Take this skin quiz to find the best ingredients for your skin and build your skin care routine.
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Coffee is something we’re all familiar with. It’s a delicious beverage made from roasted and ground seeds obtained from the coffee plant. Consumed orally, it can act as a powerful stimulant and can help you stay awake. But did you know that your craved coffee grounds have a lot of other uses – including uses in skincare?
Topical application of coffee can have a lot of benefits. First, coffee grounds are excellent for exfoliation, as the granular texture can rub off dead skin cells. Additionally, the caffeine of coffee can stimulate blood flow by dilating the vessels. This can actually reduce the appearance of dark circles under eyes and puffy eyes, making it an excellent ingredient in anti-aging products.
Another positive benefit of coffee as an anti-aging product is that it acts as an antioxidant, protecting the skin from the damage of free radicals and UV damage.
Chlorogenic acid within coffee is also known to reduce inflammation, which allows coffee to help reduce the appearance of redness and inflammation from eczema, rosacea, and acne.
Coffee even has skin lightening effects, so it can also be used to treat dark spots and improve the overall consistency of skin tone.
There seem to be no adverse effects of applying coffee topically in the form of a face mask. However, drinking coffee may cause you to have acne breakouts, as caffeine can lead to increased production of stress hormones, and these hormones can increase the amount of oil your sebaceous glands produce.
There are several different types and causes of acne. Cystic acne occurs when pores in your skin are clogged with sebum, dirt, and dead skin cells. This creates a perfect opportunity for the growth of bacteria, which can cause an infection. The infection can grow deeper into the skin, leading to inflammation and redness, causing raised acne bumps (AKA cysts) with pus that can be tender to the touch.
Benzoyl peroxide is a topical agent for fighting bacteria and can be good for some type of cystic acne. Jojoba oil and rosehip oil are also good for reducing inflammation, fighting bacteria, and keeping in moisture for healthier skin. Ingredients that help exfoliate dead skin cells and increase new skin cell production, such as Vitamin A/Retinol, glycolic acid, and salicylic acid, are good for treating cystic acne as well.
The secret to winning the battle against cystic acne is having the right regimen for your skin. Products that are too strong can be irritating and drying, causing your skin to overproduce oil, which leads to more acne. Picking the wrong active ingredients may have no effect. Using the right regimen for your acne type and skin tolerance can effectively clear acne while keeping your skin healthy and balanced.
Coffee may be effective for cystic acne, but there are many other factors that may affect whether this ingredient would work on your skin or if there are better ingredients that may work for you. Take this skin quiz to find the best ingredients for your skin and build your skincare routine.
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