Anti-aging beauty products infused with tea.
Anti-aging beauty products are the holy grail of all lotions. But what if we added tea to the mix? By now, most of us know the health benefits of drinking tea, but did you know that tea-infused anti-aging beauty products may also be beneficial? Studies have shown that skincare products made with the Camellia sinensis plant can slow wrinkle formation, protect against sun damage and soothe redness.
You may have heard of the teabag trick for sunburned skin. I learned this from my friend while on a spring break trip to Florida. My eyelids were so sunburned I could barely open them. My friend took two tea bags and soaked them in tepid water. Once they cooled down, she placed them over my puffed eyelids to reduce the pain and swelling. Thankfully it worked.
How Topical Tea Applications Protect the Skin
- Green tea polyphenols, especially Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG), can amend the damaging effects of ultraviolet (UV) light, protecting the skin against damage.
- When used in products, green tea may help wound healing. Adding green tea to face cream may also help acne and control oiliness because it inhibits an enzyme in your skin’s oil-producing glands.
- It’s not only green tea that contains skin-protective chemicals. Black tea extracts have also been shown to decrease inflammation and signs of sun damage. The tea bags my friend used to treat my severe sunburn were black tea bags.
- Because white tea is the least processed tea, it contains the highest amount of antioxidants. These specific antioxidants may help protect the skin by protecting collagen and elastin breakdown.
- The antioxidants found in all tea from the Camellia sinensis plant contain high amounts of antioxidants.
Why do we need antioxidants?
Simply put, they fight off free radicals, thwarting the pathway of cellular damage, which causes aging.
Free radicals are those disruptive invaders formed from basic oxygen metabolism that generates stress at the molecular level. This stress causes cellular damage. So these treatments, being high in antioxidants, should help with that cellular damage.
Related: 10 Best Online Tea Shops
White Tea Infused Anti-Aging Beauty Products
Product description: The white tea facial mist calms, refreshes and rehydrates the skin. It is infused with antioxidant white tea, calming organic aloe vera, aromatherapeutic organic essential oils, and soothing Bach Flower Remedies.
Product description: An oil-free moisturizer with White Tea to help delay the appearance of signs of aging. Barrier-boosters Edelweiss and White Birch help strengthen the skin’s barrier to defend against and neutralize the damaging effects of pollution, infrared rays, ozone, and other environmental aggressors. With SPF for UV protection.
Green Tea Tea Infused Anti-Aging Beauty Products
Product description: Just add water to mix for healthier-looking skin. Origins powder mask transforms into a creamy, effervescent oasis of calm for skin and senses. Infused with antioxidant-rich matcha and green tea, it helps revitalize and restore a smooth, even texture. The skin feels relaxed and renewed.
Product description: This nourishing and antioxidant-rich serum effectively protects mature skin from free radicals and can help repair minor skin damage. Organic green matcha, hyaluronic acid & numerous vitamins give the skin a radiant and vitalized glow!
Black Tea Infused Anti-Aging Beauty Products
I use this mask every night. It’s a wonderful moisturizer and perfect for my dry skin. It’s very thick at first but absorbs overnight for a smooth feeling in the morning. I like to think I’m aging fairly well, considering I’m nearly sixty years old (yikes!).
Product description: An intensely moisturizing and firming overnight mask. Contains a proprietary complex of black tea ferment, black tea extract, and blackberry leaf extract.
Product description: This is a hydrating moisturizer that combines Kombucha, a fermented black tea, with nourishing rice bran oil to make the skin more radiant, smooth, and hydrated. Rice bran oil is high in fatty acids and Vitamin E hydrates the skin.
Make Your Own Tea Infused Anti-Aging Beauty Products
Face masks have been used for centuries and often came from the very foods we eat. Our grandmothers were always making food facials; the only difference now is we have some scientific basis for their formulations.
The green tea facial, which is also quite ancient, has now been found to contain catechin, which is responsible for its antioxidant properties.
In fact, nature holds many answers to our health and well-being. The various catechins found in green tea include epigallocatechin gallate, also known as EGCG.
As mentioned, EGCG is a very powerful antioxidant with scientifically proven anticarcinogenic properties.
DIY Matcha Powder Tea Infused Anti-Aging Beauty Products
You could really use any green tea for this facial, but I chose matcha for four main reasons:
- Matcha is a finely ground green tea powder and is easy to work with when making a facial mask.
- Matcha is a specially grown tea from the Camellia sinensis plant. The tea plants are covered in shade for about three weeks just before harvesting. This process increases their chlorophyll content resulting in higher EGCG content.
- The concentration of EGCG from matcha is at least three times higher than that of other green teas. Studies of skin pre-treated with EGCG experienced less DNA damage than untreated skin. Given my skin cancer history, this is all the more reason to choose matcha.
- Matcha tea is extremely high in antioxidants, which counteract free radicals. This translates to anti-aging.
It is the antioxidant action that you want while preparing antiaging solutions that our ancestors realized centuries before, although they did not have the technology to prove it. Matcha is perfect for this, both internally and externally.
To get the recipe and read about how to make your own face mask, go to my post Marvelous Matcha Face Mask.
Taking care of your skin is far more important than just cosmetic. Our skin is a very large functional organ that absorbs and eliminates.
Flavonoids and Skin Health
There are many overhyped reports regarding the health benefits of tea. Nonetheless, there is some underlying scientific truth.
The Linus Pauling Institute at Orgon State University reports that “there is evidence that flavonoids physically block UV penetration, influence DNA repair, reduce oxidative damage, attenuate the inflammatory response, preserve immune function, and induce cytoprotective pathways.”
You can find a comprehensive guide to the many scientific studies on tea published in Tea in Health and Disease Prevention, by Victor R. Preedy, (editor) King’s College London, Franklin-Wilkins Building, London, 2012.
Even though it’s an academic tome at 1,612 pages, it’s full of useful information if you have any doubts about the health benefits of tea. This book identifies therapeutic benefits and includes coverage and comparison of the most important types of tea – green, black and white.
Hi
I saw you tweet about blog and I thought I’d checkout your website. Looks like LifeIsBetterWithTea has come a long way. Keep up the good work.
I just wonder which has the faster effect on skin, drinking tea or applying tea directly to the skin? I love tea and have been drinking matcha for a year. Might as well try the DIY MATCHA POWDER TEA INFUSED ANTI-AGING BEAUTY PRODUCTS. Your site is very informative. I enjoyed reading Thanks
My guess would be the topical application works faster but I haven’t found any data yet to back that up. I’m glad you find my site informative!