Black Tea for Beauty

I’ve talked about how green tea can help your skin look its best, but black tea is also a superstar who works hard to beautify and rejuvenate the skin. It’s often overlooked because its green cousin tends to steal the spotlight. Don’t doubt black tea, because it can do a lot of wonderful things for us. Let’s jump right into the details of why I think black tea is so amazing (other than its delicious taste, of course)!

If you feel a blemish coming, just steep some black tea in a cup of hot water for several minutes. Apply the tea bag directly to the pimple and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, although the longer the better! When you remove the tea bag from the blemish, don’t rinse the tea off. It’s important to leave the tea on the skin because it will continue to work its magic throughout the day. This is my go-to blemish buster. It works so unbelievably well!

Oh, and remember the green tea toner recipe I shared with you a few weeks ago? You can make the same toner using black tea, instead of green. It works in almost the same way. I don’t recommend black tea for those of you with very, very fair skin as it can stain and leave a bronze look (which we’ll talk about a little later).

Acne on places other than the face, such as the back or chest, can be really frustrating. If you’re one of those who have body acne run a warm bath and throw in some (6 or so) black tea bags. Soak and relax for as long as you’d like. It will help work to clear your body blemishes.

You can also take a tea bath if you have an uncomfortable sunburn. If you’re in too much pain to take a bath, just make yourself a cool compress. All you need to do is make a bowl of black tea, and refrigerate it until its cool. Once it’s at a nice, cold temperature soak a cloth in the bowl and apply the cloth to your skin. You can do this same thing for itchy bug bites too! A spray bottle full of the tea can also work. Just spritz it on!

You might already know that you can refrigerate used tea bags and use as an eye compress to de-puff and rejuvenate tired eyes. The caffeine in the tea is helpful in making eyes look less swollen. Its quick and it’s easy!

Everyone gets sweaty, smelly feet at some point in their lives (especially in hot, summer months) but tea can help eliminate foot odor. You need to soak your feet in a tub full of darkly brewed black tea for half an hour. The tannins in the tea will help control the smell of your feet and also make them feel cooler and relaxed.

Want a simple way to make your lips look smoother? Just grab a warm tea bag and apply it to your lips for 5 minutes. This will also help your lips retain their moisture!

Okay, and the last thing I want to talk about it self tanning using tea bags. I haven’t actually tried this, but I read about it and I’m very intrigued by the idea. I’m all about covering up and using SPF whenever I go outside, but I’m also disgusted by the scents of self tanning products, so I have embraced my pale skin tone. However, if I can use tea bags to give my skin a bronze glow, I’m all over that! Here is the article on how to make it - http://www.ehow.com/how_5043769_tan-naturally.html If any of you have tried this, please let me know in the comments what you think of it and if it worked or not!

As always, if you know of any other beauty uses for tea let me know! I always like to hear your suggestions!