In my previous blog I shared some DIY skincare products that everyone can make with simple ingredients and their chosen tea. I thought I would follow up with some information on what type of tea works best for our different skin needs, and of course why they are so good for us! Depending on what areas you want to target, specific teas work better than others. Here you can see what teas I recommend and you can use them next time in your own DIY skincare. Read here on how you can incorporate your choice of mentioned teas into your own skincare potion.
Why Tea is Good for our Skin
Reduced Appearance of Under-Eye Circles
Under-eye circles can be caused by lack of sleep, aging, dehydration, allergies, and rubbing of the eyes, which we can all (unfortunately) attest to at least one of these. This is where the caffeine in tea can help to stimulate blood circulation under the eyes. With black tea containing the highest levels of caffeine, boil your black tea bags and then put them in the fridge to cool before placing them over your eyes. The cooling effect will help to soothe your dark circles or puffy eyes.
Vitamin K, found in matcha, is a skincare saviour for dark under-eye circles. When we lack vitamin K, it can lead to the thinning of blood vessels around the eye, resulting in those dark circles of gloom. Matcha tea bags can be placed in the same way as our black tea bags would, or applying a matcha eye mask under the eye for highly effective results.
Recommended Teas: Black Tea, Matcha Green Tea
Reduced Redness
Like many of us, redness in our face can cause real issues for our self-confidence. Being called lobster is not really good for anybody. Skin conditions such as rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis, sunburn, or hot flushes are common causes of this. Thanks to green tea, its anti-inflammatory properties can help reduce the severity of such conditions. Green tea contains high levels of the compound polyphenols, which are high in antioxidants and possess effects such as skin whitening.
To use green tea for redness you can start with a green tea steam (hot water and green tea bags), a green tea face mask, and green tea toner. All of these you can easily make yourself at home which are all super cost effective.
Recommended Teas: Green Tea
Helps to Support Collagen Production
Sadly, as we grow older, our skin begins to age. Collagen is a protein that helps to retain our skin elasticity, keeping our skin plump and youthful. Let’s be real, saggy skin isn’t very appealing, so doing what we can to keep our collagen levels high is with utmost importance! Collagen slowly begins to decline when we are in our twenties, hence why looking after our skin from an early age is very helpful to our future (hopefully still youthful looking) selves.
The best teas for collagen production would be hibiscus, and rosehip tea. These herbal teas are packed with vitamin C which plays an essential role in collagen formation. Green tea and white tea may not promote collagen levels, yet both help to prevent the breakdown of collagen. All four teas contain high levels of antioxidants which help us to fight against our enemy, the collagen attacking enzyme that goes by the name of Collagenase. Studies show that white tea is significantly more effective than green tea in preventing the breakdown of collagen, due to being less processed, and having higher antioxidant levels. This may be preferred for those with mature or damaged skin. These teas can all be made into face scrubs and toners, and used as part of our daily skincare routine.
Recommended Teas: Hibiscus Tea, Rosehip Tea, White Tea, Green Tea
Evens Skin Tone and Reduces Blemishes
Our face is the most exposed part of our body and is prone to blemishes from both internal and external factors. Elements such as the sun’s UV, seasonal changes, hormone factors, cosmetics, genetics, and our diet can play a role in how our skin looks. Thankfully there are a range of teas that can help even out our skin and keep those blemishes at bay. Tea contains antioxidants which are essentially our skin’s golden ticket to paradise. The antioxidants in tea help to flush out toxins and free radicals in our body which impact the layers of our skin, causing dark spots, uneven skin tone, fine lines, and wrinkles.
Using tea topically can support in the treatment of sunburn thanks to the tannins present, whilst the antioxidants help to aid in protecting our skin from the damaging rays of UV. Black tea and oolong tea are great for lightening the dark spots on our face, and the soothing effects of chamomile tea does the trick to soften our skin and promote skin healing. Chamomile tea is also said to help in tightening our pores, resulting in a more even skin tone. The main polyphenol component Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) found in green tea is a powerful force in protecting our skin against free radical damage. All these teas play an important role in our daily skin routine by smoothing our skin and protecting it from internal and external factors.
Recommended Teas: Black Tea, Oolong Tea, Chamomile Tea, Green Tea
Helps Control Acne
Acne was a big part of my adolescent days, and even persisted well into my twenties. Everyone wants to look younger, but not to the point where your face looks like a pubescent teen (and you are 29 years old). Thankfully we now have the knowledge of tea and its preventative and treatment of acne. We mentioned earlier about the compound polyphenols, well they can also reduce the amount of sebum oil that the body produces, which is the leading cause of acne. Polyphenols are also accredited to fighting bacterial infections such as the ones that like to live in the oily regions of our skin’s pores.
Green tea’s polyphenols are the ones we want on our side when fighting against acne. Both regular green tea and matcha can be mixed with the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of tea tree oil to give your face toner that added kick to put those pimples in their place!
Recommended Teas: Green Tea, Matcha Green Tea
Prevents Fine Lines and Wrinkles
Two of the most frowned upon terms in the human language- fine lines and wrinkles. And sadly, frowning about them only makes them worse! We spoke about our collagen levels declining in our twenties and all the internal and external pressures on our skin, so it is without doubt that those crinkly little lines will start to creep in. But what is also without doubt is how we can prolong their arrival and enjoy our glowing skin for longer.
By using any of the recommended teas below in your skincare routine, will help to slow down the aging process of our skin. The powerful antioxidants, polyphenols, tannins, and vitamin C found in these teas are a powerful concoction that even aging cannot defy.
Recommended Teas: Black Tea, Green Tea, Oolong Tea, White Tea, Hibiscus Tea, Rosehip Tea, Chamomile Tea
