Are you itching for beautiful glowing skin after the longest winter? You are going to love this simple Firming and Softening DIY Body Scrub ~ it’s my go-to therapy for rough dry skin. It feels great and even smells great – and it works!
For years now, I’ve been sneaking kitchen ingredients into the bathroom all the time. It’s true and drives my husband insane sometimes (sorry hun – but it’s worth it ;). These ingredients especially are my favourite because I love to reuse things, leave no waste and keep it all natural and pure.
Here is the recipe for this beautifying two-ingredient, all-natural, firming, vegan body scrub.
Firming + Softening DIY Body Scrub:
- 1/4 cup coffee grinds from coffee maker or french press
- 1/2 – 1 cup coconut oil
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Directions: Strain the coffee grinds fairly well, (but they don’t need to be dry) and place into a recycled jar. Melt the coconut oil and pour over the coffee grinds, stir with a spoon and put aside to set. You can refrigerate or just leave at room temperature to set. The grinds will settle near the bottom, if a mixed consistency is desired (like mine in the photos) (really not required though) just mix it a few times as it’s setting. You can also use it even before it’s set as long as it’s not hot.
How to use:
Use in the shower, to scrub all over your body paying close attention to rough skin on the elbows and feet. Also, apply to areas that are prone to develop cellulite and need a little firming action, like the belly, thighs and bum.
Scrub hard in circular motion with your hands, in the direction towards your heart. Do this for a few minutes then rinse with cold/ or cooler temperature water. Pat dry with a towel. (this is not recommended for the face as it may be too rough, you still may, but just be very gentle with the scrubbing and do it only once or twice a week).
For an intense treatment : apply the scrub daily for two weeks, then continue once or twice a week to maintain your natural glow.
Note: please keep in mind that the coconut oil in this scrub will be naturally oily and it may be slippery in the shower or bath to use. Use caution and stand on an old towel or paper towels if you don’t want to risk falling.
Why it works and why it’s naturally firming:
Coffee has been used for centuries as a natural cellulite fighting and skin firming ingredient. Almost all firming lotions out there have coffee extract as one of the ingredients + a whole load of other bad ingredients; toxic stuff like parabens, unsafe dyes and scents that you wouldn’t want to be near let alone put on your skin.
Caffeine enhances fat metabolism and when it’s applied topically, coffee absorbs and removes liquid fat from your skin, which can decrease the appearance of cellulite. Of course, other factors help reduce the appearance of cellulite too, such as a regular workout regime and a clean healthy diet*. (*diet, as in healthy eating lifestyle not dieting – I never promote dieting).
Why it works and why it’s naturally softening:
Coconut oil is a fantastic natural moisturizing lotion. It is anti-aging, is an acne fighter, non-comodogenic and will not clog your pores. Together, the coconut oil and coffee grinds are an amazing all-natural firming and skin softening therapy at home mask.
I love this scrub so much! It stripped off all that dry skin I had from the cold days and now my skin looks and feels soft and beautiful to the touch.
And packaged so cute, I no longer take the french press on tub of coconut oil to the bathroom with me. Not like I ever did that ~ wink!
I hope you like this Pure Beauty recipe, do you have any natural diy beauty tricks and tips, please share ;)
I have tons more, so I’m excited to share more pure body care tips, products and information and gently help you move away from all these toxins and parabens used in most body care products.
Blogger, Recipe Developer, Photographer and Author. Loves healthy food, photography, sunshine and dancing in the kitchen with her two daughters. 
I LOVE this creation Ella, how wonderful!
Pinning! I have heard great things about coffee grinds as a scrub, and love the scent combo. Only thing I worry about is clogging up the bathtub, but I guess it is able to manage a lot of my hair!
They definitely clog drains, that’s my concern as well
I just made a french press of coffee so I can make this! My skin needs some TLC after the winter :)
I was planning to try Coconut Oil to help with dry skin but this sounds so much better. Stealing the Hubby’s coffee grounds :)
This is genius and so simple! Can’t wait to try it, and hope to see more of your diy natural beauty tricks :)
I love this idea can’t wait to try it but can you tell me where you buy the coconut oil and what brand it is. I’ve been searching and i’m not sure what to get. Thanks
Hi Angela,
Thanks for your question. The coconut oil also goes by “coconut butter” and it can be purchased in all kinds of grocery stores, most definitely health food stores, but because it’s gaining popularity now I’m seeing it everywhere, even at Costco. Where there’s actually a big tub for less than $20. It’s by Carrington Farms and it’s Refined Coconut Oil. If you really don’t need the tub (it’s a lot) there are lots of places that carry this or another brand, look in the oil section in your grocery store.
