Fashion and Beauty 17th March 2015 by Michelle O'Brien

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – How Bin-Bound Coffee Grounds Can Sexify Your Skin (Seriously!)

Got cellulite or scratchy skin you wanna banish? Our Michelle decided to go double trouble on her daily dose of caffeine and, rather than ingesting, applied it to her skin – with pretty deadly results.

coffee in bed

Pic credit: @tanrr on Instagram

It all started with the daily (read: hourly) trek to my local roasting house (hi, Third Space!). Standing in line for my regular fix, I noticed these big bronze bags at the door. Okay, snared: the word ‘free’ was pretty eye-catching – those smart cafe bods were using customers to recycle: ‘Used coffee grounds, great for composting and keeping slugs away. Please take.’ So I, er, did.

I mean, who doesn’t want a natural, chemical-free alternative to slug prevention? Of course, later – in Carrie Bradshaw style (before the Russian and the grating self-obsession), I got to thinking: How can I put these little beans to work, in a skincare kinda way?

Using strong, circular movements towards the heart, I honed in on areas that are prone to orange peel problems

Fast-forward to the weekend, and I’m ready to test my theory (after all, caffeine is the #1 ingredient in a whole heap of anti-cellulite treatments). Grabbing a handful of the powdery stuff, I exfoliated – hard. Using strong, circular movements towards the heart, I honed in on areas that are prone to orange peel problems (uh, hello, bum and thighs).

I also tried a smidge on my face, with no exceptionally alarming red, raw or cystic responses, so by all means work away, but be gentle. The smell is subtle but distinct, and my skin? It was beautiful. Seriously, so smooth, so supple, so energised – I was buzzing after my bathroom escapade.

My skin was beautiful. Seriously, so smooth, so supple, so energised.

Coffee has a helluva lot of anti-aging antioxidants per bean, meaning more glow per go (see what I did there?). What’s more, the caffeine spikes temperature and temporarily shrinks fat cells. I’m planning a weekly appointment with my brew, and might even switch up the recipe to include everyone’s fave coconut oil or even some honey. I’m expecting limbs like Lima in a few weeks. #watchthisspace

Go on, give it a whirl, and let us know what you think.

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