Saving Grounds for Baby-Smooth Skin

Lately I've been reading a lot about using natural or raw food products to create your own at-home treatments - an idea that I love.  An idea that is also less wasteful, money-saving, and one that has me feeling more connected to Mother Earth - a damn good feeling if you ask me.  A few examples of treatments: Olive oil as hair moisturizer?  Yep.  Lemon juice as skin toner/brightener?  Oh yeah.  And don't even get me started on this article I pinned from Delicious Obsessions on 52 Uses for Coconut Oil....

Being the body scrub lover that I am I was super excited when I came across the idea to use coffee grounds as a natural exfoliant.  I love to make coffee at home on the weekends (especially since I got my French Press for Christmas this year), but with each & every dump of grounds into the trash I felt more & more guilty.  Shame on me for waiting so long to change my ways, but now I use all my post-Press grounds to create a fabulous, natural body scrub that leaves my skin feeling oh-so-smooth & baby soft.

There are many different concoctions you could create, but you can also use the grounds as a scrub on their own with just a bit of water added.  My personal favorite is using a drop or two of coconut extract & 1/2 tsp olive oil with the grounds, creating a scrub that leaves your skin unbelievably soft with a subtle coconut scent that is simply divine.

Here are a few other uses for (used) coffee grounds while we're on the subject...

• Use on pots & pans to scrub off grease and grime
• Use in place of baking soda in your refrigerator to neutralize odor
• Sprinkling grounds in your garden can help keep insects & other pests at bay
• Grounds can be used as a natural fertilizer for acid-loving plants in your home or garden
• Pour damp coffee grounds over ashes in your fireplace just before cleaning them out to prevent airborne ashes/dust
• Create a sepia-toned dye by steeping grounds in hot water; use the water (or coffee) to dye paper or fabric
• Add them to your compost

And check out some ideas for at-home body scrubs below these photos...

Remove excess coffee liquid by placing grounds in a sieve

I keep my scrub in a mini-Mason Ball jar in my shower

Make your own coffee-based body scrub:

• Use coffee grounds as the base of the scrub, but if you're not a coffee drinker you can also try using brown sugar if you have it in the house
• Try adding a drop of any number of extracts to the mixture, depending on the scent you like best - some extract options you can find in the baking isle include: almond, vanilla, coconut, mint, peppermint & cocoa
• Mix the grounds with just a bit of water & use them as-is, or add about 1/2 tsp olive oil or a bit of honey to create a thicker consistency

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