Tea is a wonderful way to wake up in the morning and energize in the afternoon. It’s also good for relaxing at the end of a long day or catching up with friends and family. But did you know it can be used for your beauty regimen? Here are a few ways you can use tea for looking your best.
Hair
Tea is a good way to make your hair shinier and even freshen up the color. Giving your hair a final rinse after shampooing can make your hair shine and can add a little moisture and control to dry hair. Use a quart of warm tea, either freshly brewed or instant (unsweetened).
For a natural way to get the grey out, you can use strongly brewed tea (three tea bags to one cup of water—let it steep overnight) to color your hair. Simply spray it on your damp hair after washing, making sure to completely saturate your tresses. Blot with an old towel but don’t rinse. It may take multiple applications to get the shade you are looking for. Make sure you wear old clothes as the tea can stain them.
Face
Not only can women benefit from the use of tea in their beauty regimes, men can as well. After your morning shave, relieve sore skin, razor burn, or any nicks with a wet tea bag applied to the skin. The tannins in the tea will soothe the pain.
For tired-looking eyes, use wet teabags soaked in warm water. Place one tea bag on each of your closed eyes for about 20 minutes to reduce puffiness and the dark circles from lack of sleep. Chamomile is a great choice. Not only can you use it externally, drinking a cup before bedtime may help you fall asleep.
To tighten up your pores and moisturize at the same time, use green tea as a toner. Either spritzing cool tea on your face or gently applying it with a cotton ball can help remove impurities from your skin and give you a healthy glow.
Another way to clear your pores and help produce a healthy glow is by using tea as a facial steam. Throw a couple of tea bags or enough loose leaf tea for a couple of cups into a steaming bowl of water. Place your face above the bowl and put a towel over your head and the bowl to hold in the steam. Relax and allow the steam to open your pores and clear out the gunk. It will take about five minutes, but you can enjoy for as long as you’d like.
Soothe any mouth pain with a mouthwash made with peppermint tea. Brew a hot cup of tea and add a pinch or two of salt. The natural antiseptic properties of the peppermint along with the natural pain relieving menthol works on contact to stop the discomfort.
Body
Use tea to help with the pain and itchiness of bug bites and stings. Chamomile is an ideal choice as it helps to reduce the bumps and discomfort. Place a cool tea bag over the inflamed area and sit back with a glass of iced tea while it works.
Did you overdo your sunbathing? Help soothe the redness and pain of a sunburn with cold tea bags as compresses. Tie together 10-12 tea bags and let them steep. Once they come to room temperature, fan the tea bags across the affected area and let them sit on the skin until the moisture is mostly gone. Do this up to ten times to help stop the pain. Another option is to use an old, soft t-shirt which has been soaked in a tea concentrate—6-8 tea bags in one cup of boiling water for about 5 minutes—and placed on the skin. Or, make it even easier. If you have a burn over most of your body, take a bath with some tea bags.
Men aren’t the only ones affected by razor burn. If your blade hasn’t been changed in a while, your legs, underarms, or other more sensitive spots may be tender, red, nicked, and/or bumpy. Soothe your aggravated skin with tea bags. If the area is small, one or two tea bags may do the trick. If it is a larger area, try the same fanning trick as we talked about for sunburns.
Oh, no! Did that vine have three leaves or four? Poison ivy is definitely no joke. Relieve that itchy rash with tea. Brew a strong cup of tea and let it cool to room temperature. Use a cotton ball to apply the tea to the affected area and let it dry. Repeat as necessary. This can help with either a dry or wet rash.
Curb your stinky feet with a foot soak using black tea. Every day after work, relax by soaking your feet for 20 minutes in a strong brew to get rid of those sweaty odors. The tannins in the tea work as an antibacterial and antifungal. Make sure the tea is cool for an extra dose of refreshment.
Let us know your beau-tea secrets in the comments below.
