DIY Exfoliating Coffee Body Butter Scrub Bars

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You can use ground coffee beans for more than just drinking. Touted all over the internet for their exfoliating effect, the slight coarseness of the coffee grounds is a perfect remedy for dry, flaky skin. So why not make a DIY Coffee Body Butter Scrub Bars out of it?

Table of Contents

• 5 Benefits of Applying Coffee to the Skin
• What are Coffee Body Butter Scrub Bars, and Why Should You Use Them?
• How to Use Body Scrub Bars
• DIY Coffee Body Butter Scrub Bars Recipe
  • Equipment
  • Shelf life and storage
  • Substitutes
• How to Create Different Variations of Coffee Scrub
• The Bottom Line
• FAQs
  • What coffee should I use in my body scrub?
  • Can I use a coffee scrub on my face?
• References:
• Looking for more recipes?

5 Benefits of Applying Coffee to the Skin

Praised for its tightening, anti-ageing and exfoliating effect, coffee has become one of the most popular natural beauty ingredients in recent years. Applying coffee to the skin is believed to:

1. Reduce the appearance of cellulite

Coffee’s chief active compound is caffeine, which is thought to improve blood circulation and reduce the appearance of cellulite. Massaging ground coffee into your skin should help reduce the appearance of skin dimples and leave you with firmer and more toned skin. 

2. Tighten the Skin

Caffeine stimulates blood flow, and with the regular application of coffee grounds, the skin can become tighter and appear more youthful. 

3. Fight off premature ageing

Besides caffeine, coffee is also rich in antioxidants vital for fighting free radicals. The antioxidant activity of coffee is related to its chlorogenic, ferulic, caffeic, and n-coumaric acids (1). Caffeic acid, particularly, is a potent antioxidant shown to be beneficial in fighting off premature ageing by improving collagen production and repairing damaged cells (2).

4. Control acne

The topical application of coffee can also help to tackle body acne breakouts (3). While massaging coffee grounds into the skin will help clear dead skin cells and unclog pores, chlorogenic acid in coffee may help reduce inflammation and protect the skin from some harmful bacteria. 

5. Exfoliate naturally

The uneven texture of coffee grounds makes them an extremely effective natural exfoliant that can work wonders in keeping your skin smooth, fresh and youthful. However, be gentle when massaging coffee grounds into the skin as over-exfoliating can irritate the skin. 

What are Coffee Body Butter Scrub Bars, and Why Should You Use Them?

Coffee Scrub Bars are simple bars closely resembling coffee scrubs but without the mess. 

While the combination of moisturising cocoa butter and oils helps restore the skin’s natural moisture balance and soften it. The mildly abrasive coffee grounds can help clear off the dead skin cells to reveal smoother, fresher and younger-looking skin. Beeswax performs double duty. It keeps the moisture in and helps to exfoliate the skin. 

As the scrub is presented in a bar form, you can easily control the amount used. 

How to Use Body Scrub Bars

Using the coffee scrub bars takes only minutes and is quickly done in the bathroom.

1. Moisten your skin before you begin. 
2. Warm the scrub bar between your hands for a couple of minutes to soften it, then glide the bar over your skin, massaging the scrub into the skin in a circular motion, not forgetting dry, problem areas. As butter releases from the bar, it will spread over your skin, leaving it feeling silky.
3. Rinse with warm water and pat dry.

DIY Coffee Body Butter Scrub Bars Recipe

Equipment

high-precision scale

glass beakers

spatulas

thermometer

round or oval silicone mould

<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="shelf-life-and-storage">Shelf life and storage

If stored well, coffee body scrub bars should keep well for six to twelve months. Keep them away from direct sunlight in a dry, cool room or a draw. If they change colour, smell or texture, dispose of them and prepare a new batch. 

Substitutes

Please remember that swapping the ingredients in the formula will alter the final product. Consider how the ingredient you switch will affect the final product’s texture and smell when making changes. 

Beeswax: I love the scent of beeswax as it takes me back to my childhood. However, if you are not a huge fan and prefer vegan waxes, candelilla or rice bran wax are great substitutes. 

Butter: Cocoa butter is hard to swap as it keeps scrub bars firm. Instead, you could replace it with tucuma butter. You can also swap shea butter for another soft butter, like mango or sal butter. 

Safflower oil is a fast absorbent oil rich in linoleic fatty acids. It helps soften, moisturise and replenish dry skin. Swap it for grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, or apricot kernel oil.    

Exfoliants: If you prefer gentler exfoliation, replace half or even more of the coffee grounds with jojoba beads or bamboo powder.  

Essential oils: Vanilla-like scent of benzoin essential oil complements the sweetness of cocoa butter beautifully. If you prefer to keep your formulations free of essential oils, you could replace benzoin essential oil with vanilla-infused oil instead. You’ll find the recipe here. 

How to Create Different Variations of Coffee Scrub

Coffee is an essential ingredient in this recipe, but it shouldn’t stop you from experimenting with the formula to see what works for you.

Try experimenting with different blends of butter and oils. If you’d like your scrab bars to have a less oily feel, use mango butter and fast-absorbing oils like safflower oil, grapeseed or hazelnut oil. For a more moisturising bar, add some shea butter or cupuacu butter. 

Combine your favourite coffee grounds with other skin-friendly exfoliants like oatmeal, ground almonds, or jojoba beads. If you prefer a more abrasive scrub, combine coffee grounds with other natural exfoliants like pumice powder, rapadura sugar, orange peel or Himalayan salt, which work well in foot scrubs. 

Essential oils can be added to the mixture, too. Adding a drop or two of cinnamon or ginger will add a warming scent to the scrub, while peppermint essential oil will add a refreshing fragrance.

Infused oils are a great way to incorporate active ingredients into the formula, such as vanilla, cinnamon or cardamom. They are an excellent substitute for essential oils if you are sensitive to them. 

As with any homemade beauty recipe, you can add to the formula and customise it however you like.

The Bottom Line

Coffee offers a great many benefits to our skin. Creating your own DIY body butter scrub bars is an easy way to get a bit of caffeine-infused exfoliation into your daily routine without splashing out on pricey products.

FAQs

What coffee should I use in my body scrub?

Using freshly ground coffee instead of coffee grounds scraped from the bottom of your coffee filter is better for the skin. Freshly ground coffee is rich in antioxidants and caffeine, whereas used, wet coffee grounds can introduce moisture to the scrub, creating a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. For this recipe, I used ground Qualita Rossa coffee. 

<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="can-i-use-a-coffee-scrub-on-my-face">Can I use a coffee scrub on my face?

Our facial skin is very delicate. Ground coffee particles have uneven edges, and rubbing them into the facial skin can cause irritations. If you want to exfoliate your face, stick to less abrasive exfoliants like jojoba beads or bamboo powder. 

References:

1. Antioxidant and Antiradical Activity of Coffee
2. Caffeic acid: A review of its potential use in medications and cosmetics
3. The Potential of Plant Phenolics in Prevention and Therapy of Skin Disorders