The smell of coffee is such a favorite of mine that some nights I fall asleep already anticipating the ritual of brewing the following morning’s cup. It’s the scent of so many memories… of my mother’s kitchen, where coffee is almost always enjoyed with a slice of fresh-from-the-backyard blueberry pie and of good times spent working as a barista. I love it, and could never give it up, no matter how hard (or not so hard) I’ve tried.
Lucky for my coffee-loving heart, there are so many ways to enjoy the stuff beyond a morning mug-up, and these exfoliating coffee cubes have been my favorite way to indulge lately. During a season when many of us are plagued with dry skin, these little beauties provide a much-needed pick me up, with coffee granules to slough away dead skin and plenty of nourishing coconut oil and shea butter to moisturize. Beyond giving your skin a good scrub, using coffee as a body and facial exfoliant has many other benefits. Used in the morning, the caffeine soaks through your skin invigorating body and mind, reducing the appearance of cellulite, and making your skin feel firmer to the touch. Plus, you can’t beat how easy these little cubes are to use, just rub ’em in and rinse!
Coffee Coconut Exfoliating Cubes
Ingredients:
1 cup finely ground coffee (freshly ground beans are best, but store bought espresso-ground works fine as well)
1 + 3/4 cups coconut oil
2 tbsp pure shea butter
1/4 cup sugar
a few drops vanilla essential oil (optional)
Ice cube tray or soap mold
Place the shea butter and 1 cup of the coconut oil in a glass jar and heat in the microwave until just melted, but not hot (about 15-20 seconds). If the shea butter is still solid, stir the oil for a few minutes to melt it down. Combine the oil mixture with the coffee grounds and sugar in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Add a few drops of the vanilla essential oil, if using, and mix.
Fill the ice cube cups halfway with the coffee/oil mixture (about 2 tsp each, depending on size), and place the tray in the freezer. Once frozen, remove from the freezer and melt the remaining 3/4 cup of coconut oil. Pour the melted oil over the frozen coffee cubes, and place back in the freezer. Allow to freeze completely before removing the cubes from the tray. Store the cubes in the freezer until you’re ready to use one!
To use:
Face: After removing any makeup, rub a cube on your face to exfoliate, rinsing grounds away with warm water. Pat dry.
Body: Use as you would an in-shower salt or sugar scrub, exfoliating with the grounds. After your shower, pat skin dry and allow the coconut oil to soak in before dressing. Be sure to rinse all grounds down the drain with hot water to avoid clogging.
Enjoy!
More Free People beauty DIYs
those look so amazing!
http://www.amoderngypsy.blogspot.com
These are so so cute! This would be an awesome gift for a friend, too – but gifting a must-be frozen good can be tricky! :)
Warm Regards,
Alexandra
http://www.littlewildheart.com
I LOVE THIS !!! Making them this weekend chick <3
Fun! I must give these a try!
xo
Michaela
http://michaelajeanblog.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MichaelaJeanArt
This is such a lovely idea! I’ll do this this weekend to pamper myself a little :)
Style Chez Moi
Excited & Motivated To Try This!
Thanks For Sharing!
Awsome!
It’s very good idea!
http://www.safran-bolu.com
Oh I love this idea :-D So original. And it looks amazing.
Great project to try at home! Is there anything
To add to the cubes to make hold together
And not have to stay in the freezer?
Thanks!
Such a nice idea! Bookmarked for next weekend. We all need a bit of pick me up after long winter. :)
http://www.thesmellofroses.com – blog about flowers
Looks lovely and an inspiring idea! Will definitely try :) I have used coffee scrub for body but not face as I thought it might be a bit rough, but with the oils and in this form it could work wonders!
This looks so good I definitely want to try it xx
http://angelinaarose.blogspot.co.uk/
Love these pretty body bars! It’s good to see that coffee can be used in so many ways not just drinking it. I will give these a try and give them to my girlfriends as a gift with some coffee beans
Such a great idea. Thanks, Julie.
I’ve read that coconut oil and shea butter can clog pores though so I may substitute for jojoba.
wayfaringwybles.com
Lovely idea. Can you store them NOT in the freezer? Any advice no where to buy good quality but cheap shea butter for these?
Thanks!
Please, please never use coffee grounds to exfoliate your face. The skin on your face is very different from the skin on your arms or legs. The coffee grounds are to jagged and irregular for the skin on your face and will cause micro tearing. Your skin then has to work to repair itself instead. This recipe would be great for any other part of the body. If you want an inexpensive exfoilant for the face try super fine white rice flour.
Do I have to add the shea butter?
I love these and have tried them several times. I did want to ship it out to a friend out of state as a gift but it will melt outside the freezer. What can I add to it that will keep it together outside the freezer? Would glycerin keep it together? And if so, how much of it should I use?
Hi Susan, Thank you for writing! A quick Google search yields 2 options — the first consideration would be for you to ship your creation via refrigerated packaging to ensure that it stays cold when reaching your friend. The second might be to introduce a hard oil, like cocoa butter or beeswax in order for it to maintain its consistency. As I haven’t tried this personally, I would say to experiment and see if the texture/result is to your liking before sharing. Let us know how you fare, and thank you for taking the time to reach out to us. Be well! XO