My life is often spent doing many things with my hands. I love to dig in the dirt, play catch with my boys, camp and craft many things. There is not much glamour to mucking out stalls or cleaning chicken coops, but I still like to treat myself and to take care of my skin. It can be good to have mud on your boots, but having silky hands is still awesome too.  One of the ways that I like to combat all the damage that I do to my skin is with a vanilla bean coffee scrub. It smells amazing and is loaded with great things for your skin. This scrub can be as gentle as you like based on the grind of your coffee beans. I tend to use a more coarse grind for a body scrub while using a finer grind for a face scrub. 

Why coffee and vanilla? Coffee has been used as medicine or in skin care routines for hundreds of years. The caffeine not only wakes you up, but it wakes up your skin. Coffee is loaded with rich antioxidants that can help to combat damage caused by free radicals. It is has anti-inflammatory properties to help with swelling. I prefer to use fresh ground coffee for my body scrub. It holds up to the olive oil that is incorporated in the scrub. Even the smell of coffee can bring on a better, more awake mood. This scrub smells delicious.

Vanilla is not just for flavoring foods. It is loaded with antioxidants that are good for your skin.   Vanilla is also antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. This makes vanilla an excellent way to sooth and cleanse your skin. Plus, vanilla smells amazing. It is a comforting scent that is often used in aromatherapy to calm and enhance moods. Sure, vanilla pods can be expensive, but this is a great wonderful way to splurge on yourself. A little goes a long way. I like to purchase my vanilla pods in bulk from suppliers like Mountain Rose Herb. If you do not have any fresh vanilla, do not fret you can substitute a pure vanilla extract.

So we have the upbeat scent of coffee combined with the amazing smell of vanilla. What more do we even need to make this scrumptious scrub? Well, we need oil. The oil you use in this scrub is all about moisture. I prefer to use olive oil. Coming from a large Italian family, we have used olive oil as skin care for generations. It is amazing as a skin or hair conditioner. Olive oil is packing a vitamin E punch. It is deeply penetrating without clogging pores. Olive oil softens the abrasiveness of the ground coffee while cleansing the skin. This gives your skin a nice smooth glow without being greasy.

This scrub is a combination of anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, moisturizing antioxidants that have your skin screaming for more. Seriously addicting, you have been warned. Store bought lotions have nothing on the softening, moisturizing results you will find with this scrub.

What do you need?

• 1/4 Cup of Ground Coffee – the grind size is based on your preference and unbrewed
• 1/4 cup of Olive Oil
• 1 Vanilla Bean Pod – Beans scraped out (you can substitute 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract)

Directions

Combine the coffee and oil. Add the oil slowly until you get a pudding like consistency. Once you have a thick, but wet mixture, add in the vanilla bean seeds. Give it all a good stir to incorporate the vanilla. Store in a tightly sealed container.

To use this, I like to lather it on my hands like soap and rinse off with warm water. It is also a great body scrub to use in the shower. Using circular motions, scrub and rinse off. The scent of coffee and vanilla are enhanced in a steamy warm shower. If you are worried about clogging your drain, you can put a piece of mesh over it to collect the coffee. When using this as a face scrub, I suggest using the finest grind of coffee. Use the scrub to remove dead skin and to moisturize your face. Olive oil won’t clog your pores, but if you have sensitive skin I would not use this everyday on your face. I use it weekly on my face and daily on my hands.