TWO CUPS OF COFFEE, SCRUB

The coffee we all love so much has many uses beyond just waking us up in the morning. One of those uses is to create a coffee body scrub. It’s usually just the high prices that deter us from enjoying the benefits of exfoliating body scrubs. Since most of us have a canister of coffee grounds in the kitchen, creating this scrub will be easy, beneficial, and most of all, cheap! Not to mention that the coffee itself has added benefits for your skin and body that many body scrubs do not provide.

Before we go into any recipes, let's discuss why a coffee body scrub is so much more beneficial than the everyday scrub. This information was provided by CancerLynx.

1. No more cellulite. While coffee is wonderful for many reasons, it is actually the caffeine it contains that provides the added health benefits as a scrub. When coffee is applied to the surface of your skin, it helps redistribute fat cells and decrease the formation of cellulite.
2. Problems with varicose veins. Many people accept varicose veins as a necessary evil--either as a sign of getting older or a predisposition inherited from Mom or Dad. Now with a coffee body scrub, you may be able to prevent varicose veins or even make them vanish! The caffeine in a coffee scrub acts as a vascular restrictor--shrinking blood vessels, thus helping to reduce varicose veins.

Now that we know why the coffee body scrub is so useful, we can move on to the recipe. The recipe for a coffee scrub is very simple, including only three main ingredients.

* 2 cups of coffee grounds (Brand does not matter--the cheaper the better.)
* 1/2 cup raw sugar or sea salt
* 2/3 tablespoon of massage oil (Any plain, cheap massage oil will do.)

1. Mix these three items together in a bowl.
2. If you wish to make more coffee scrub for later use, you can easily double the recipe.
3. When it comes to making a coffee body scrub, you also have a few add-in options:
   

• Brown sugar - Brown sugar adds a sweet smell, as well as a coarse texture that helps to rejuvenate your skin. Add until you reach the texture desired.

• A dash of cinnamon - Adding cinnamon will give your scrub a stronger sharper scent.how to make coffee lotion

• Vanilla extract - Vanilla extract gives your coffee scrub a sweeter smell. It also thins the scrub out a bit, if that is the texture you are going for. It may also make the scrub more soothing to the skin.

• Perfume oils - Perfume oils make an excellent addition to your exfoliating coffee scrub. These oils are usually pure and highly concentrated, so they have a very strong smell. Adding just a dash of perfume oil to your scrub will give it a marvelous scent. The nice thing about the oils is that the tiniest bottle will last forever, especially if you are using it only for this purpose. Also, perfume oils come in many different scents, from flowers all the way to name brand colognes and perfumes.

Keep these tips in mind when considering add-in options:

• Be cautious with perfume oils. Although they smell wonderful, if you are planning to apply the scrub to your face, the perfume oil may be too strong. This is especially true for sensitive skin.

• Try to avoid any items you may be allergic to. Many oils and scented items may seem to complement your recipe perfectly, but take caution in case you are allergic. Read all ingredients carefully before adding anything new.

When the scrub is complete, be sure to apply it to wet or damp skin. The best time to do this is in the shower so that you can rinse it off after application. Apply the scrub directly to your skin and rub it in circular motions with your fingers, or use a washcloth or loofah. Remember the circular motion helps to distribute the caffeine to eliminate cellulite and varicose veins.

If making something homemade, even something as simple as coffee body scrub, is simply not your style, there are a few companies out there that sell coffee body scrubs.