Tea Tips

Tips for using Tea -

Face brightener

Try this skin saver from Skinsational Skin and Body Spa in Carlsbad, California. Soak a washcloth in warm chamomile tea with three drops of lavender oil; wring dry, and press onto face. Chamomile tea contains azulene, an anti-inflammatory that calms skin.

First-aid fix

Treat minor scrapes, bug bites, and sunburn with green tea, which contains tannins that act as a natural antiseptic and relieve itching and swelling. Just apply cooled tea with a cotton ball, says Leah Sherman, a naturopathic physician in Portland, Oregon.

Cavity fighter

Want healthy teeth? Sip some antioxidant-rich white tea. “Polyphenol antioxidants in tea inhibit the growth of oral bacteria, like those that cause tooth decay,” says Milton Schiffenbauer, PhD, a microbiologist New York City’s Pace University, who has led research on the subject.

Tension buster

In a British study, people who drank black tea four times a day for six weeks calmed down more quickly in stressful situations than those who didn’t drink tea. Black, green, and oolong teas all contain theanine, an amino acid that helps the brain and body relax.

Revive puffy, tired eyes

        Black tea is chock-full of astringent compounds called tannins

        that can help deflate and tighten  the bags under your eyes.

        (Not to mention black tea is associated with a lower risk of type 2

         diabetes.)

        Activate the  tannins in a tea bag by dipping in a cup of hot water

         for several minutes.   Cool in the fridge, then  apply the damp bag

         as a compress to the closed eye for 10 minutes.

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