I wrote a post about this ages ago, but decided today that anything worth doing, is worth doing again. And yesterday I treated myself to just this concept, making the time to make my luscious coffee scrub again. This time of year, dark, dank and muddy for us, just begged me to cheer myself up with this treat. My skin has been feeling so dry, what with the heating on and lots of wool clothing, so needs must, and my goodness I feel rejuvenated, rehydrated and ready to take on the rest of winter.
Making your own beauty products is actually really, really simple, quicker in general than even going to the store to buy them. And – serious bonus – I know exactly what I am putting on my skin, as well as the satisfaction of having made them.
But if you are like me, the first hurdle was in getting going, that impetus to actually do rather than think. Yes, we are all time shy; been there, got that, bought the bridge. With Christmas celebrated and taking a few much needed days to myself, I made sure I used some of my precious time for this – and made a big batch in case it was a while until I did it again.
Now, if you are like me and you love your morning coffee, then this recipe is for you. I came across this recipe originally on Blah Blah Magazine’s site in trying to find a use for old coffee grounds (besides inundating my garden with them to keep slugs at bay).
This is such an easy and favourite recipe. The only time consuming part, it could be argued, is remembering to dry your coffee grounds. The easiest way is keep your coffee grounds from your morning coffee on a day when you know you are going to use your oven. (Or like me save up a few days worth so I can make heaps of this scrub.) Spread the coffee grounds on a baking tray and when you are finished with whatever you cooked in the oven and turned it off, put your baking tray of coffee in to the cooling oven and it will slowly dry out your grounds. Once the coffee grounds are dried you can store in a jar until you are ready to make your scrub.
To make the scrub you simply melt coconut oil. A double boiler is recommended as you don’t want to heat it so much as get it to liquid form. I use a glass pyrex bowl nestled in a simmering pot of water. As soon as the coconut oil is liquid, turn off the heat and stir in the coffee grounds. The quantity is not really important, but roughly a little less coconut oil to coffee grounds. It is really more about getting the consistency of scrub you like. If you like it less grainy, put in less coffee. Like it a bit more scrubby, add more in. Then to make it an even better scrub, you add sugar, about the same amount as the coffee. You can also add some cinnamon or nutmeg or ground cloves. Whatever makes you enjoy the scent even more. Me, I went for a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg this time, about a teaspoon each, but you can vary it to get the smell you like. (If you are one for exact measurements, here is the original recipe for making this coconut coffee scrub.)
Once you have made your mixture, pour it into a solid plastic or glass jar. I reuse old peanut butter jars as I like to recycle things, but also my peanut butter jars have a nice wide opening, so easy to get my hand in, and a plastic lid, so it doesn’t rust with the moisture from the scrub. The downside of glass, although it looks lovely, is of course breakage.
The scrub will solidify as the coconut oil cools, so hence a nice wide open jar. To use, just scoop out some with your fingers and smear over your body while in the shower, then wash off. You will feel so soft and rehydrated and smell like morning. So now, you’ll pardon me, my coffee scrub is calling me.
Pumpjack & Piddlewick 