Do you love a good cup of coffee? ☕️ I know I do! I love a hot cup of organic coffee in the morning or mid day….or at night. Even right now I’m drinking some..Geeze I may have a problem 😳😆
Did you know that your coffee is actually packed with antioxidants that help protect you from free radicals?
There is a lot of studies out there that claim coffee is a wonder source that is linked to an INSANE amount of physical and mental health benefits. While I believe this is a definite possibility, I am not going to get into that here because 1. I am not a scientist and 2. I am yet to find any real concrete evidence that backs up some of these miraculous claims.
Let’s stick to the facts that we DO know shall we? Coffee is packed with rich antioxidants which are incredible for your skin and overall health. Especially when it comes to fighting free radicals and the damage they can cause to our bodies.
Along with antioxidants coffee provides the obvious, caffeine! Which also has superior benefits when it comes to skin. Some of these benefits include reducing inflammation and puffiness. Yes please!
Let’s talk a little more about antioxidants and free radicals.
If you are like me, you want to know the WHY and HOW behind everything! If that is the case then read below. If you don’t want to know the ins and outs and just want to learn how to make the balm, then feel free to skip below and go right to the recipe and video!
What are free radicals? Free radicals, in simple terms, are unstable, incomplete atoms that basically take from other atoms or molecules in effort to “complete” themselves. By taking or stealing electrons from other atoms these free radicals end up creating even more free radicals which in turn creates a chain reaction that we do NOT want going on in our bodies. If we do not have enough antioxidants to out weigh the free radicals we will end up with something called oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in our body. This is when free radicals outnumber the antioxidant count and this can lead to premature signs of aging among many other health issues. We do NOT want this. So, we are going to eat our fruits and veggies and create as many antioxidant rich products as we can!
What does the word antioxidant mean? Anti means “opposite of” and Oxidant(Oxidation) means the movement or loss of electrons. Meaning antioxidants inhibit oxidation (free radicals). They do this by giving away one of their own electrons to satisfy the free radicals “needs” which stops the free radical from needing to steal an electron from another atom. The superpower here is, the antioxidant is able to give away an electron but then go about it’s day without turning into a free radical itself. Amazing right? The free radical gets stopped in its tracks and provided the electron it needed and the potential chain reaction that leads to oxidative stress is avoided (in simple terms of course) all thanks to the antioxidant. WOOHOO!
One thing I know for sure is the negative effects from an overabundance of free radicals is real and very serious. I will continue to increase my awareness of what goes into my body and my families bodies along with increasing our antioxidant intake as much as possible!
Free radicals are not all bad, but we definitely have to keep them in check. The best way to do that is by making sure we have plenty of antioxidants at the ready whenever needed. Oh and don’t smoke!
As always, product links are available within the recipe.
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PrintOh So Caffeinated Coffee Balm
This super balm is something you can keep on hand for anything. Whether you have dry elbows, flaky lips or need to wake up those undereye bags. This balm will come to your rescue every time. With a non comedogenic base you don’t have to be afraid about breaking out or having any negative reactions to this soothing combo.
Comedogenic scale
Jojoba – 2 – Non pore clogging
Shea Butter – 2 – Non pore clogging
Beeswax – 2 – Non pore clogging (I was not vegan when I made this, but now I will be using candelilla wax at 1/2 the amount of beeswax. Candelilla wax is a 1 on the comedogenic scale-non pore clogging. I have not remade this with the plant wax yet though. So, if you beat me to it, let me know how it turned out!)
Vitamin E – 2 – Non pore clogging
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 1.5 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 2 ounces 1x
- Category: Health and Beauty
- Method: DIY
Ingredients
- 2 ounces organic coffee
- 2.5 ounces organic unrefined jojoba oil
- 3 tablespoons unrefined shea butter
- 1 tablespoon beeswax
- 2 drops pure organic peppermint oil
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vitamin E
- 1/4 teaspoon white shimmer (optional)
Additional tools include kitchen scale, 1-2 fine mesh strainers, a bowl the strainer fits into, 2 coffee filters and a flexible rubber spatula.
Instructions
Make Your Coffee Infused Oil
- Weigh out your coffee and jojoba oil
- Heat jojoba oil in double boiler or in a heat resistant bowl over a pan filled 1/4 with water over medium heat while lightly grinding your organic coffee (not too fine! see video)
- Pour your coffee into your oil and heat for 40 minutes on medium low to infuse the coffee into the oil. Stirring occasionally
- Setup your straining method while the oil infuses. I recommend a fine mesh strainer placed in a bowl.
- After the 40 minutes are up remove oil from heat and pour into the mesh strainer you have sitting over a bowl.
- Press and stir the coffee continuously to get out as much oil as possible.
- Once you have extracted as much of the oil as you can set the grinds aside to cool and strain the oil again through the mesh strainer to get out any big particles. **See Notes for what to do with leftover grinds.
- For your final strain pour the oil into a coffee filter over a bowl and work the oil through the filter. I twist the top of the filter and slowly squeeze. See video for visual. Set your oil aside.
Make Your Balm
- Setup your double boiler or bowl over a pan filled with 1/4 water again.
- Add 3 tablespoons shea butter and 1 tablespoon beeswax to bowl over medium heat
- Once the two have melted completely add 2 drops peppermint oil (optional for soothing cooling effect), all of your coffee infused oil and 1/4 teaspoon vitamin E. Stir and combine
- Remove mix from heat
- Optional- add 1/4 teaspoon plain shimmer powder
- Spoon your mix into desired containers and allow to cool completely before capping and using. **See Notes for link to containers in photos and video.
Notes
Vegan option- Use candelilla wax instead of beeswax
The natural heat from your body will melt the balm down on contact allowing it to glide over your skin and absorb.
I recommend using a cosmetic spatula when taking product out of the container to avoid introducing bacteria as much as possible.
Due to the fact that the ingredients in this balm are a 2 on the comedogenic scale you do not have to worry about it clogging your pores. This product is very light but super hydrating to any area you wish to use it on.
Click here to check out the containers I used in the video and images
Store out of direct sunlight preferably in a cool dark area like a cabinet.
If you saved your grinds place them in an airtight bag or container and save them to use in our DIY Pep you up Peppermint coffee scrub
Keywords: DIY Balm, DIY Skincare, natural skin care, organic skin care, coffee balm, coffee cream, caffeine skincare, caffeine balm, undereye balm, natural face cream
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