Saturday, May 2, 2009

Mocha Mask

Tony and I went to the gym this morning, and he discovered when we got home the coffee pot had been left on; we had half a pot of "cooked" brew. When I made a cup of iced coffee later in the day, I had to admit it was past its prime. However, I don't like to throw anything out, so I researched unique ways to use up leftover coffee. Today I made a facial mask out of coffee grounds and coffee.

According to my source, coffee grounds make a gentle exfoliation product for your skin. I mixed a quarter cup of coffee grounds with enough of the old coffee to make a thick paste. My first plan was to apply it in the bathroom in front of the mirror so I could see what I was doing, but I quickly realized that was a mistake when coffee grounds started flying everywhere! I moved to the kitchen and leaned over the sink to complete the job.

After I applied the paste on my face, I let it dry for 20 minutes. This part wasn't too messy, but when I had to scratch the skin next to my eye, a few stray coffee grounds fell off. The removal, as you might expect, was also a bit sloppy. When I was done there were grounds all over the sink and countertop. However, my face DID feel very smooth, and had a glow to it.

I don't think I'm going to repeat the process again tomorrow, though. The rest of the old coffee is going to get poured into the compost pile.

9 comments:

  1. Hurray for using leftovers in a unique way! But those little coffee grounds find their way all over the place just moving from my sink to the garbage, can't imagine moving around with them on my face. :-)

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  2. I think I'll pass on this one too!

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  3. Using coffee grounds also reduces the appearance of cellulite! I've done it before and it really works. As an added bonus you can apply it in the shower, so it's less messy [I've never tried it on my face, though tea bags do wonders @ clearing up blemishes].

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  4. What a great idea - there are really expensive facial products out there that contain caffeine. You just skipped the middle-man!

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  5. What a wild idea--good for recycling. Then I've also heard that the grounds are good for house plants.

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  6. Lover of Life-I was still finding coffee grounds in the crevices of the sink this morning :-)

    Sydney-Really? I'd have to spread grounds all over my thighs though. That would be REALLY messy!

    Andrea-I'm all for saving money.

    Scribbit-I usually just dump the grounds and filter in the compost pile. Sometimes there's almost a complete layer on top of it.

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  7. Thanks for stopping by. Great idea for the coffee grounds. Like you I usually just dump it in the compost pile. I am about 75 miles west of St. Louis on I-70. Bump in the road called Danville. Kan-Do Kampground on the north outer road.

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  8. Kathy-Would I have seen the campground (or a sign for it) when I'm going West on 70 towards Columbia?

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  9. I've done it before - the coffee grounds for cellulite. It's really not overly messy...and you are in the shower anyway.

    I think I'm used to dealing with grounds because I use a French press for coffee exclusively and I'm always dealing with rinsing away with grounds.

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