HappyLifestyleJournal
Nutritionists and health bloggers alike swear by green tea for its cleansing and dietary benefits. Yet, by consuming it regularly, it can not only cleanse you on the inside, but also purify your skin of any problems with wrinkles or acne.
To find out how, make yourself a cup, settle in, and read on.
If you are a person suffering from acne for a long time, you probably know what causes them. Hormonal issues, poor diet based on processed foods, dairy and sugars, and also high levels of systemic inflammation, often linked to acne sufferers.
Wrinkles are usually the result of aging, smoking, drinking, and another factor not perpetrated by our habits – UV light exposure.
How much time you spend in the sun, especially with no sunscreen, dictates how quickly your skin will age. Even though both acne and wrinkles need to be treated in more ways than one, green tea is another ace up your sleeve in this battle. The results are visible in only a few weeks, so patience and persistence are your allies.
Just like apples, spinach, strawberries, and a hundred other herbs, fruits and vegetables, green tea leaves are rich in polyphenols and antioxidants. Polyphenol is a natural, organic chemical that fights more serious problems in our body, but also the underlying cause of acne and wrinkles: DNA damage caused by UV light exposure, inflammation and weakened immune system.
How to include green tea in your everyday routine?
There are two simple ways. One is to drink it as actual tea (unsweetened, preferably), between three and six cups a day. Brew it for 3 to 4 minutes in boiling water, and always drink it freshly made, never cold. If possible, find a health food store where you can buy actual leaves instead of tea bags, since the grinding process bagged tea leaves go through tends to weaken their effect. For best results, avoid mass-market brands.
The other way to utilize green tea leaves, if you just cannot give up your daily cup of coffee, is to apply it directly on your skin.
Luckily, there are numerous recipes to choose from, so feel free to try out a few and decide which one works best:
- Green Tea Neat
Put a green tea bag under a stream of hot water until it starts to steam. Squeeze out a little bit of water from the teabag then press it against your face, on all the vital areas, until the steam runs out and the bag cools down.
- Green Tea Facial Mask
There are two different ways to make a green tea face mask. If you already have a facial cleanser cream you can combine the two. First, run a teabag under hot water and then empty its contents into a small cup of hot water. Then stir in two tablespoons of your usual facial cleanser, until you get a creamy texture. Apply it to your face and leave it on for five minutes, then rinse off.
- Green Tea Facial Mask From Scratch
What you will need is one tablespoon of honey, and two tablespoons of olive oil, which you heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Again, empty the contents of the teabag and add it to the mixture. Microwave it for another 30 seconds and then stir. Apply the oily mask gently for five minutes, then rinse it off, and lastly, pat it dry with a soft towel.
- Green Tea Steam
Boil a pot of water and pour it in a bowl, cut open a green tea bag and empty it into the water. Place a large towel over your head and lean over the bowl, close enough to feel the steam. Stay under for no more than five minutes, careful not to let any steam out.
- Green Tea Cotton Swabs
Infuse a pot of green tea and then pour it in a sterilized container after it has cooled down. Sink in as many balls of cotton swabs as you can and store the container in the fridge. Rub two cotton swabs a day all over your face, and use this method until the tea runs out.
