Yesterday one of my friends re-posted a link on pinterest showing how a person can use coffee grounds to help reduce the appearance of cellulite. Intrigued, I did a bit more research to find out the how and why, and whether it was worth my time to try. It turns out that warm coffee grounds increase circulation to the affected area, helping to flush out toxins and excess water from the tissue and lessening the dimpled appearance. Sounds good to me! There are a couple of lotions on the market that seem to be effective as well (according to the reviews), but at $60 for a month's supply I'd rather suffer with the cellulite. I'm not made of money. Coffee grounds it was! I decided there was no time like the present, so after my evening workout and a bit of slacking off in front of the tv, I got to work. The simple recipe I chose is as follows:
1/4 - 1/2 cup of warm coffee grounds (heat in microwave for 10 seconds if they're cold.)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
I had to make some coffee to produce the grounds this time around, but I will save them in the future. The general consensus seems to be that you should use this treatment three times a week. The effects are temporary, so it's an ongoing process.
Step one: The instructions stated that I should stand on newspaper or in a tub/ shower, and rub the mixture onto the affected area with a firm circular motion for a few minutes, leaving as many of the grounds on my skin as possible. I decided to use the tub and I am very glad I did- it is MESSY! I don't recommend using newspaper, as you will end up tracking grounds everywhere. As it was, I had to wipe my feet when I exited the tub. After massaging the grounds into my thighs and rear I had a fair amount stuck to my skin, and even more on the bottom of the tub.
Step two is to firmly wind plastic wrap around the massaged areas and let it sit for about ten minutes. Okay. Thighs are easy to wrap so that didn't take long. The rear end though...that's a bit trickier. I ended up just putting saran wrap all the way around my hips in order to swathe my entire lower half. It was difficult to get it tight, but good enough! I was SO tempted to take a picture when that part was done since it looked quite hilarious, but I figured that would be a little too risque for my blog. I passed the next ten minutes watching Netflix on my phone and laughing at my reflection in the mirror. Note: firmly wrapping saran wrap around your rear isn't attractive. The poor thing was completely flattened out!
Step three: I got back into the tub and turned on the shower before attempting to unwrap, trying to avoid extra mess. It worked well that way. I simply unwound the plastic wrap and crumpled it into a ball for the trash, then rinsed the grounds off with warm water. Note: you are supposed to use ONLY water, not soap. It took awhile to get the mixture out of every nook and cranny, kind of like sand from a day at the beach, but I managed.
Step four: Dry off and use a rolling pin (yes, the one in your kitchen), to roll over the treated area firmly for a couple of minutes. This part was also quite hilarious and kind of fun. Bonus: it's like getting a massage. Once that part's done your treatment is complete! The whole process took about 20 minutes and should be repeated no more than three times a week as I mentioned. Any more than that will seriously dehydrate your skin.
My consensus: the coffee grounds not only smelled great but did a great job of exfoliating. The olive oil kept the whole area moisturized nicely and my skin ended up very nice and soft. Even if it does nothing for the cellulite it is obviously great for the skin. The treatment was a bit of a process, but it wasn't unpleasant, and if it helps then it's well worth it! I will continue to use it three times a week and update on any difference I see.
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