Coffee and gold…for your face?
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What do caffeine and nano gold have in common?
They’re two ingredients that can do wonders for your skin.
Most of us have a cup of caffeine to start the day whether it’s a tea or coffee. It gives us the kick start we need first thing and perhaps another little pick me up as the hours tick along. But while that benefits of caffeine are well known, what about how it affects our skin?
When you consume caffeine it acts as a diuretic and can actually dehydrate your skin. Coffee is also quite acidic which can affect your hormones and therefore many dermatologists recommend giving it up for the sake of clear skin.
So, unfortunately, that means you don’t get any beauty benefits by sipping away. To reap the rewards, you need to apply it right onto the skin or hair. In fact, if you check the ingredient list on some of your beauty products, you’ll be surprised to see that caffeine is probably an ingredient in many of them.
Caffeine is packed with antioxidants and protects the skin from free radicals. When added to shampoo, conditioner or hair treatments, it enhances shiny hair and prevents breakage and encourages hair growth by stimulating the hair follicles.
Caffeine in eye creams can reduce puffiness around the eyes by constricting the blood vessels, thereby restricting blood flow to the area. This can also reduce the appearance of dark circles.
However a caffeine mask can improve blood flow to the whole face, giving your skin a wake-up call and when added to moisturisers, night creams and serums to name a few. It can also help fight the signs of ageing.
As an exfoliant – like all others – it smooths skin by getting rid of dead cells. What’s different about coffee grounds though, is that you can make your own scrub by adding half a cup of ground coffee to half a cup of brown sugar and a quarter cup of olive oil. You probably have all these ingredients in your pantry.
Many an expert have lauded the effects of caffeine for getting rid of cellulite as it draws fluid from the skin, dehydrating fatty cells and reducing their appearance for smoother looking skin.
And what about gold? It doesn’t just sparkle on your wrist or add a bit of bling to your finger – it brightens the face too.
It’s nano gold to be more specific – tiny real gold particles added to beauty products. Celebrities are massive fans of nano gold because it is anti-ageing and anti-inflammatory and can reduce pigmentation and brighten the skin.
It was a pre-show must do for Victorias Secret angels Irina Shayk, Elsa Hosk and Sara Sampaio and before the recent Met Gala, besties Kate Hudson and Stella McCartney kicked back with a gold mask before getting all made up.
Golden Slumbers #Fashion #MetBall2017 ?
A post shared by Kate Hudson (@katehudson) on
The A-listers are certainly the ones who can afford it because it will set you back hundreds of dollars. Real gold is expensive. However, you can find cheaper alternatives (like the one I used the night before my wedding). What you must remember is that a gold mask comes in two layers – the traditional mask containing moisturising, brightening ingredients and the top later containing the gold particles. They must go on together.
In addition to coming in mask form, you can get your hands on gold in a face cream, eye cream, serums and treatments with several brands on the bandwagon.
But perhaps by saving dollars on your homemade scrub, you’ll be able to afford to try both caffeine and nano gold soon!
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