10 Best Coffee Scrubs in 2022 (Dermatologist-Reviewed)

Scrubs are used to exfoliate and deep cleanse your skin. They help unclog your pores, slough off dead skin cells, and buff your dry, flaky skin as well as cellulite into softness. There are many types of scrubs, including sugar, salt, grain, herbal, moisturizing, and coffee.

Coffee scrubs are anecdotally said to be effective in smoothing cellulite. It's believed that the caffeine in coffee can constrict blood vessels and dehydrate fatty cells, which allows the skin to tighten naturally and reduce the look of cellulite.

Furthermore, coffee has strong anti-inflammatory properties and contains antioxidants to help rejuvenate the condition of your skin and give it a youthful glow. It reduces skin blemishes such as wrinkles and fine lines and promotes skin cell renewal. Besides that, it can exfoliate your skin deeply, leaving your skin feeling soft and smooth.

So if you're looking for a scrub with antioxidant benefits to fight your skin blemishes or help reduce inflammation, consider a coffee scrub! If you're struggling with cellulite, it might be of help as well.

Here are the 10 best coffee scrubs available online! We've ranked them based on their ingredients, exfoliating power, and gentleness. Give them a look and see which one works for your skin!

*Please note that these products were chosen after extensive research by mybest writers. The choices are not necessarily affiliated with or recommended by Dr. Lauren Levy unless explicitly stated so.

Not all coffee scrubs are created equally. Therefore, to make sure that one is effective and works for your skin, you should consider important factors like its ingredients and caffeine content. Read on to learn more!

Coffee ground is one of the most important ingredients in a coffee scrub and can help reduce skin blemishes, tone the skin, leaves it looking glowy and smooth. Many coffee scrubs are made with Arabica coffee, which is rich in antioxidants and can help fight the appearance of cellulite, acne scars, dark spots, and other skin blemishes.

Some scrubs are made with Robusta coffee. Compared to Arabica beans, Robusta beans have much more caffeine! Specifically, one Arabica bean has about 1.9 milligrams of caffeine, while one Robusta bean contains 2.9 milligrams of caffeine!

Due to the higher caffeine content, Robusta coffee scrubs tend to have stronger effects than Arabica ones. So if you have very dry skin or need a potent scrub to slough away stubborn dead skin cells, choose a Robusta coffee scrub.

Kona coffee is another type of coffee that's commonly found in a scrub. It's an Arabica variety grown in the nutrient-rich volcanic soil in the Kona region in Hawaii.

Take note of the texture of the coffee grounds, too! Coarse coffee grounds might be too harsh to sensitive skin and might even cause skin irritation. Therefore, we suggest choosing a scrub made with fine grounds to prevent any potential irritation.

Coffee grounds have a sand-like texture and are a great exfoliant. However, most coffee scrubs contain additional exfoliants like salt or sugar for a more effective exfoliating action.

Salt, especially Dead Sea salt, contains a high amount of minerals and can help promote circulation and encourage cell regeneration. It has sharp edges on the granules and is more abrasive than sugar.

Therefore, it has a stronger exfoliating effect and is suitable for rough, dry skin areas on the body like your feet, elbows, and calloused areas. Avoid applying it to your face since the skin there is very sensitive.

Sugar granules are round and are, therefore, much gentler on the skin compared to salt granules. So if you're looking for a coffee scrub for your face or just have sensitive skin in general, we recommend choosing a scrub with sugar granules.

Some common types of sugar used in a coffee scrub include brown sugar, unrefined cane sugar, and turbinado sugar (also known as raw sugar). Brown sugar has very small granules and is the gentlest for your skin. Therefore, it's great to use on your face.

Unrefined cane sugar is slightly rougher than brown sugar. However, it doesn't strip your skin of its natural oils and is gentle enough to be used for the face. Turbinado sugar is the coarsest out of the three, but it's minimally processed and contains the highest amount of minerals. It's more suited as a body scrub.

Besides key ingredients like coffee and exfoliants, coffee scrubs often contain oils to help keep your skin stay moisturized. Some are infused with collagen to give your skin a plump look, too! Keep reading to learn about some ingredients that you should look for in a coffee scrub.

The exfoliants in coffee scrubs might disrupt your skin barrier and strip it of moisture. Make sure your coffee scrub is formulated with a lot of moisturizing ingredients to help heal and protect your skin.

Coffee scrubs tend to contain plant-based oils and butter such as shea butter, avocado oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, sweet almond oil, olive oil, and grapeseed oil. They help repair your skin's barrier, seal in moisture, and soften the skin.

Many coffee scrubs are infused with collagen to help reduce your wrinkles and boost elasticity in your skin. Stem cells are also packed with antioxidants to increase the rate of cell turnover and promote collagen production for youthful skin.

Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that can help minimize signs of aging. It can effectively moisturize your skin, too!

Cinnamon is another ingredient that is frequently used in coffee scrubs. It's rich in polyphenols, which are antioxidants that can neutralize the damaging effect of free radicals. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and can heal and blur scar marks.

In addition to reviewing and commenting on our buying guide, Dr. Levy also took the time to answer some commonly asked questions about coffee scrubs.

"Coffee scrubs act like an exfoliator to remove dead skin, excess dirt, sebum, and oil from the pores," Dr. Levy states. "The nice thing about a coffee scrub is that it is an all-natural alternative to some of the AHA exfoliators like salicylic acid or glycolic acid. 

Because many of these coffee scrubs have caffeine, the skin may appear brighter with consistent use. Using a coffee scrub on the body can help with "chicken skin" (or keratosis pilaris), a common skin condition that results in red bumps on the skin."

Dr. Levy explains, "Cellulite is one of the most difficult body conditions to treat. Coffee scrubs in theory can help reduce the appearance of cellulite by increasing blood flow to the area and reducing the appearance of dimples, but I would not claim coffee scrubs to be the cure for cellulitis. 

Cellulite is caused by fibrous bands in the fat, which results in dimples. These bands need to be released to get rid of cellulite, and the best way to do this is with a procedure like Cellfina or an injectable medication that diminishes the bands (Qwo, collagenase clostridium histolyticum). Using coffee scrubs in combination with these procedures can provide benefits and reduce the appearance of cellulite."

Dr. Levy says, "I do not include coffee scrubs in my treatment protocol for acne. The reason being is that many times, acne patients are on topical retinoids or AHAs, and combining this with a coffee scrub would be too harsh for the skin. 

Additionally, I think salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and even green tea exfoliators work better for treating blackheads, whiteheads, and the inflammatory lesions of acne. Coffee scrubs can help with dark (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) or red marks (post-inflammatory erythema) left by acne bumps."

Exfoliating can leave the skin feeling dry and irritated. Therefore, it's important to supply your skin with the needed moisture to keep it healthy all the time! Check out our articles for some great ways to keep your skin hydrated.

Author: Thuy Nguyen

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