Sugar Scrub

So, I made a coffee sugar scrub, because Mrs. Hill loves the smell of coffee. Me, not so much, but I had to test it out anyway. But first, a funny story.

I don't drink coffee. Most of my neighbors don't either, because most of us are Mormon. Fortunately for me, my next door neighbors are Lutheran, so I went to their house first. Well, they aren't coffee drinkers either. They are Diet-Coke-to-get-going-in-the-morning drinkers. Darn! But I was in luck (and, as it turns out, doubly lucky). Tony's parents, who had just been visiting the week before are coffee drinkers, and they left a can of ground coffee behind! There was much rejoicing. Then I was offered some cucumber dip. Okay, just so you know, even though my mom is allergic to cucumbers, I love them! I said, "Just one chip." And I started with "just one chip." And I ended with "just one chip", but there were many "just one chip[s]" in between. So, I didn't get the exact recipe, but I know it calls for cucumber, cream cheese, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce (who knew?). I would do it all to taste. And they mix it all up with a "Ninja", though I'm sure a blender or magic bullet, or something else would work just fine. They served the dip with plain (I mean Classic) Lay's potato chips, but I think pita chips, or baked Lay's or original Sun Chips, or bagel chips, or, or, or would be equally as yummy. So, I left with 2 cups of ground coffee (happy dance!) and a belly full of cucumber dip (uh oh, I'm salivating again, just thinking about it).

Once I got home, I proceeded to make the body scrub. I found the recipe at LiveStrong, did you know that Lance Armstrong had such a huge website? I didn't. I thought the website would be about biking and cancer, but there are all sorts of resources on there, and tons of recipes for different body scrubs. So, if you don't want to head over the the LiveStrong website, here's the recipe, for those interested.

1/4 cup ground coffee beans or 1/4 cup used coffee grounds
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. honey

And here's what I did:
1 cup of ground coffee (after all, I had two cups, might as well us it)
2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup honey
2 dashes of cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Mix together first three ingredients, then add honey and everything else.

And here's what I thought: Too much EVOO, plus I don't like the smell of it, so if I can find some almond oil for a decent price, I'll try that next time I make a body scrub. I don't know if I would waste my time again with the cinnamon, vanilla, and almond extract, because I can't really smell it because of the coffee grounds. I do like the exfoliation of the scrub. The first time I used it my hands felt much softer, but I think I rinsed with too hot of water, trying to get some of the extra oil off (I seriously thought my skin was coated in the EVOO), so my hands were pretty dry again right after using. However, this morning I used it in the shower on my thighs (the coffee is supposed to help get rid of cellulite), and on my arms where I've been having some dry skin issues because of a wicked sunburn a few weeks ago. I had a little bit left over so I put some on my heels, even though I've recently exfoliated them, and on my hands again. Then I used my regular body wash after (I didn't want to smell like coffee all day). So, what do I think? I think I liked it a lot better the second time. My thighs felt baby soft (though I wish they would look as smooth as a baby's thighs, but those darn stretch marks did not disappear), my arms look a lot better, but I should have used more on my hands, because they are looking pretty scaly, but they do feel soft. So, would I do it again? Well, I still have some in my little ziploc container in the shower, so I'll use it until it is gone, and then we'll see what sort of results I'm seeing on my skin, to decide if I make more. After all, I still have a cup of ground coffee in my cupboard that I need to use.

Oh, as a side note, do not use it on your face or sensitive skin. Apply to moistened skin, rub in circular motions, and pat dry. If you do make the scrub, let me know. I'd love to hear what other people think of it. Tonight I think I'm going to make a straight brown sugar scrub for Miss Ashley, the aide in Miss A's classroom.