Vitamin 101 | Green Tea Blemish Buster

We all hate breakouts, but sometimes it seems we are fighting an uphill battle with these little red devils! If you are looking for a way to fight acne without harming your skin, this may be the solution for you. According to Dr. Jennifer Gan Wong, Green tea extract has been proven to be effective in its fight against acne without the harsh effects of the commonly used benzoyl peroxide. Green tea nourishes skin while it combats acne and keeps you clear. It also helps reduce inflammation and works as a detox for your skin! Talk about badass blemish buster!

Get a good quality green tea from your local health food store, traditional Chinese or Japanese store or online. You can use any type of green tea, such as Sencha, matcha or genmaicha and should aim to drink two to three cups per day. To prepare it, heat fresh water to just before boiling point, pour into the cup and steep for five to 15 minutes, depending on individual instructions. Do not add sugar to green tea as it will diminish health benefits.

Drinking green tea daily can also help prevent new acne breakouts, which are caused by bacteria, because, as Nadine Taylor, M.S., R.D. of Green Tea Library notes, the catechins in tea kill bad bacteria while maintaining good bacteria.

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According to Dr. Jennifer Gan-Wong of Memorial Medical Center, green tea also works as a topical application for skin problems, including acne scars, eczema, and psoriasis. Epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, is another type of antioxidant found in green tea that is very beneficial in reducing acne and scars by both cleansings the skin of toxins and neutralizing the bacteria that causes acne. Green tea has astringent properties which help diminish redness and inflammation.

For a facial cleanser, use pure, unflavored green tea. Heat one quart filtered water to just before boiling, pour over one cup of green tea leaves and let steep for about 20 minutes. Allow the tea to cool and splash on your face, or use cotton balls to dab directly onto acne scars. Apply the green tea extract to the affected area three times daily. Really simple! Do not rinse. Store the tea in a sealed container in the fridge. 

Easy DIY | Awesome Green Tea Eye Brightener!

It’s such a bummer, but your eyes can give away far too much, and by that I mean EVERYTHING! It can tell someone if you’re healthy, well rested, or not feeling at the top of your game! Fortunately, there are some awesome tricks to help mask those issues other than your favorite concealer! I have had issues with eye bags since I was in high school, so I’ve gotten pretty good at dealing with them over the past years! This is SO easy and SOOOO good! It requires two things–Chamomile Tea + Green Tea! Chamomile Tea is awesome because it helps to relax the area around the eyes, reduce puffiness, while the caffeine in Green Tea improve circulation, improving drainage around the eyes, and brighten the area of skin. So this is so easy, I hope you all start doing this!

LEE’S AWESOME GREEN TEA EYE BRIGHTENER

1 Green Tea bag
1 Chamomile Tea bag
Cotton Pad
Water

Heat one cup of water, then remove once boiling. Add both tea bags, and cover with a saucer, let sit for 30 minutes. Let tea cool, then transfer to the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, soak two cotton pads with cold tea, and slightly squeeze so there is no tea dripping from the pad. Apply to eyes for 5 minutes, then turn over apply for another 5 minutes. Repeat daily or as needed. Discard tea after 3-5 days.

This Ahhhhmazing Drugstore Scrub Will Smooth Your Skin Like You Won’t Believe!

I’ve been obsessed with Soap & Glory for a really really long time, their products always smell divine (a bomb fragrance is everything to me) and they use the most gorgeous ingredients. They have this scrub called, Soap & Glory Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub, $15; it literally sloughs away every last bit of dead skin. Unlike some scrubs that can make your skin oily without really scrubbing, this one will actually exfoliate your skin and leave it crazy clean. It’s not super softening, but it’s one of my all-time faves because it just gets the job done; be sure to follow with a good moisturizer.

It’s an award-winning oat, shea butter and sugar body smoother with a great maple scent. The SMOOTHIE STARâ„¢ BREAKFAST SCRUB features a super skin-smoothing blend of cupuacu bio scrubs, bananas, almond, and honey extracts to gently polish, smooth and moisturizes the skin.

I also love that it uses amazing natural ingredients like oats, honey, and bananas – I know, it sounds delicious, like some yummy maple syrup pudding. Oats are surprisingly good for your skin; they contain amino acids that can heal damaged skin and even target blemishes. Bananas and honey are also incredible natural ingredients that are loaded with good-for-your-skin vitamins and have anti-bacterial properties. With the added benefits of shea butter, almond oil, sea salt, and brown sugar, it’s basically a huge tub of food for your skin! I find with a scrub you need to use a good amount, or the exfoliation isn’t the same, and because this tub is huge, you can use a lot every time without having to worry about saving it (unlike when you have an expensive scrub, and you skimp, because you spent so much money on it)!

DIY Your Own Breakfast Scrub!

I love this scrub so much I’ve even recreated it myself. It’s a little bit messy, but it’s totally worth it.

For your face: Mash up half a ripe banana with a fork and combine it with two tablespoons of organic oats and about a teaspoon of honey. Combine the mix and then smother your face with it. I like to gently rub it onto my skin for exfoliation (over the sink, as the oats can fall off), and then I leave it on my face for around fifteen minutes.

For your body: Mash up one ripe banana, and combine with half a cup of brown sugar, half a cup of oatmeal, and two tablespoons of coconut oil. Jump in the shower, plaster your body with the scrub (I always go in sections, my arms, my body, my legs) and rub in circular motions – this usually takes me a good few minutes. Rinse thoroughly with water and pat your skin dry.