Shahnaz Husain
Tea can be used for enhancing the beauty of the skin and hair. Tea leaves are said to have an anti-inflammatory action. They also help to reduce oiliness and tone the skin.
Tea may be used as a hair rinse, as the tannin in tea helps to add shine to the hair. Boil used tea leaves again in enough water. After boiling, you should have about 4 cups of tea-water. Cool and strain it. Then add the juice of a lemon and use it as a last rinse after shampoo.
Tea-water can also be mixed with henna and other ingredients for a hair pack, especially for oily hair and dandruff problems.
Tea bags can be steeped in water and applied over the eyelids, like eye pads. They help to reduce puffiness and add brightness to the eyes.
Wet tea bags can also be applied on sun burnt skin and on razor burns and cuts, to soothe and heal.
Recent research has revealed that drinking green tea has many health benefits. Where beauty is concerned, drinking green tea actually helps to enhance beauty. For example, drinking green tea is said to have a whitening effect on the teeth.
Green Tea has powerful antioxidant properties. Applied on the skin, it helps to boost the regeneration of new skin cells and thus protects the youthful qualities of the skin.
Green Tea is also a powerful skin toner, especially for oily skins, as it works as an astringent toner. Soak green tea leaves in hot water for half an hour. Cool and strain and use the liquid to tone the skin. In fact, green tea also helps to control acne. It contains catechins, which are said to reduce oil glands.
Soak green tea leaves and rose petals overnight in a bowl of water. Strain and mix with your bath water. It helps to remove body odour and refresh the skin
Green tea is also great for hair care. It contains panthenol, vitamin E and vitamin C which actually have hair conditioning benefits.
Green Tea also has a cleansing effect and can be used to wash the hair and add shine. Steep two green tea bags in 3 cups of hot water for 15 minutes. Then squeeze out the water from the bags into the tea. Add 2 teaspoons of vinegar. If you can get apple cider vinegar, it will be great. Put the tea-water in an empty spray bottle. Spray the hair, including the roots with the mixture. Leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes. Then rinse your hair with cool water.
Herbal Teas, made of herbs and spices, have been an integral part of Ayurveda, for various benefits, like aiding digestion, warming the body, calming the nerves, etc. In Ayurveda, ginger is known as “a universal remedy” because it has so many benefits. Ginger tea is advised after meals for digestion and is used in coughs and colds. It has anti-inflammatory properties too and keep the skin clear of acne and other blemishes. It also helps the hair as it boosts blood circulation to the follicles. Ginger tea can also be applied on the scalp, using cotton wool, to remove dandruff.
Apart from being full of antioxidants, coffee helps to firm and tighten the skin, because the caffeine in coffee is a vasodilator. A vasodilator helps to constrict blood cells, which has a tightening effect on the skin. Antioxidants have anti-ageing benefits because they fight free radicals. The skin begins to look smoother.
Coffee can be used in hair packs. It can be also added to henna, along with other ingredients. It helps to add shine to the hair. It is also an antioxidant and therefore helps to counteract the effects of pollutants on the hair.
Coffee also helps to brighten the skin. As already mentioned, the caffeine in coffee helps to tighten the skin and close the pores. It has anti-ageing benefits, being an antioxidant. Coffee beans can be used as a face and body scrub. In fact, we have formulated a Coffee Bean Scrub for our chocolate range.
You can grind coffee beans coarsely and combine it with aloe vera gel and pure almond oil, to use it as a face and body scrub.
(The author is a Delhi based beautician)
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