Don't just sip on a cuppa green tea to rejuvenate yourself; use its leaves for a steam facial

While we've all been hearing about the impressive health benefits that drinking a cup of green tea offers, not much has been written about its beauty benefits. You can use the leaves of herbal teas to steam your face or add it in your regular face pack. Recently, supermodel Miranda Kerr revealed the secret to her flawless skin — she uses green tea as a part of her weekly beauty routine. She creates a steam bath and infuses the tea leaves in boiling water. Since green tea is rich in antioxidants, which help fight against free radicals in the body, the steam gives your skin a direct shot of these antioxidants. Also, it soothes irritated skin and its anti-ageing properties prevent wrinkles, fine lines and other skin diseases. A green tea steam is also a great way to detoxify your pores and keep your skin hydrated. What's more, the its herbal scent will relax and help you calm you down, too.

Boil 3-4 cups of water. w Pour hot water in a large bowl with a lid (or you can use a facial steamer).
Steep 2-3 bags of green tea or a few spoonfuls of dried loose green tea leaves for a few minutes.
Prep your skin clean with the help of a mild cleanser. Take a towel over your head to form a tent over the bowl so that the steam can be locked as you put your face over it. Do this for 10 minutes.
Rinse your face with cool, fresh water and gently pat dry.

DIY beauty products Face pack
For this simple, homemade facial pack, all you need are just three ingredients — regular green tea leaves, cream and sugar. When combined with the leaves, the sugar granules act as gentle exfoliators and help in removing dead cells and dirt from the upper layer of the skin. The cream keeps the skin hydrated and moisturised.

Toner
Steep a green tea bag or add two tablespoon of green tea leaves in a cup of boiling water. Add the juice of a lemon (to brighten the skin tone) and two tablespoon of honey (to fight wrinkles) to it. Add a few drops each of Vitamin E oil (to protect from sun's harmful rays and Tea Tree oil (it has brilliant anti-acne properties). Dissolve a tablespoon of baking soda (to soothe irritated skin) and mix well. Pour this into a spray bottle and use on face and neck twice a day.

Source: Times of India

BDST: 1709 HRS, JAN- 25, 2016
Edited by:  Sharmina Islam, Lifestyle Editor