Great Ways to Recycle Your Used Coffee Grounds
Coffee has become the elixir that fuels our society, but what do you do with the sludge that is left after a brewing a nice coffee? Did you know that you can use it in home-made beauty treatments? Here are some truly great ways to recycle your used coffee grounds.
Preparation
Most of these tips require cooled moist grounds. If you don’t drink coffee, take a trip to your nearest coffee shop as many will give their grounds away for free! Storing some for another day requires drying some fresh grounds by placing them on something like a cookie sheet and leaving it out in the sunshine. If they are not properly dried, they will go mouldy which isn’t exactly ideal for using them later. As with all things relating to health, be careful. If something is meant to be heated, test it before applying it. If anything doesn’t feel right, stop and gently wash any mixture off. Use common sense and you shouldn’t go wrong.
When it comes to washing coffee ground mixtures off, take care not to block your drains. Put something over the drain like one of the many drain protectors you can buy and then you will have a far easier time cleaning things afterwards.
An Exfoliating Facial Scrub
Coffee is a wonderful exfoliant and is also absorbable through your skin, which makes it the ideal ingredient for a natural and cheap face scrub. Make sure that the coffee grounds are very fine however, as you will be using them on your skin. Run them through a coffee grinder a few times if they are not fine enough. Mix 6 Tbsp. of fine coffee grounds with 4 Tbsp. of olive oil in a large container. (To make more or less keep the ratio of 3 Tbsp. of grounds to 2 Tbsp. of oil). The concoction should look like rough mud when it’s mixed properly. When mixed, store it where you wish, it will keep fresh for a few weeks. To use, take a small amount on your finger and gently scrub into your skin before washing off completely with water. The coffee exfoliates your skin while the oil helps keep your skin soft and well hydrated.
Cellulite Treatment
Sadly there is no cure for cellulite but there are ways to temporarily lessen its appearance. Many store-bought creams contain caffeine as when it’s applied topically, caffeine improves circulation and may help to remove toxins and excess water from the skin, which can leave it feeling more firm. Why not make your own coffee ground solution?
Mix about half a cup of coffee grounds with 2 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil. If the grounds are not warm, you can heat them for about 10 seconds in the microwave. Standing somewhere easy to clean (like the bath), use a loofah mitt and massage the mixture into the area containing the cellulite. Try to get as much to stick to the skin as possible. Wrap the area in plastic wrap and leave for about 10 minutes. Unwrap and wash clean with warm water. Once washed, your skin will hopefully feel smoother, more taut, and generally just lovely to run your hands over.
Hair Conditioning
Time to give your hair some love! Mix some coffee grounds with your favourite conditioner and massage it gently into your scalp for a short while. It should feel stimulating and very pleasant. When you wash it out, your hair should now feel shinier and smoother. Do this about once a week and see how you get on.
Treating hair with coffee grounds also affects the colour, deepening light brown or dark blondes and adding highlights to dark brunettes. Regardless of colour though, it will make hair shine!
So there we have it, some great beauty tips and all they will cost you is some time and the use of something that you would probably throw out anyway! Why not give them a go and save yourself some money in the process?
