Tea has a special place in many cultures and traditions around the world. For the English, a cup of tea is practically a ritual in the mid-afternoon. For the Chinese and Japanese, the act of making and pouring the tea is a centuries-old meditative art form.
As opposed to coffee’s reputation for keeping you awake and perked up, tea has always been associated with feelings of calm and relaxation. A cup of tea with a dash of honey and lemon is a comforting brew for those who are ill; and for those who shy away from coffee, tea is the perfect alternative.
Tea’s many healthful properties have also allowed it to be used medicinally. It should come as no surprise that we are also well served by tea in our quest to achieve a radiant and glowing complexion.
Filled with amino acids, catechins and vitamins, tea can help the body to fight against ageing by killing off free radicals, boosting collagen production and supporting healthy skin cells. Tea also helps to keep skin hydrated; in fact, drinking tea is tantamount to drinking flavoured H20, with the added nutrition that tea provides.
There are many varieties of tea, from black to white to green teas. Which ones should you add to your kitchen pantry? That depends on your needs. The following is a selection of six amazing skin-loving teas to choose from, each with their own unique flavour and beneficial properties.
Hibiscus Tea for a Rosy Glow
If it is a youthful glow that you seek, brew yourself a hot cup of fragrant hibiscus tea! The red tea with its distinct floral notes is not only a pleasant treat, but it is also full of vitamins C, A and B, iron, and immune-boosting zinc that can help to get the pinkish-hue back into your cheeks. It also consists of omega-3 fatty acids and alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), which are absolutely fundamental for helping preserve glowing skin, silky hair and shiny nails.
Rooibos Tea for Youthful Radiance
When it comes to anti-ageing salves, rooibos tea is giving retinol a serious run for its money. Regular consumption of rooibos tea may help plump, youthful skin return to an ageing complexion, thanks to the generous amounts of AHA, antioxidants and zinc that it contains.
As a matter of fact, the antioxidants that rooibos contains include a multitude of different enzymes that work to protect against the nasty free radicals that wreak all kinds of havoc on your skin. Meanwhile, the mineral zinc helps to regulate hormonal imbalances that can cause acne breakouts.
White Tea to Revive and Rejuvenate
Out of all the teas, white tea is actually the one that contains the most antioxidants. This is due to the way the tea is processed—which is minimally—and that allows the tea to retain most of its nutrients.
White tea extracts are frequently used in skincare products because of its ability to stop the collagen and elastin in our skin from breaking down too quickly. The tea is also ripe with polyphenols that help reduce chronic inflammation and catechins to repair skin damage caused by free radical activity.
Green Tea, the Anti-inflammation Warrior
Fun fact: Green Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world after water.
Drinking green tea may be helpful for reducing skin inflammation (and inflammation in general) and keeping skin cells healthy.
It has the highest concentrations of polyphenols when compared with all other teas, which means it is an ideal choice for protecting against and reversing signs of sun damage caused by too much UV exposure (e.g., age spots, wrinkles and fine lines and skin cancer). These are the reasons why green tea is so widely used in creams and lotions that are designed to keep skin looking flawless.
Spearmint Tea: Potent Acne Buster
If you are dogged monthly by irritating skin breakouts, spearmint tea might be an excellent beverage of choice to quench your thirst. This minty tea will not only be useful for keeping you alert, but it is also anti-androgenic, and that means it can help to regulate your hormones as well as reduce the overproduction of sebum on the skin.
At the same time, spearmint tea also contains the antioxidants flavonoid and phenolic acid, which protects skin from acne-causing free radicals.
Calming Chamomile Tea
While we may already be familiar with chamomile tea’s efficacy as a lovely nightcap to help ease one into sleep, those restful and calming qualities are just as effective for supporting your body’s recovery process. When you are calm, that is the optimal state in which skin can do its healing.
That’s not all; chamomile tea also has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that help to prevent or lower the incidence of acne. Plus, it has antioxidant and anxiolytic properties that can help to reduce stress levels, which in turn reduces the occurrence of stress-related acne.
Come to think of it, chamomile tea may just become a nightly ritual for me!