ENGLISH TRANSLATION BELOW:

Dr. Ria Smit talks about coffee. You can drink it for its benefits, but can we also apply it to our skin?

 Martelize: And we’re talking about coffee today. I want to drink it, and I want to put it on my skin; I really love it.

Dr. Ria Smit is in the studio with us today. It’s so good to welcome her. She is a general practitioner with a practice focused on women’s health and aesthetic medicine on the Mooikelder Estate in Paarl. She’s going to tell us whether coffee can help our skin from the inside and also from the outside.

Very welcome, doctor. It is a pleasure to have you with us.

Dr. Ria:Thank you, Martelize. I really appreciate the opportunity.

Martelize: So! Yes, I have my coffee next to me; it’s a wonderful thing to have in the morning. Many people love having their coffee first thing.

Some people say it’s not so good for your cortisol levels, but we’ve discussed that in the past.
What is it in coffee that actually helps our skin?

Dr. Ria:The active ingredient in coffee that is good for our skin is, of course, caffeine. About 99% of caffeine is absorbed into the body within about 15 minutes after ingestion. It’s taken up into the bloodstream and then spread throughout the whole body.

Caffeine can cross the blood-brain barrier, and then in the brain it gives us more alertness. In the cardiovascular system, it promotes blood flow, and the heart beats faster. In the kidneys, it increases urine output.

When it comes to the skin, what we see is mostly due to caffeine’s effects on the cardiovascular system. Blood vessels initially constrict, which reduces puffiness.Later on, they dilate, helping nutrients reach the skin more easily.

Recent research suggests that caffeine could play a role in repairing DNA in skin cells, especially cells damaged by UV radiation. It also appears to encourage apoptosis, which is the controlled death of abnormal cells. These findings look promising for the treatment of skin cancer.

But coffee doesn’t only contain caffeine; it also has antioxidants, trace elements, and nutrients. Some of the better-known antioxidants include chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, melanoidins, and niacin, which is vitamin B3. These antioxidants help remove free radicals, which have anti-aging and calming effects on the skin.

However, because caffeine spreads so widely in the body, very little actually reaches the skin after ingestion. To make a real difference, you’d have to consume about 300–400 mg of caffeine a day; that’s 3 to 5 cups of coffee. But at that level, side effects such as dehydration become a concern.

And when the skin is dehydrated, its barrier function is compromised. That leads to fine lines, wrinkles, and other issues. Also, many people add milk and/or sugar to their coffee, and those can bring unwanted effects if consumed in excess.

Martelize: From my university days, I drank black coffee while studying. I realized all the sugar wasn’t good for me. I also cut out milk because I thought I might be a little allergic to it.

Someone just sent us a message saying she is allergic to coffee; she breaks out after drinking it. But I must say, a nice cup of coffee is still a huge pleasure, and mine is also a decent size!

Does it really matter what type of coffee you use, soluble freeze-dried coffee or freshly ground coffee like the French make?

Dr. Ria: Yes, there is a difference.

If we focus just on caffeine, soluble freeze-dried coffee contains about 60–80 mg of caffeine per cup, while ground coffee contains 80–100 mg per cup.

In terms of antioxidants, there’s also a difference. One thing to note is that instant coffee contains significantly more acrylamide, a byproduct of roasting that is carcinogenic. Instant coffee can contain up to 10 times more acrylamide than ground coffee.

Martelize: Well, sorry guys, you won’t convert me; I’m sticking to my coffee!

But lastly, how can I use coffee on my skin?

Dr. Ria:That’s a good question. A common misconception is that if something is good for you, you can simply apply it directly to your skin. In reality, things like pH, molecule size, and whether the compound is water- or fat-soluble matter a lot.

Interestingly, caffeine in coffee can penetrate the skin. For it to be effective, though, we need a 0.5–3% caffeine solution. You cannot achieve that concentration by applying plain coffee to your skin. But it is worth noting that applying coffee may deliver more caffeine directly to the skin than drinking it.

Instant coffee in this instance is actually better for topical use because the caffeine is already extracted, whereas with ground coffee it’s still bound within the bean particles.

A little coffee extract can be dissolved in water with a bit of olive oil. Since caffeine is both lipophilic and hydrophilic, it can bind to both water and oil, which helps it penetrate the skin.

You have to be very careful about the irritation it may cause sensitive skin.

Ground coffee can be used as a gentle body scrub, but please not on the sensitive skin of your face, but at the price of these days…. I’m not too sure about actually doing that….

Martelize: Susan from George says she read that coffee extracts calcium from your bones. And L from Kimberley asks about coffee enemas! Oh dear, and also whether coffee helps with pigmentation marks.

Dr. Ria:On the pigmentation side, yes, there is some evidence, though not fully conclusive, that caffeine promotes cellular repair and can help reduce pigmentation.

Martelize: We’ll leave the rest for another day; I’d rather just drink my coffee!

Now we know about the benefits and some of the possible dangers. We always need to balance the positives with the negatives.

Thank you, Dr. Ria, for your time.