But First..Coffee

For a couple months now I've been wanting to try this new scrub that is supposed to help get rid of cellulite, stretch marks and scarring. And I have all 3 of those so I have nothing to lose really. It wasn't until yesterday that I actually researched what to include in the scrub and how effective it actually is, on YouTube and I found a few videos and got inspiration from them to finally make my own scrub today. I was very skeptical about using this scrub, but also very excited to see if it actually works wonders like people rave about! Here we go! Credits to the article "Tighten & Tone: Homemade Coconut Coffee Body Scrub" from the site Free People. BIG WARNING: it can get very messy!

1. 1/2 cup of Coffee is rich in antioxidants, making it an awesome anti-inflammatory ingredient. It contains caffeine, which draws out excess moisture from your skin, causing it to look and feel smoother and firmer. In this scrub, coffee acts as a mild exfoliant, removing dead skin cells and exposing fresh, soft skin. 
2. 1/2 cup of Coconut oil is one of our favorite natural beauty ingredients over here. It’s incredibly moisturizing and filled with vitamins and minerals, which it locks securely into your skin.
3. 1 tablespoon of Cinnamon helps to clear your skin of any bacteria. It also brings blood to the surface of the skin, helping to smooth out any lines that may be present.

*There was one more ingredient: coconut palm sugar, but I didn't have that around so I substituted it with normal cane sugar and it seems just fine. The coconut palm sugar only acts as a 2nd exfoliating element to the mixture, so you're not missing out on much*

My first time using it was at night, well around 7pm, and so here's what I did. Once all your ingredients are well combined, apply the mixture all over the area of concern. For me, I applied it to my thighs for the cellulite and butt for my stretch marks. I also heard that it helps to battle acne and acne scarring so I lightly applied that to my face. You don't want to go too crazy and scrub your face especially, because the ingredients are so harsh that it could do more harm than good. Left it on for about 5 minutes, then rinsed off. After a few seconds, my face started to burn and tingle so beware; I have kind of sensitive skin, but nothing severe. (I mean I didn't mind but if you have super duper sensitive skin you might now want to leave it on for the full 5 minutes). It's actually quite ironic that I did this scrub because I don't like drinking coffee and the smell of it kind of repulses me (especially dark roast coffee). I just wanted to add that I also wound up doing my entire body, just to get a good exfoliation going on ;D So after I rinsed off, I just used a little bit of soap to get some of the tackiness of the coconut oil off and keep the stench of the coffee to a minimal.

After shower: As of right now: my face seems less red, pimples have gone down a bit and my thighs were actually pulsating before. It's been an hour I've been out of the shower and the smell of coffee is still strong and giving me a migraine. So I'm planning to take another shower in the morning before going out.

So in the morning the first thing I did was feel and smell my skin. BTW last night I also did my normal facial cleansing routine a few hours after letting the coffee soak in, which I published in my Skin Update post. SO I felt the skin on my butt and my thighs and Oh My Lanta! did it feel amazing. My stretch marks aren't as prominent and smooth and my thighs feel so soft. The rest of my skin that wasn't initially my target to cover, felt so baby soft and just extremely hydrated. It's hard to explain just how happy I was okay?! I seriously believe this helped my acne by the way; my face is less red, my pimples have gone down tremendously and the acne scarring has gotten lighter and less prominent as well. This scrub really does an incredible job of exfoliating the top layer of your skin to reveal new beautiful skin. And I just wanted to add, my skin didn't totally reek of  coffee in the morning, I think it was just my face that made the smell linger, so after washing my face as per my normal routine, the smell faded and so I was really happy waking up to not smelling like the inside of Starbucks. I am definitely going to be doing this scrub more often, because it just makes your skin feel so amazing and brand spankin' new!

*I just want to clarify again that what worked for the acne and scarring on my face was using the combination of the coffee scrub and using my normal skin care routine, And that I also did this once on Friday (it's now 4/27/15), I believe they say to use it everyday for 2 weeks, but I have a white tub okay and I always have to clean it, so I'm trying to think of alternative options ;p *