In our city where the winters are brutal and long and summers are beautiful but short-lived, Manitobans indulge in the warm sun-filled days by spending time outdoors. What does this mean?

Beach season 🙂

In our house, we love to get up super early and pack our cooler, coffee, towels, and beach bag, and head over to the quietness of the beach in the morning while the sand is still being raked. We walk around to feel the sand between our toes and enjoy breakfast on the beach while the seagulls eyeball our food. This often becomes a whole day adventure [especially when camping!] while we soak in the vitamin D with music, crossword puzzles, friends, and snacks.

To prepare for beach days, I love to use a body scrub for glowing skin and an even tan.

Ingredients

Coffee grounds are wonderful for exfoliating. They remove dry and dead skin cells, tighten skin and reduce cellulite. Coffee ‘wakes up the skin’ when applied, just like it wakes you up after drinking it “Oh good morning beautiful 🙂“ What? Your coffee doesn’t sweet talk you? The caffeine stimulates circulation and improves blood flow, resulting in glowing skin.

Carrier oils such as sweet almond oil, olive oil, apricot kernel oil, grapeseed oil, hemp seed oil, sunflower oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, or your personal favourite! Look for a good quality carrier oil that is organic, virgin, unrefined, and cold-pressed. These are natural oils which are easily absorbed into the skin to hydrate and moisturize.

Brown sugar makes a great addition to this scrub because it is a gentle exfoliator. It is a good option for those who have sensitive skin [always me] because brown sugar particles are smaller and not as coarse as salt or white sugar. Glycolic acid (an alpha hydroxy acid) is found in sugar and helps to exfoliate and remove dead skin cells from the top layer of skin, unveiling fresh healthy skin. It is also a natural humectant, which means it draws moisture to the skin.

How to Make and Use Coffee Body Scrub

[This recipe is for a one/two time use – if you would like to make more, it will keep for a few weeks in a sealed container.]

Start by putting 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds in a small bowl or into a resealable container.

Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of carrier oil. I did 1 tablespoon coconut oil and 1 tablespoon jojoba oil.

Mix with a fork/spoon and try to resist the urge of tasting because it will smell heavenly right now.

Bring the bowl or container into the shower with you to apply. [Do not convince yourself it will not be that messy and still be cleaning up coffee grounds two weeks later.] Use near end of shower (just before shaving but after body wash) so the carrier oils are not completely washed away.

Put a small amount of scrub in your hand and apply gently in circular motions to your body. Scrubbing too hard or too often can do more harm than good. It can make skin dry out or cause small tears. When finished with the scrub, rinse off and continue with regular shower routine. You may need to rinse off the tub or shower afterwards to clear any leftover coffee grounds and oil.

Happy Exfoliating 🙂

What do you use to exfoliate skin? Have you made your own scrub before?