If you’re new to using coconut oil, please know that it’s an amazing superfood and great to eat a teaspoon a day. You can cook on it most anything, use in smoothies or hot milk or hot chocolate. I spread it on rice cakes and top with jam and fruit – it’s very versatile and very healthy. It great for heart health, weight loss as it converts to energy not fat in the body, digestion, it’s anti-fungal and so much more benefits to your health ;)
This oil also melts, so if your place gets hot, it will form a runny paste in this recipe. It’s still fine to use as the coconut oil will coat the coffee grinds and it will not spoil.
Hope this helps (maybe a little too much ;)) Enjoy the scrub! xo Ella
Ella, I’m a fan of cocont oil, but putting it in smoothies makes if firm up and get like wax, doesn’t it? I haven’t had much luck trying to whip it into anything cool or cold.
Yes it goes solid…. so, to get coconut oil in a cold smoothie, one tip is to work with all ingredients at room temperature at first, and add in the ice last. That way, you incorporate the oil into all the ingredients well before it solidifies. Also, adding a milk ingredient (ideally dairy free because cow’s isn’t good for you) will blend with the white fragments you might get from the coconut oil – but with the milk there it will blend in more.
Hope that helps.
The way I like to add coconut oil is to either a hot cup of almond milk with cinnamon at the end of the day to relax…. or I smear it on rice cakes as a snack ~ delicious ;)
Here is the recipe for that ;) https://pureella.com/healthy-summer-snacks-fruity-rice-cakes/
Let me know if you perfect your smoothie with coconut oil though, I would like to know what ends up being the best! ;) xoxoxo
How long does it keep for?
Hi Dawn,
Thanks for you question ;)
It depends how much you use and how often… but about 2-3 months is quite good.
If you’re in the warmer climates or do this in the summer than it might go rancid even faster.
As a skin product it won’t get affected, it will still provide the softening and firming effect – but it might develop an unpleasant rancid smell.
To avoid that completely you can do smaller batches more often, or store it in the refrigerator to prolong the freshness.
You can use it as an everyday hand scrub too if you like want to use up the product faster, I find it works great to keep hands nice and soft and prevent dryness.
I hope that helps.
Let me know how you like it after using it for a while ;)
Thanks for checking out Pure Ella! xo
Can you use it on your face?
Hi Kristy ;)
Yes you can, but just keep the massaging motion to a minimum so it’s not too rough. And not as frequently, but once a week should be good.
Of course, do it gently at first and for less time to make sure you don’t get any redness as each skin type is different.
Enjoy! xo
This is a silly question, but I dont drink coffee, what are coffee grounds? Is that just the coffee from the can? Or is that after you cook the coffee and whats left in the white thing after coffee is cooked?
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for your question ;)
Yes, those would be the used coffee grinds that would be left in your coffee filter. Kudos for not drinking coffee. Maybe you can get some from a friend or ask at a local coffee shop ;)
Hope you give this recipe a try ~ it’s a good one!! ;) xoxo
So it has to be used coffee grinds? Do you mind me asking why?
Hi Jen,
It’s best to use used coffee grinds because they are so much softer than just dry grinds which would be too rough for your skin.
Also, once they soften they release more of their natural oils and other beneficial ingredients that help to tighten the skin :)
I also recommend espresso grinds as they’re even finer than coffee grinds – especially if you want to use the scrub on your face :)
Hope this helps.
xoxo ella
Thank you for this AMAZING recipe!!!!!!! I discovered your blog thanks to Pinterest and now I’m a big fan, so inspiring!
I recreated your recipe and I wrote about it in my blog, check it out and follow me http://www.lemonsandjoy.com cheers!
Hi, I was wondering if you strain the coffee with hot water or just regular room temperature water? Does the temperature of water used affect the potency of the coffee?
Thanks a bunch :-)
Hi Esta ;)
You want to use coffee grinds that have already been brewed, so yes, using hot water and letting them brew for a few minutes will soften them up enough to use for this scrub (+ it will make a good cup of coffee).
Then, don’t forget to strain the grinds so that there’s as little liquid in them as possible. Hope this helps. Let me know how you like this scrub ;) xo ella
Yes it helps a tonne! Thanks so much :-)
is it okay if the coffee grounds are not used? what happens if they are not used?
They become softer when they go through the coffee maker/ french press.
They would be rougher in texture on the skin if used dry. It’s up to you what you’re after for a scrub. I wouldn’t recommend it on the face though.j
Let me know how you like it ;) xo
I made this recipe last year as I saw it posted on another blog but I found it went moldy after a week. Is it possible that the grounds were too wet when I mixed it up?
