Coffee and Skincare - What You Need to Know

You might have clicked on this post thinking, “I don’t care if coffee will turn my skin purple — I'm a coffee lover, and I can’t start my day without it.” The good news is that coffee and caffeine intake, in moderation, won’t damage your skin. In fact, scientific evidence shows that coffee is good for the skin and can help reduce signs of aging.

Drinking coffee isn’t the only way to get skincare benefits from the caffeinated beans. Coffee in skincare can make your skin look brighter and more refreshed.

Keep reading to learn more about coffee and skincare (and maybe even coffee skincare), plus the pros and cons of incorporating caffeine (not used coffee grounds or coffee beans) into your skincare routine.  

How Does Coffee Affect Your Skin?

Drinking too much coffee won’t have a direct effect on your complexion, but it can make you feel jittery, raise your heart rate and blood pressure, and lead to anxiety and sleep disturbances. And those things can take a toll on your skin. If you drink so much coffee that you’re tossing and turning at night, your skin might start to look dull, and you might notice puffy dark circles under your eyes.

Having your last cup of coffee for the day before lunchtime might help you sleep better. Switching to water for the afternoon and evening will help you stay hydrated and let the caffeine leave your system well before bedtime.

Coffee itself doesn’t trigger acne. However, some of the extra ingredients you might put in coffee can make breakouts worse. Dairy products and sugar are both associated with increased acne in some people. If you drink sweet, creamy coffee and have frequent breakouts, you might want to switch to black coffee to see if dropping the dairy and sugar helps.

There are limits to how much coffee is appropriate to drink. The FDA suggests a maximum of 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, which comes to roughly four or five cups of coffee.

Is Drinking Coffee Bad for Your Skin?

Drinking coffee in moderation is not bad for your skin. In fact, coffee may have hidden positive benefits. Let’s break down the research on the effects of coffee and caffeine on your skin.

Reduced Risk of Rosacea

According to a 2018 study, participants who drank four or more cups of coffee per day were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with rosacea than those who drank little or no coffee. Researchers wondered whether coffee might have benefits for other inflammatory conditions as well, but more studies are needed to confirm any coffee skincare benefits.

Reduced Skin Cancer Risk

Some research suggests that drinking coffee or tea is associated with a lower risk of non-melanoma skin cancer. Researchers haven’t identified a definitive link between coffee, UV damage, UVB rays, and cancer protection, but you can enjoy your daily cup o’ joe even more knowing it might protect your skin.

Boosting Skin’s Ability To Repair Itself

Caffeine, in its pure form, has been shown to have antioxidant effects that protect cells from damage from free radicals. The caffeine in coffee may deliver similar benefits. Be careful how you make your coffee, though — researchers have found that adding too much milk and sugar can reduce the antioxidant benefits.

Anti-Aging Effects

One surprising benefit of coffee consumption is that it may reduce visible signs of skin aging. A 2024 study showed that people who drink coffee have better skin moisture, elasticity, and collagen levels. The study even suggests that drinking more coffee increases the anti-aging benefits - including improved blood circulation and cell turnover.

Another study showed that participants who drank a coffee-pulp mixture as a supplement saw significant improvements in moisture, brightness, elasticity, spotting, texture, and collagen content after eight weeks. Clearly, there are many approaches to coffee skincare - but preventing free radical damage is critical if you want anti-aging results.

Should I Use Skincare Products with Coffee?

If drinking coffee can be good for the skin, does that mean applying it directly to the skin is also good? Actually, yes.

Caffeine is a common ingredient in skincare products due to its vasoconstrictor properties. Applying caffeine to the skin makes the blood vessels in the area tighter, which reduces blood flow. This can give skin an instant boost, reducing redness and making it look brighter and tighter immediately. 

Caffeine also has known anti-inflammatory properties that benefit skin. It helps flush excess fluids from the underlying tissue, reducing puffy or baggy-looking skin.

There is a lot of emerging science on other, more significant benefits of topical caffeine application. It may protect the skin from UV rays, but the evidence isn’t conclusive yet. In other words, don’t skip the SPF in favor of splashing coffee on your face. A broad-spectrum sunscreen or a hat with a face-shading brim is still the best option for sun protection.  

Another area of study on the positive effects of topical caffeine is its use in treating hair loss. Animal studies indicate that using a topical caffeine application in addition to FDA-approved treatments (such as finasteride and minoxidil) can increase hair growth in hair follicles compared to finasteride and minoxidil alone. The research is still emerging, but it may be a real benefit for people treating hair loss in the future--though we wouldn't recommend applying coffee powder to your hair follicles just yet.

Add Caffeine to Your Skincare Routine

In addition to enjoying the flavor and probable health benefits of your morning coffee, you can incorporate caffeine into your skincare routine - and it works for all skin types.

Renewing Face Scrub

Our Renewing Face Scrub has coffee and green tea extracts for a dose of antioxidants, along with jojoba beads and pumice for gentle exfoliation. The formula also contains anti-inflammatory-rich avocado butter to prevent dryness and irritation.

This scrub will gently slough away dead skin cells, oil, and debris to reveal brighter skin. Use it two to three times per week before shaving, for smooth, bright, refreshed skin.

What about using coffee grounds as a natural exfoliant?

You may have heard of homemade coffee scrubs made with coffee grounds used to get rid of dead skin cells. While a coffee scrub might sound like an easy way to improve your skin texture, we recommend you go with a gentler option that also hydrates and nourishes your skin - like our Renewing Face Scrub. Instead of relying on crushed up coffee beans, it contains coffee extract. Its exfoliating properties come from jojoba beads and pumice, both of which are gentle and natural skin care options.

Restoring Eye Cream

Our Restoring Eye Cream has caffeine to minimize the appearance of dark circles and eye bags, plus hyaluronic acid for deep moisturizing. It also delivers long-term anti-aging effects with Matrixyl 3000, a blend of protein peptides that can reduce wrinkles by 45% in two months, and vitamin E.

Dab a small amount of the eye cream around your eyes using your ring finger. Use it morning and night for optimal anti-aging benefits.

Like all of our products, Restoring Eye Cream and Renewing Face Scrub are made with clean ingredients and essential oils. We never test any of our products on animals.

If you’re looking to wake up your skincare routine even more, check out our Day and Night Anti-Aging Routine for all-day hydration and improved collagen production; it's great for all skin types.

FAQs

Are skincare products with caffeine safe to use every day?

That depends on the product. Some products are fine for daily use. Our Restoring Eye Cream is gentle enough to use every day.

Some products work better if you only use them a few times per week. We don’t recommend using our Renewing Face Scrub every day because too much exfoliation can irritate your skin. Alternate an exfoliating scrub with a gentler cleanser like our Purifying Charcoal Face Wash or Clarifying Gel Face Wash, both of which improve skin tone and texture.  

Can you use skincare products with caffeine on every skin tone?

Yes! Our products are meant for all skin tones. They are formulated for men’s skin and deliver a quality skincare experience for any shade of skin.

Does coffee cause acne?

Caffeine doesn’t aggravate acne, so applying a product that contains caffeine shouldn’t trigger breakouts on acne-prone skin. However, if you find that using a particular product increases the number of blemishes you see, stop using it. Try our acne-fighting products in our complete Acne Controlling System for clearer skin - with natural ingredients like tea tree oil and aloe vera gel that target acne-causing bacteria.