Coffee Exfoliant
Mix 1 part coffee grounds with ⅓ part coconut oil and ¼ granulated sugar. Apply to less sensitive areas of the body and rub in with hands to exfoliate. Perfect for legs after shaving to prevent ingrowns.
Thoughts:
Definitely started out strong with this DIY zero waste skincare recipe. The scrub smells AMAZING. Like, coconut-toffee-coffee amazing. My partner asked me if I was making dessert when I whipped it up. No joke. Coconut oil is a big green flag for my sensitive skin, since it’s hypoallergenic and leaves a nice smelling barrier between dry skin and the elements. This scrub didn’t disappoint, and left my skin feeling downy soft. The process to make the product was super easy, just a bit of mixing and cleaning my ancient French press. I saved up my used coffee grounds for a few days and whipped up a big batch to last awhile. This scrub is especially nice for buffing dry skin off calloused feet. My one issue with the coffee scrub is how much of a mess it makes in the shower. Since its essentially gloopy coffee grounds, it’s hard to scrub in and shower off without getting things dirty. Word of warning: place a fine-mesh strainer in the bottom of your shower for easy cleanup. You don’t want the grounds going down the drain.
Cucumber Eye Patches
Instructions:
Just cut two cucumber slices and let them sit on your eyes for 10 minutes. The coolness of the cucumber will de-puff dark circles, and the cucumber itself can help promote hydration to the area.
Thoughts:
My mom introduced me to this recipe when I was about 6 years old. It’s been working ever since. Feels great on your face, and is a great snack after you’re done!
Avocado Mask
Mash up 1 ripe avocado and mix in roughly one tablespoon of honey. Apply to face and let sit for 10-15 minutes before washing off.
Thoughts:
This mask was… a journey. After mixing the ingredients, I noticed it smelled pretty strongly of avocado. I love a good green stone fruit, but the smell has never been appetizing to me. So, I looked online to see what I could add from my pantry to cover up the scent of this DIY zero waste skincare recipe. After a quick google search, I saw that cinnamon has antibacterial properties that can stop acne in its tracks. So I thought… why not? I want to emphasize that this was not a thorough google search. About 5 minutes into the mask, I saw a bit of skin reddening. I didn’t notice it until I felt the burn. I rushed to the bathroom sink, took everything out, and saw…. a tomato where my face should be. After looking into why this might have happened, I learned that cinnamon can be a pretty heavy skin irritant, and impacts sensitive skin the most. It was time to run defence. I slapped on some aloe and a cool damp cloth to help my face calm down, and sat like that for at least 20 minutes. My skin eventually calmed down, and about an hour later, I had porcelain results. So… was it the aloe or the mask? I’ll have to try this recipe again to find out. This is all to say: Don’t include cinnamon unless you want to deal with a red face for at least an hour!