Blemishes, blackheads, acne, breakouts, uneven and bumpy skin…it’s a nightmare for anyone of any age.
I used to suffer terribly with it, nothing worked for me… apart from a small number of products (face washes, scrubs, etc), but only temporarily.
One reason they don’t work and I don’t use them anymore is because they drastically alter the PH levels in the skin, stripping away essential oils.
This leaves the skin sore and brittle; causing easy damage.
After using them, your skin is left without its natural oils and out of PH balance, so your skin tries to compensate by excreting more oils… in an attempt to rebalance them.
This means a higher level of oil/grease on the face, which clogs the pores and traps dirt in them. This turns into sebum (the white stuff that appears in blemishes) and contains bacteria that can spread, causing more blemishes to form.
Your skin needs something that doesn’t remove any layers of skin or cause a sudden alteration of the natural oil level or PH balance.
This is where black tea comes in.
The natural compounds found in black tea are excellent for the skin, soothing yet strict.
The caffeine content in tea is high, which means it’s an excellent source to use, especially on the eyes.
The skin around the eye area is thin, and I mean paper thin. This means it’s easy for things to get absorbed into the skin and deeper, which can be both bad and good!
The downside is that any dirt or grease is likely to get trapped quite easily here and cause staining. Not only that, but also stress, lack of sleep, diet, skin care – all of these can cause those dark circles under the eyes (often called “black bags”).
The good news is that the caffeine in the tea can help promote and support higher levels of blood flow, which means more blood will return to the eye and wash away the darkness.
Tea is a natural astringent, which means that it will dry out and tighten the skin. This is really important when it comes to blemishes, acne, pimples, etc.
This is because by drying the blemish it will be removed effectively and by tightening the skin the pores will close and prevent dirt or oil from getting in which gets trapped and causes more blemishes.
The other compounds in black tea act as a calming agent, reducing and eliminating red or blotchy spots that may appear on the skin; sometimes they are bumps on the skin that are not exactly spots but are not flat.
Black tea is a great way to treat blemishes because it works quickly and, if used as part of your daily skin care routine, will leave skin cleaner, healthier and brighter.
How to apply black tea on spots
You will need to:
- a tea bag
- A cup
- Hot water
- cold water
- Find a cup, fill it with warm water (a mixture of 2 parts hot and 1 part cold works best).
- Submerge the tea bag in the water, letting it saturate the water for a few minutes.
- When the water is dark brown in color, take out the tea bag and apply it on the blemishes or acne area.
- Repeat this for a few minutes; the tea will dry out pretty quickly, so you can use a lot of water.
- Leave overnight, do not wash immediately!
- In the morning you can now use a simple face wash to remove any tea residue that may remain.
- You will notice that your skin feels firmer, smoother, your spots will be reduced and red marks will fade.
*OPTIONALLY*
You can use the tea bag (or two) on your eyes after applying it to the blemishes. You can do this by placing them on your eyes and leave them for a good 15 to 30 minutes.
Do this every night and you will see a big difference! The darkness will fade from under your eyes.
