Caffeine is a quite familiar substance to most of us. We are used to consume caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea and cola drinks. Caffeine is also quite common in many cosmetic products. The popularity of caffeine in cosmetics is growing. It is an incredibly versatile ingredient. You can find caffeine in lotions and eye creams. What exactly does caffeine do in cosmetic products.? That is what we are going to find out now.
Caffeine is a naturally occurring plant chemical
Caffeine is found in many different plants. However, large amounts of caffeine are found in only a few plants; tea bush, coffee, cola bush and cocoa beans. Caffeine in plants is highly soluble in water. The most typical way to take advantage of the cheery effect of caffeine is to make beverages from the aforementioned plants.
Pure caffeine is also produced synthetically. Synthetic caffeine is made using malonic acid and dimethyl urea.
Pure caffeine is often a by-product of industry
Commercial caffeine is rarely chemically produced. In general, pure caffeine is obtained as a by-product of the industrial process of decaffeinated products. The pure caffeine obtained is used in the soft drink industry and to caffeine tablets.
How is pure caffeine extracted?
When using caffeine products, it is worth paying attention to how pure caffeine is extracted. Caffeine is usually removed from coffee beans by extraction into water using various chemicals. Extraction can also take place using chemicals alone. Chemicals used in process are not very safe. Some of them are even carcinogenic.
Supercritical carbon dioxide can also be used to remove caffeine from coffee beans. In this method, carbon dioxide is maintained at a certain temperature and pressure to extract caffeine. The supercritical carbon dioxide method is the safest and least toxic extraction method for caffeine.
There are other methods for extracting caffeine from coffee beans. These include, for example, extraction with organic solvents or triglyceride oils.
Is regular coffee safe as a raw material for cosmetics?
The most popular way to use caffeine in homemade cosmetics is simply to make coffee. The caffeine extracted from the organic coffee powder using hot water is non-toxic. However, coffee contains plenty of other plant chemicals that can irritate the skin. So, it is better to test the effect of coffee on the skin.
You’ve certainly come across popular coffee scrub guidelines. In them, ground coffee is mixed with an oil and used to exfoliate the skin.
Coffee scrubs may not be very skin-friendly. Ground coffee is very coarse. It is not suitable for sensitive skin at all. Coffee scrub can damage the skin. If you want to try a coffee scrub, use it only on your body. Use only very finely ground coffee. Rub the skin very gently to avoid scratches on your skin.
Have you tried green coffee extract?
Coffee beans are also available unroasted. The colour of them is green. In addition to caffeine, unroasted coffee beans contain substances that are not present anymore in roasted beans. So, I recommend you to test green coffee instead of roasted black coffee in your products. Green coffee extract is commonly used in industrial cosmetics because of its beneficial effects.
Effects of green coffee extract on the skin
- Antioxidants; Green coffee beans are rich in a variety of plant chemicals that fight free radicals on the skin. The most famous of these is a powerful antioxidant, chlorogenic acid. In addition, green coffee extract is rich in a variety of polyphenols and flavonoids.
- Green coffee extract removes dead cells on the surface of the skin. This way the skin regains its youthful glow.
- Many anti-cellulite products contain green coffee extract. Green coffee extract is thought to stimulate skin metabolism and be effective against cellulite. Of course, the formation of cellulite is affected by many reasons.
You get these effects by using green coffee extract. The caffeine contained in coffee also has its own effects.
Caffeine is a very versatile ingredient in cosmetics
The popularity of caffeine in cosmetics is growing exponentially. The benefits of caffeine in skin care have been fully understood and caffeine is used in many products.
- Caffeine constricts blood vessels
- Caffeine lightens and brightens the skin. Use it to treat skin pigmentation disorders
- Caffeine works on dark eye areas. Therefore, caffeine is found in many eye creams.
- Caffeine soothes the skin and eliminates redness. Caffeine is used to soothe the skin after sunbathing.
- Caffeine improves blood circulation and lymph circulation when used externally. Therefore, caffeine should be tried in bath and foot care products.
Caffeine also has a few harmful properties for the skin
When caffeine is used, we must avoid over-use of it. Caffeine has at least two properties that can be harmful to the health of your skin.
Increased redness
Although the external use of caffeine soothes the skin and reduces redness, in some cases it can also cause redness. Redness is suspected to be caused by the skin getting used to caffeine. If the skin does not receive its regular dose of caffeine, it will start to turn red. It’s a pretty exciting thing that the skin can also get hooked on caffeine.
Decreased collagen production
Caffeine can interfere with collagen production. There are studies on this as well. One of them is here.
The study finds that caffeine inhibits collagen synthesis on the skin. Collagen is a protein found on the skin. Collagen deficiency is seen on the skin as increasing wrinkles.
Young people with steady collagen production certainly have no worries. For aging skin, I would not recommend caffeinated cosmetics, at least for continuous use. However, the occasional use of caffeine products should not be harmful.