Caffeine skin care is my new favorite thing, and it's not just because I love coffee. It turns out that caffeine can do a lot to keep your skin happy, healthy, and looking its best. Here's everything you need to know about what caffeine can do for your skin.

Caffeine Skin Care: Why Coffee Is Your Skin's New Best Friend

For most Americans, caffeine is a major part of daily life. Whether you're sleep deprived or just can't get enough of your favorite beverage, most people ingest caffeine on a regular basis. But what exactly is it, and what makes it useful for skin care? Caffeine is considered a crystalline alkaloid. It's a stimulant that is naturally found in varying amounts in the seeds, fruits, and leaves of some plants. You're most likely to encounter it in beverage form, such as from coffee, tea, or soda. Caffeine can have a very real impact on your health and your life. This can be either positive or negative, depending on how much you consume. In small doses it can help ward off drowsiness, lift your mood, reduce alertness, and reduce fatigue. But none of that has anything to do with skin care, right? Think again. One of the impacts that caffeine has on the body is that it constricts blood vessels. It can also be absorbed through the skin. This means that applying caffeine topically can have an impact on blood vessels directly below the skin. If you're dealing with puffy eyes and a red complexion, caffeine's constrictive effect can help. And that's just the beginning!

6 Reasons Why Caffeine is a Must-Have for Great Skin Care

1. Caffeine Removes Dark Circles: As I said above, caffeine infused products cause blood vessels to constrict. This helps boost circulation in that area, keeping blood from "pooling," a major cause of dark circles. While caffeine can't get rid of hereditary circles, it can definitely make a difference if yours are caused by accumulated blood, a lack of sleep, or allergies.
2. Caffeine Tightens Your Skin: You may have heard that caffeine is a diuretic. It helps your skin look smoother by reducing the amount of water in fat cells. While this effect is temporary, it can make a real difference in helping your complexion look its best. I've also heard that caffeine-infused lotions can help reduce cellulite, but the science is still out on whether that's a long term solution or just a quick fix.
3. Caffeine Helps Remove Puffiness: Ever wake up with puffy eyes? Yeah, me too. Again, caffeine's ability to constrict blood vessels comes into play. By restricting vessels just below the surface of your eye area, you'll be able to reduce that puffy look.
4. Caffeine Helps Fight Against Sun Damage: Coffee is chock full of antioxidants, which can help fight the signs of aging. One of the more interesting aspects of this is that it can help to repair UV damage caused by sun exposure. Studies also suggest that caffeine may also help protect your skin from new damage. While it's no excuse to skip your sunscreen, there does seem to be a link between caffeine consumption and sun damage protection.
5. Caffeine Soothes Inflammation: Caffeine naturally contains anti-inflammatory properties. This means that it can help calm swelling and redness when applied to the skin. If you suffer from acne or other inflammatory skin issues, you may want to give caffeine skin care a try.
6. Caffeine Gets Rid of Free Radicals: Free radicals are one of your skin's biggest enemies when it comes to fighting the signs of aging. Caffeine's antioxidant properties helps fight against these free radicals, which helps keep skin looking smoother and younger.

How to Use Caffeine in Skin Care

Convinced you've got a problem that caffeine can fix? It's time to try it out. Here are a few ways to get started with caffeine skin care: Coffee-infused Eye Cream: The skin around your eyes is one of the places where caffeine can have the biggest impact. That's why it makes a lot of sense to use an eye cream with caffeine in it. Beauty by Earth's eye cream is a great example. It delivers just the right amount of caffeine to reduce puffiness and dark circles, while helping to nourish your skin with gentle organic and natural ingredients. The difference it made in the skin around my eyes was huge. Having brighter, more awake looking eyes helps your entire face look younger and more alert. Definitely worth checking out! Caffeinated Face Creams: If you deal with inflammation-related skin problems (such as acne or redness), a caffeinated facial cream may work well for you. This type of treatment takes the same benefits you'd get from a caffeinated eye cream and extends them to the entirety of your face. Even if you aren't dealing with any specific skin issues, a caffeinated face cream can help even out your skin tone and help your complexion look younger and brighter. Caffeinated Cellulite Cream: Dealing with cellulite? Congratulations, you're just like most women! It's an annoying problem, but caffeine-infused body creams may help. If you like the impact that your caffeinated eye and face creams are having, or are just feeling a little adventurous, it can't hurt to give a coffee infused body cream a try. And let me know how it turns out! Homemade Facial Scrub: Want to kill two birds with one stone? Make yourself a coffee-infused facial scrub. Not only will you get the benefits of caffeine, you'll also help exfoliate away dead skin cells. It's really easy to put these together: check out this post over on Primally Inspired to learn how or if you prefer an already-made scrub, check out Juniper Pure's. Tea Bags: I'm not kidding! Used tea bags are a great way to give your eyes a spot caffeine treatment. Make yourself a nice cup of tea with two tea bags. Let them cool, then place them over your eyes for five minutes. The caffeine inside the tea will help reduce puffiness and dark circles.

Give it a Try!