Unless you live under a rock, you probably must have heard about the benefits of green tea, a powerful antioxidant that helps your body fight free radicals and get rid of toxins, among many other health benefits. Green tea in its many variations, loose tea, powders, and even capsules, has become an old-time favorite for countless people who wish to take care of their health.
We all get it, green tea is healthy, but what if I were to tell you that its benefits are not limited only to its consumption and that you can see great results when applying it topically? If this idea sounds interesting, keep on reading, because I am about to tell you all about why you should most definitely keep green tea on your kitchen cabinet at all times, even if you do not particularly enjoy its taste.
Green tea is very beneficial for your health, but the truth is that it can be equally beneficial on your skin. An ingredient that helps your skin to stay healthy, should have already sold you, but the pros do not stop there. Green tea skincare will not only make your skin healthier but also prettier, with all the added beauty benefits you will get from incorporating something as simple as green tea, into your routine.
Some of the main results and properties you can expect from applying green tea skincare topically are the following:
Combating free radicals, for healthier and more youthful skin.
Fight inflammation, helping with healing, reducing swelling and puffiness.
Soothing and calming, protecting the skin´s PH and helping recovery after damage.
Helping reduce bacteria, acne, and impurities.
Create a balance in moisture, by regulating oil production.
Improve the skin's elasticity.
Tighten the skin and shrinking enlarged pores.
Toning, illuminating, reducing redness and improving skin's complexion.
These properties, among others, are the main ones you can get from adding green tea skincare into your routine. Yet the best part is that you are not only adding a natural ingredient but one that is very safe to use. There are many tips and tricks, DIY and recommendations to use certain natural ingredients in your routine, but I advise you to be very careful with that, since not all-natural ingredients are good for the skin when applied topically, no matter how “healthy” they are.
If you want to learn more about this subject you can have a look at this article: chemical vs natural skincare.
Fortunately, this is not something you should be concerned when using green tea, since it is a very soothing and calming ingredient, full of antioxidants, polyphenols, and catechins along with many other wonderful ingredients that will help you take care of your skin, without any harm or disturbance on its PH. If you are into holistic habits and lifestyles, you want to make your beauty routine cleaner or you just want great skin benefits, that are effective and budget-friendly, you will probably want to give this a go.
Green tea skincare is great, but as far as I am concerned if you are willing to go one step further Matcha will be my biggest recommendation, being a variation that has higher values of the best ingredients that are already found on green tea.
When consuming or brewing green tea, we are using only the infusion created by the leaves on the water, but when consuming or using Matcha, being the tea leaves grounded into the mix you are getting a bigger dose of all the active ingredients of this superfood. Elements such as caffeine, polyphenols, and antioxidants, including EGCG, and L-Theanine are present in considerably higher doses onto this variety of tea. So if you can opt for Matcha, I highly suggest you do so, for both consumption and beauty.
HOW TO INCORPORATE GREEN TEA INTO YOUR ROUTINE
Here you have my favorite recipes when talking skincare, using Matcha powder or Green tea.
MATCHA POWDER MASK
By far my favorite one, it is simple to make and delivers instant visible results, helping with purifying, brightening the complexion and tightening the skin.
How to: Mix a bit of Matcha powder with water, until acquiring a good consistency, it should be liquid, but slightly sticky, never too runny. Apply it on the face and wash with lukewarm water after it has dried out. The purer the Matcha and the water, the better results you will get.
GREEN TEA TONER AND MASK PACK
Great if you run out of toner, you get burned, your skin is irritated, you have inflamed acne, or if your eyes look puffy and tired.
How to:
How to: Brew a bit of pure green tea with good quality water for a couple of minutes, let it cool and put it on the refrigerator in a sealed container, you can use it as a toner or as a mask if you infuse clean cotton pads with the liquid and place them over the face and eyes. If you have puffy or tired eyes, freeze the pads for a couple of minutes and place them over the eyes. You can make use of the mix up to 2-3 days.
GREEN TEA LIP SCRUB
Mix the tea leaves or the Matcha powder with a bit of coconut oil or almond oil and gently wipe the mixture along the lips, wash the mixture with lukewarm water and hydrate your lips afterward.
How to: If you decide to use Matcha, put a bit more powder than oil, but form a nice consistency so it helps exfoliate the lips, without irritating them. If you do the Matcha mixture, I also recommend you to leave it on the lips for about 5 minutes and do the slight exfoliation right before removing it.
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