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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

BEAUTY WITH NICOLE-- DIY BEAUTY RECIPES

Beauty editor Nicole Emmerling has some DIY beauty tips for us today, and just wait till you hear what the main ingredient is! -- AP

Anastasia, last week you offered a tip for adding coffee to chocolate dessert recipes. That got me thinking about some beauty uses I’ve come across for coffee grounds.

You can make a great body scrub by mixing 1-1/2 cups leftover coffee grounds with enough olive oil so that mixture isn’t dry and crumbly, about 1/4 cup. While in the shower, rub the coffee grounds over your body, then rinse. You’ll exfoliate and soften your skin at the same time! Add a couple of drops of essential oils for an added bit of aroma therapy.

Got cellulite? Vigorously rub coffee grounds on those spots when you shower. Supposedly, the stimulant in the coffee breaks down fat deposits in those areas. I don’t know if this is fact or fiction, but it’s worth a try for those of you with cellulite.

Want a new twist on an herbal body wrap? Rub fresh unbrewed coffee grounds over your body, then wrap your body in plastic wrap (not your face!.) Put on a heavy robe or sweat suit. Sit in a warm place like a steamy bathroom for an hour. Some people claim you can actually lose up to 10 inches all over your body by doing this. I'm rather skeptical about this one as I don't see how the coffee grounds will stay on your skin as you try to wrap yourself, not to mention how you'd lose inches, but if any of you are daring enough to give it a try, let us know if it works. Maybe you lose inches by sweating off water weight, but you'd probably just put it all back on, and wouldn't you sweat just as much without the coffee grounds?

Finally, for those of you still foolish enough to bake in the sun to acquire a tan, here's a tip for replenishing that tan as it begins to fade. Rub coffee grounds on your body and leave for 30 minutes. Or sponge room temperature brewed coffee on your skin. Don’t rinse for 20-30 minutes. Maybe this one will also work to darken untanned skin, saving you from all those harmful rays. Again, if you're daring enough to try it, let us know how it works.

Hmm…losing 10” in an hour with coffee? I wonder if it does work. What about the rest of you? Anyone else think they’ll try any of these DIY ideas? Let’s hear from you. -- AP

3 comments:

Liz V. said...

Have passed this along to Cleo Coyle at http://www.coffeehousemystery.com/.

Don't remember, and couldn't find, last week's tip re adding to chocolate desserts.

ANASTASIA POLLACK said...

Oops! Sorry about that, Liz. I moved around the schedule for a few upcoming posts. The one I referred to as having been last week will appear on June 7th.

Liz V. said...

Will look forward to it. Will need chocolate fix after losing 10 lbs.