I Tried Putting Coffee On My Face For A Week

Chances are I won’t be making beet lipstick or drinking chaga with the Shailene Woodley (my imaginary celeb BFF) anytime soon, but I can definitely take a page from the Divergent starlet's playbook, and make earthy beauty treatments that would make the goddesses proud. One of those eco-chic beauty treatments, happens to be a mushroom coffee face mask that I know the The Fault In Our Stars babe would totally love.

Listen, I know we’ve all got one celeb (or two!) we’re dying to be besties with. Yes, making fun of romcoms over greasy pizza alongside Jennifer Lawrence is definitely a lifelong dream of mine, but if there’s one actress I’d love to be bezzie mates with, that star would definitely be Shailene Woodley — if only for all the sweet natural beauty tips she'd be able to sling my way.

Some find Shai’s holistic lifestyle a bit trippy hippy, but being a kombucha-loving flower child myself, I think we would get along just fine. After all, just like Shailene, I’ve done the whole eating clay and drinking stinging nettle tea shindig. Feel free to call me a tree hugger if you’d like. The super-trendy coffee face mask seemed like something I'd been missing out on.

Four Sigma Foods' Superfood Mushroom Coffee, $15, Four Sigmatic

Lately, I've been beating my morning grogginess with Four Sigma Foods’ Superfood Mushroom Coffee. Perfect for that morning jolt, this special blend employs cordyceps, 100 percent arabica coffee and chaga mushrooms. Yum! Although the taste may be one you have to acquire, I've also found other uses for this superfood coffee, including a handy cellulite scrub, and an anti-aging mask that makes your skin feel tighter, and smelling better than Starbucks. Here's how to make one yourself, plus what happened when I used the mask for a week.

Step One: Grab Your Ingredients

This coffee may cost a whopping $15, but it’s the key ingredient (besides a spoon and a few drops of water) that this mask needs. Coffee definitely has skincare benefits to brag about, especially since a good old cup of joe can get rid of puffy eyes in a flash. Also working wonders against dry skin and wrinkles, coffee can tighten and smooth out skin over time.

Equally giving your java boost comes mushrooms, which have become immensely popular in the skincare sphere as of late. Bringing bursts of antioxidants and minerals right to your complexion, mushrooms also work to reduce inflammation and other skincare conditions.

Step Two: Mix Away

This part definitely gets a bit messy, so if you have a white sink like me, be warned that this can look like something out of a horror movie. To start, simply empty the contents of one mushroom coffee packet into a small bowl.

Next add a few drops of water (be sure not to overflow your bowl) into the bowl. I say be careful on the water part only because my mask mixture got too watery the first time I tried this out. Instead of using your sink, try to use an eyedropper, and drop out only a few drops of water for best results.

Afterwards, mix the coffee and water with a spoon, until your mixture becomes a thick paste.

Step Three: Java Up Your Face

To really give this DIY treatment a test drive, I put this mask on early in the morning, and right before bedtime. That way, I can really see if this treatment was worth it.

Once your mixture is ready, simply slather this coffee mask all over your face. Afterwards, the real step here now is to wait and let your mask do it’s thing. That means leaving it on for a good 10 to 20 minutes. Yes waiting sucks, but take advantage of the wait time, and try and get other things done. Getting dressed for the day, or wearing a baseball cap, and attempting a short workout are all viable options.

While wearing the mask, your face may feel major tight. But know that this uncomfortable tightening effect just helps perk up sagging and puffy skin with each use.

So, while a holistic-approved mushroom coffee mask may not be as effective as your pricey wrinkle creams and fine line serums, it’s definitely an all natural alternative worth trying out. Sure you’ll need to clean your sink a few times, and yeah you’ll find your skin smelling like coffee for a few days, but know that it's amazing for all you 'naturalistas', being that there aren't any toxic ingredients lingering in this DIY mask.

Although I haven’t seen any major differences while using this mask each day for an entire week, I definitely love how smooth and tighten it makes my skin feel. Maybe with continued use, I’ll see more noticeable progress. In the meantime, don’t mind me if I indulge in this mask daily. It smells (and tastes) too awesome to give up.

Images: Courtney Leiva