Many of us wake up in the morning looking forward to a hot water extract of the roasted seeds from coffee. The caffeine stimulates us and it’s a lovely way to start the day.

Coffee fruits are fleshy berries, each containing two seeds which are pressed together so that the inner side of each one is flattened. The coffee beverage is made from the ground, roasted seed endosperm (coffee beans) that are removed from the coffee cherries. When the seeds were collected, the rest of the fruit was usually discarded but now the skin care industry has made the coffee fruit a hot commodity (mislabeled as coffee berry). We use the coffee fruit extract as an ingredient in our Skin Actives Antioxidant Day Cream.

The coffee grain is processed after harvest, and the processing will affect the chemical composition of the coffee. What chemicals will you find in coffee fruit extract and in coffee bean extract?

Coffee Fruit Extract

It was a great idea to use the until recently discarded coffee fruit, because it contains:

• Chlorogenic and Caffeic Acids - Both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
• Ferulic Acid - antioxidant
• Quinic Acid - antioxidant, antiviral
• Trigonelline - antioxidant, antibacterial
• Proanthocyanidins, and a number of other actives truly beneficial to our skin and our bodies.

As you can see, that’s a lot of antioxidant action!

Coffee Bean Extract

Let’s start with the caffeine:

Caffeine decreases the thickness of subcutaneous fat layer, useful for cellulite but not for aging faces, because we already lose enough sub-dermal fat without using caffeine. Topical application of caffeine is safe, as shown by its use to facilitate breathing of newborns. Other beneficial effects of caffeine are antiviral, antidermatitis, antioxidant. The depuffing effect of caffeine on “post-party” eyes, may be mediated by the promotion of sodium export from the cell, which is followed by water loss.

All of these uses add up to caffeine being a very useful chemical!

Polyphenols: the high polyphenol content of coffee beans makes them an ideal ingredient source for the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. Plants synthesize phenolic compounds because they protect against pathogens and environmental stress like changes in temperature, water content, exposure to UV light, and deficiency of mineral nutrients. Polyphenols are good for humans too.

How to Use Caffeine in Your Skin Beauty Routine

Caffeine plays a role in some of our most foundational formulations. Check out some of these classic Skin Actives fundamentals that contain the power of caffeine!

• Advanced Ageless Eye Cream helps decrease the appearance of wrinkles, puffiness, and dark circles around the eyes. Caffeine may help with puffy eyes, and bisabolol may decrease general inflammation. The Triple Correction Eye Cream is a powerhouse of active ingredients and is for anyone who wants to improve the appearance and health of their skin around their eyes.


• Advanced Ageless Hair Serum combines Keratinocyte Growth Factor (KGF), Methionine Sulfoxide Reductase (MSR) and many nourishing active ingredients for hair that looks thicker, stronger, healthier, and helps maintain its natural color. Use daily for 2 - 6 months for noticeable improvement in hair appearance.


• UV Repair Cream is a cream for anyone who wants to prevent and repair damage caused by the sun, in addition to providing many other benefits for their skin. This cream contains ingredients for skin lightening, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant action and much more!



We have all these great products on sale now for 10% off on our webstore. Use code CAFFEINE10. Find these and other products containing caffeine here, and many others that harness this workhorse ingredient. Stop by today and find something for yourself!