Top 4 Benefits of Coffee in Skincare

Most of us reach straight for a cup of coffee in the morning to give us that much-needed boost, but more and more brands and cosmetic creators are adding coffee as a key ingredient to wake up our skincare routines. It perks up your brain, and it turns out it perks up your skin too!

Aside from being delicious, coffee also has a number of enhancing properties when it comes in contact with the skin. Caffeine acts as a natural anti-inflammatory, making your skin feel tighter. Caffeic acid is a powerful antioxidant, meaning it will help to prevent premature skin aging. And of course, the coffee grounds are a natural exfoliator, getting rid of dead skin cells and improving your blood circulation. So maybe think twice before you chuck away those grounds left in your coffee filter! Believe it or not, our gabi+skin coffee scrub started out as a home remedy when we couldn’t find a good product locally.

We’ve done quite a bit of research and testing on possible benefits coffee may have on skin and made this top four list so you can see some great ways in which coffee works wonders on our skin.

1. Coffee is a Great Exfoliant

The texture of coffee grounds is the perfect consistency for a great exfoliator, while its aroma gives you an additional pick-me-up. What’s not to like?! The caffeic acid in coffee grounds improves the production of collagen, which imparts a dewy, bright quality that rejuvenates and revitalizes the skin. The caffeine helps to trigger lipolysis, which is the breakdown of fat stored in the fat cells. Coffee scrub stimulates blood circulation making cellulite look less obvious in the short-term. Furthermore, it quickly removes all dead skin cells and impurities, leaving the skin smoother and more radiant.

The benefits of these kinds of treatments, although nonpermanent, are immediately visible. The initial results you can expect from coffee treatments is a temporary reduction in swelling that gives the appearance of overall smoother skin, and a tighter, toned appearance in areas such as the tummy and thighs.

2. Coffee is a Deep Revitalizer

One of the main reasons coffee extract is used as an ingredient in soaps, scrubs, and other skincare products is that it is ideal for revitalizing the skin. It repairs damaged tissue, increases circulation, and deeply nourishes the skin - leaving it feeling soft and fresh.

Results of a study from 2013 suggest that the compounds in coffee help to promote healthy skin. Coffee is a fantastic collagen booster. Collagen makes up one-third of the proteins in the human body and is the key to healthy, vibrant, more youthful skin. As we age and expose our skin to UV light or cigarette smoke, our collagen production declines. If you want to keep your skin looking lustrous, then coffee products are a good way to go.

In fact, when we combine coffee with other wonderful ingredients, it can work even better as a skincare product. Callyssee combines it with Vitamin C to create their brightening serum. Origins' executive director of global product development, Lizz Starr, also praises the benefits of adding to coffee’s youthful properties. "We combine it with ginseng. It can energize the skin and optimize cellular energy to help keep skin hydrated, conditioned, and looking fresh," she told Byrdie. "Not only that, but it's a great anti-irritant and promotes skin soothing."

3. Coffee is a Firming Agent

Whether you have issues with cellulite or inflamed skin, coffee comes up with the goods yet again. We all know coffee is a diuretic, which isn’t always a plus! But you might think about it differently when you find out that this same effect pulls the moisture out of fat cells, firming your skin.

Caffeine also stimulates the blood flow, which acts as an anti-inflammatory and can help tighten the skin. When used in treatments, coffee products are often combined with gentle heat in body wraps, promoting cellular metabolism, lipolysis, and the elimination of water retention. When used in lip treatments, caffeine serves to increase blood flow and make lips temporarily appear plumper.

We all know the eye area is extremely delicate, so adding coffee extract to eye care products can help reduce the buildup of fluid under the eyes, making them appear less puffy and red. What’s more, the same anti-inflammatory qualities help reduce the swelling and redness caused by many topical acne treatments. Acne occurs when your pores become clogged by oil and dead skin cells, which can cause inflammation if infected by bacteria. Using a coffee scrub can help to get rid of dead skin and unclog the pores. The chlorogenic acids in coffee may also reduce inflammation and protect against some strains of bacteria.

4. Coffee is a Master Moisturizer

When your skin gets dried out from UV rays and pollution, cracks and wrinkles start to appear - this is your skin crying out for some moisture-rich protection. Guess what, your skin is as thirsty for coffee as you are!

Caffeine has a biologically active nature and a high concentration of potent antioxidants, which makes it capable of delivering a wide range of skin benefits. Caffeine assists in the neutralization of damaging free radicals, which contributes to premature aging. Products containing coffee bean extract have been proven to prevent wrinkles, and even help to fix wrinkles that have already started to appear. We know, it sounds too good to be true!

Additionally, caffeine is a natural collagen booster that helps improve the overall look of your skin and can mitigate the loss of elasticity that comes with age.

The high concentration of antioxidants in caffeine also helps repair UV ray damage from sun exposure. It has been proven that coffee oil filters light selectively within the wavelengths of 280-320nm, allowing the skin to brown whilst protecting it from solar erythema. This means that caffeine treatments can combat the appearance of wrinkles and sun spots. So add a touch of coffee, and we can protect our skin while still getting a gorgeous golden glow! Bring on the summer sun!

Coffee in Skincare, a Refreshing Choice

The panacea that is coffee; drink it, scrub it, rub it, bathe in it, color your hair with it, give yourself a footbath - rub it on your skin or pour it down your throat, it seems that the applications of coffee have buzzed into skincare and don’t show signs of crashing.

What do you think about this article and using coffee in skincare? Let us know about it in the comments and tell us why you want coffee in your next skincare product.