Homemade Coffee and Spice Body Scrub

I was playing around in the kitchen as usual and decided to make a body scrub. I started with a basic brown sugar and carrier oil recipe which I love but I wanted something different. Something that did more than buff and moisturize my skin. I started researching and found that coffee, other than smelling divine, has some wonderful natural benefits for the skin. Two of the benefits which stood out to me was that the biggest perk about coffee, caffeine, has a natural anti-inflammatory property which aids in evening skin tone as the caffeine reduces inflammation and redness. This is a plus for a girl like me who has to fight acne on a regular basis. The other benefit was that caffeine seems to aid in reducing cellulite. So I played around with some oils and spices that combined the pampering side of a delicious scrub with ingredients that offered natural, skin improving qualities.

This scrub will leave a very subtle and slight smell of coffee on the skin and will keep for a year if stored in a cool, dry and dimly lit place. This is important because there are fixed oils in this scrub that will go rancid quickly if the scrub isn't stored properly.

Ingredients (yields approx. 8oz in volume):
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup sweet almond oil
1/4 cup unrefined avocado oil
2 Tbsp. ground coffee (I prefer an espresso style ground such as Cafe Bustelo or Cafe Pilon)
2 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. Saigon cinnamon (regular cinnamon is fine. Saigon Cinnamon just has a spicier "bite" that I like)
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Directions:
Place all dry ingredients together in a large bowl and mix thoroughly with a spoon.
Add in sweet almond oil and avocado oil and mix well using a fork. You will have clumps that form from the oil binding to the dry ingredients that are better separated with a fork.
Place the scrub in a mason jar for a good seal.

I placed my scrub in a jar and placed a simple label on it as well as some raffia tied around the rim. It makes a great gift if you want to put the handmade touch on your gift giving this year! The caffeine provides anti-inflammatory properties and studies have shown that it also reduces cellulite. Avocado oil is rich in vitamins, contains proteins, lecithin and amino acids. It is well penetrated into the skin which helps with dehydration. It also contains skin regenerative properties which improve skins elasticity. Sweet almond oil is rich in fatty acids and vitamins A and E which make it nourishing and moisturizing.