It’s possible that they were too wet, try to dry them really well for a few hours on a sieve or a paper napkin.
And if your home’s temperature is too hot is will mould up quickly with heat and/or humidity. For best results, keep it in the fridge.
Hope that helps. xo
Love coffee grounds in the shower! I use it straight out of the filter after morning coffee as a scrub and exfoliant. Nice caramel skin color too. Better than fake tanners!
I used virgin coconut oil. and it wont firm or turn whitish it’s always liquid in consistency. even put it in the fridge but the coconut oil is still in liquid form. any suggestion why?
So I’ve been meaning to do this for quite some time so I constantly have been putting away my used coffee grinds into a jar and refrigerating them. I started to make teeny batched of the coffee and coconut oil Mixture in a small bowl per shower and I noticed that the coffe grinds in my jar (that I left in the bathroom sealed at room temperature) started to mold!! Is this normal? If I make a jars worth of the mixture, will I need to keep it refrigerated to avoid mold?? Or is it just molding because it’s pure coffee grinds? Help!!! I’d like to make a batch to keep in the bathroom to avoid forgetting to run into the kitchen each time I shower! Have you experienced this at all? Thank you for your time and your blog! :)
What size jar did you use? It looks like the recipe fits perfectly in it!
Oh thanks Barbara ;)
I recycled this adorable 200 g jar from artisinal candy I got as a gift.
It is very short with the diameter of a standard jar.
You could look for some little jars you could recycle from other foods – pickled artichokes or olives maybe? ;)
Sorry I can’t help much, but anything will do really ;) Hope you’ll make this soon!! xox
Hi Ella
This is a awesome recipe! My question is when to use it in the shower? Like after using bath soap/gel and rinsing it off, or before using soap? I am from India, coconut oil is an everyday ingredient in my cooking, so after a cold shower won’t the soon be oily and sticky? Please do reply! Thanks!!
Hi Shweta, Thanks for your question.
It’s really up to you. No rules. If you prefer to remove some of the oiliness away you can use before using soap.
But the goal here is to keep the moisturizing effects of the coconut oil on your skin. I personally like to use it after I use soap and then using the scrub and just rinsing it off. But I know that could be too oily for some. Maybe a mild soap would be good for you to use so you don’t remove all that coconut oil goodness. Hope you try it out soon. xo ella
I love this recipe and use it often :) Adding cinnamon is nice too. Just an FYI both coconut oil and coffee grounds can be a bummer on your pipes depending on plumbing etc, so if you have an outdoor shower (lucky you!) it’s best to use that, I have a little catcher (forgive me I don’t know the technical term, strainer?) like you’d use in the kitchen sink to catch my grounds when I use it in the shower. A little extra clean up but I think it’s worth it. Not a perfect system but worth trying! Came over from pinterest, checking out the rest of your blog! :)
This is an amazing recipe! I don’t drink coffee but my friend gave me a box of coffee and I had no idea what to do with it. I’ve been trying to get rid of the cellulite around my legs but nothing’s been working. I have a very dry skin so using it with coconut oil means it’ll keep my skin moisturise. I think I’ll give this recipe a try, its cheap, easier, and importantly its natural! I’m trying to move away from chemical-filled products so this a very good recipe for me. Thanks for the tips! :)
https://tastybeautyy.wordpress.com/
I am definitely going to try this recipe. My skin over the winter has gotten so dry. Where do you get your cute jars?
Thanks Annie :)
I hope you enjoyed this scrub already :)
As for the jars, they were repurposed from some product and I can’t even remember what it was… to add to this sad story, by husband threw out this jar… :(
So if you ever find something similar please do let me know where you’ve found it :) Have a lovely day! xo ella
Coffee and coconut oil are best partner in giving skin a smoother feeling. Coffee are good in exfoliating dead skin cells while coconut oil moisturized the skin. This is an awesome idea. It’s worth sharing with friends.
This is brilliant! I am so going to make this :) Did I mention that you are a genius?
Thanks and Thanks!! :) You are awesome!! Have a beautiful day! xox ella
So I make coffee scrub all the time and I love it! Mine just molds super fast…. Do you have any tips to keeping the scrub from molding? Thanks!
Hi Sarah,
So sorry I didn’t see your question earlier… oops!
Ok, it depends on the temperature of your home… when it’s hot it will mould really fast.
I would recommend keeping it in your fridge when you’re not using it.
Or keep the ingredients separately in two jars and then just before using mix them in the palm of your hand.
Hope this helps.
xoxo ella