Today’s topic? Coffee + Spa = Good! How popular is this caffeinated crowd pleaser in spa products and treatment? Apparently, very.
Coffee is loaded with antioxidants, which fight free radicals (those pesky molecules that wreak havoc on the skin), but the greater benefit for some is its caffeine content. Next time you wake up with puffy eyes and you don’t have cucumbers or hemorrhoid cream available—a remedy that works because it constricts the blood vessels—try coffee grounds. The caffeine found in coffee beans acts as a natural anti-inflammatory. One way to use coffee for tired or puffy eyes is to either retain some brewed coffee grounds, wait for them to cool, and then apply them under your eyes and on the lids. The other method is to simply dip a cotton ball or face cloth in fresh coffee, let it cool, and do the same. Using the coffee grounds directly might yield better results.
The two products I use at home both contain coffee beans, among other ingredients. Farmhouse Fresh Triple Shot Caramel Coffee (12 oz.; $34) is a sweet java-scented luscious body polish, with a yummy hint of caramel. It contains the arabica coffee bean seed extract, caffeine, shea butter, and coconut, and is paraben- and sulfate-free. Add a handful to water in the shower and use as a full-body scrub. It’s absolutely delicious.
Lush makes a hearty coffee scrub derived from organic fair-trade coffee, which is shade-grown in Peru and roasted in Toronto. Other ingredients include agave and vetivert oil. The scent is seriously coffee!
For a natural indulgence, sans synthetic chemicals or toxic preservatives, try the Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream (1 oz.; $35), or the Coffee Bean Caffeine Restorative Moisturizer (1.4 oz; $55), both by 100% Pure. Check out all their vegan, gluten-free, coffee/caffeine products, including coffee cherry treatments for sun damage.
What would the coffee capital of America—Seattle—be without coffee-drenched spa treatments? Paule Attar Salon and Spa delivers a blissful 60-minute Anti-Toxin Body Wrap With Green Coffee, for $102. The Salish Lodge & Spa is a gorgeous rustic getaway that will revive you with a 50-minute Damn Fine Coffee Body Scrub made from locally grown roast coffee and Dead Sea salt ($165). Click on “View Menu.”
Ever thought about bathing in coffee? Hakone Kowakien Yunessun, a hot springs spa and water park in Hakone, Japan, offers this quirky soaking option. They also offer tubs of green tea and wine. (Int+81) 0460-82-4126.
Zest Esthetics, in Shrewsberry, MA, offers a Coffee Facial (45 min, $65; 60 min, $95), which promises to exfoliate and brighten the skin. Caffeine’s antioxidant properties also help clear acne and reduce scars.
Spas all over the world offer various coffee- and caffeine-infused treatments, and what better way to perk up the mind and body, and fight inflammation while on a spa vacation than a coffee-inspired pick-me-up? Many dermatologists agree that it can reduce the appearance of cellulite, but don’t hail it as a cure-all. The Anushka Spa in West Palm Beach, FL, offers a Café Delight Wrap, (90 minutes; $115) as a hot cellulite-busting treatment with espresso coffee grounds, cinnamon bark, and green tea. The raised body temperature promotes cellular metabolism and eliminates water retention.
Treat your feet to an Organic Cafe Collagen Pedicure at the Organic Nail Lounge, in Calgary, Alberta, where “espresso” abounds. This indulgent treatment includes an espresso salt soak and a coffee collagen butter mask to pamper those feet to coffee heaven.