The Best DIY Coffee Scrub

This homemade coffee scrub is super easy to make and has just three ingredients!

My friend introduced me to exfoliating coffee scrubs almost ten years ago and I have been using them ever since. When I got my bean to cup coffee machine it just made sense to start making my own scrubs at home rather than using shop bought ones as I had so many used coffee grounds that were getting thrown out.

The great thing about making your own products is that you know exactly what is going into them. This scrub contains just three ingredients so you can guarantee it is vegan, cruelty free and all natural providing your original ingredients are. It is also a great way to reuse something that would end up in the bin and you will save yourself some money as a result! Other than the coffee grounds, the basis of this scrub consists of just sugar and coconut oil – ingredients which are inexpensive and are probably already in your cupboard.

I use this scrub on my body and love it, however, as it is quite gentle I will often use it on my face too. Having said that, you know your skin type better than I do so use your initiative with this! If you did want to make this a little bit coarser I would recommend adding 50g sea salt into the mixture – although this version would not be suitable to use on your face!

Personally I LOVE the smell of this scrub as it is but if desired you could experiment by adding a few drops of your favourite essential oils into this mixture to scent it. If you do not have brown sugar you could substitute this for white or coconut – any kind of sugar with that grainy consistency will work in the same way. Similarly, if needed you could substitute the coconut oil for olive oil.

Melt the coconut oil and allow to cool before adding to the mixture. Once it is in the jar and has set it may start to solidify and leave a layer of fat over the top of the scrub. Do not be alarmed by this, you can either just give it a mix before using or run the jar under a hot tap so it starts to melt again.

I buy my coconut oil in 300ml jars and they are actually the perfect size to store one batch of the coffee scrub in. Often I will make a jar of this but then top it up by just adding a scoop of fresh used coffee grounds here and there. When stored in a cool dry place this should actually last up to three months!

I wrote this recipe up as part ofa series I am working on where I make recipes out of food items that are commonly thrown away. This recipe is unusual for me with it being a beauty product, however, for zero waste recipes relating to food why not check out my Banana Peel Bacon, my Sweet & Sour Watermelon Rind and my Aparagus Ends Soup.