay extra attention to areas of dryness, sagging skin, and cellulite.

Rinse with warm water away from the eyes if you are using the coffee scrub for your face. As with anything containing sugar, and really most bath products in general, it is best to keep this coffee scrub for external use only.

How to Properly Store a DIY Coffee Scrub

It is important to ensure that your sugar scrub is stored in an airtight container. I use a glass jar with a sealable lid to help keep bacteria out of my coffee scrub. Any sealable container will do in a pinch, but glass is my preferred option if available to avoid potential toxic chemical exposure from storing bath products in plastic containers.

You should keep your sugar scrub in a cool, dry place. Keep in mind that even though it is now part of a sugar scrub your base of coconut oil can melt in environments that are too warm.

This DIY coffee scrub will store for up to 2 weeks if it is properly sealed. If you notice that your coffee scrub starts to look different or smell gross then you should toss it immediately.

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