I am addicted to green tea, as with probably 80% of the
Chinese population. Green tea originates
from China and has recently become more widespread in the West. Green tea is made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis and has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. This means that the chemical compositions in
the leaves are largely preserved in the final green tea product.
Green tea contains flavonoids, such as salubrious polyphenols,
in particular catechins, the most abundant of which is epigallocatechin gallate.
Green tea also contains carotenoids, tocopherols (Viamin E), ascorbic acid
(vitamin C), minerals such as chromium, manganese, selenium or zinc, and
certain phytochemical compounds. It is a more potent antioxidant than black tea.
Flavonoids are a group of phytochemicals in most plant
products that are responsible for such health effects as anti-oxidative and
anticarcinogenic functions. According to the study, the antioxidant
abilities of flavonoids may be stronger than those of vitamin C and E. According to a survey released by the United
States Department of Agriculture in 2007, the mean content of flavonoids in a
cup of green tea is higher than that in the same volume of other food and drink
items that are traditionally considered of health contributing nature,
including fresh fruits, vegetable juices or wine. So, drink plenty of green tea, it’s good for
you.
How do you use it in your skincare products? Here are some recipes for making your own
line of green tea skincare products.
Cherruby green tea facial scrub
There are tons of commercial facial scrubs on the market,
many containing the ingredients you don’t want to put on your face. So, why not make your own? I travel a lot on my job. While traveling, instead of bringing tubes of
facial washes and facial scrubs, I carry green tea bags. To make the green tea facial scrub, wet your
green tea bag for a minute or two with hot water. Then, open up the bag and pour out the ground
tea leaves in the bag. Mix the ground
tea leaves with water or a lotion. If
you use water, add two drops of skin oil (such as the Acai berry bearu serum I
taught you in my last post). Mix the
mixture into a paste. Wet your face with
warm water first, and use the paste as a scrub.
Scrub with upward circular strokes for about five minutes and wash away.
Just a note-don’t scrub your face too often. Over exfoliating your skin can lead to
chronic skin inflammation and sensitivity.
If you are over 35, once a week should be plenty. If you have overly oily skin or you are in your
teens, scrubbing twice a week should be enough.
Cherruby green
tea “clay” mask
You can buy green tea powder from your local Asian
supermarket. Mix half a table spoon of
green tea power, 1.5 table spoon of oatmeal power (or whole grain powder), and
an egg yolk in a bowl to make a soft spreadable clay-like paste. You can also add some aloe Vera gel into the
mixture to help tighten the skin. If
you have especially oily skin, use egg white instead of egg yolk. If you really don’t like placing raw egg on
your face (yep, I am raising my hand :), make a cup of green tea and use a
spoonful of warm green tea to mix the solid mixture and, then, add two drops of
a skin oil (such as Acai berry beauty serum I taught you previously). Use the paste as a clay mask-spread over your
face, avoiding eyebrow, hairline, and around eyes. Let it dry and wash with warm water.
Always remember, after you use a facial mask, your skin
tends to be sensitive. So, use
moisturizer only or apply beauty serum (I will teach you how to make other
beauty serum in the future posts). Try
not to wear makeup immediately. Just a practical tip, only use mask before
bedtime.
Just one word of caution, too much green tea powder does
stain your skin—so, don’t use too much green tea powder when you try out this
recipes at your home. And, yes, I
learned this by experience :)
Cherruby green
tea peel off mask
Place a green tea bag into a glass or ceramic bowl. Add half a cup of hot water. Let the tea simmer for five minutes. Pull out the bag (well, you can use it as a
facial scrub—scrubbing your face before the mask is an essential step for a
complete at home facial experience). Add
half a tablespoon of honey into the tea, mix thoroughly. Then, sprinkle one table spoon of gelatin
into the honey added tea. Microwave the
mixture for a minute or two until the
gelatin powder dissolve completely. Let
the mixture cool down a little until it’s not too hot to touch. Spread onto
your face the warm and slightly thicken green tea-gelatin mixture avoiding your
hairline, eyebrow, and surrounding areas around your eyes. When the mask completely dries, peel off the
mask carefully starting from the neck area.
Then, follow through rest of the steps in your skincare regime. You should have a well nourished face
afterwards.
Cherruby green
tea skin toner
Place a green tea
bag into a glass or ceramic bowl. Add a
cup of hot water. Let the tea simmer for
five minutes. Then, adding one
tablespoon of honey and ¼ cup of glycerol. Cut a lemon in half, and squeeze the
juice of half a lemon into the mixture.
Mix thoroughly. Seal the mixture
in a glass bottle and use it as your skin toner. Keep bottle in your refrigerator when not in
use. Make small quantity only. Polyphenols
in green tea oxidize easily in air.
That’s why they are strong antioxidants.
Cherruby green tea bag eye mask
This is an easy
one: after making yourself a nice cup of green tea with two bags of green tea,
pull the tea bags out, squeeze the excess water out so they won’t be dripping
water. Place the warm bag on your eyes
as eye masks. Kick back, relax, and
enjoy your facial.
Thanks
for reading.
Connie
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