Green Tea For Skin P2: Scrubs, Serums and Masks

Green Tea For Skin P2: Scrubs, Serums and Masks

 

Continuing with our green tea theme, this week we focus on some other gorgeous skincare recipes using our star product: facial scrubs, masks and serums. Green tea is a surprisingly versatile addition to cosmetics and you can add it to the aqueous or botanical infusion part of any recipe.

 

Making A Green Tea Botanical Infusion

As referenced in  Green Tea For Skin, here is a reminder of how to make up a good batch of green tea infusion for cosmetic use:

 

Prepare your botanical infusions with distilled water, or at the very least, boiled and slightly cooled filtered water. Making up an infusion is very much like making tea. Green tea is best using water at 82 ℃, as boiling water may ‘cook’ the delicate green tea leaves. If you are using the  powdered version of green tea leaves like I am, then you might want to drop the water temperature even lower to about 75℃. So boil then slightly cool your water before pouring over your tea leaves. You can then leave to infuse for as little as an hour or covered overnight. 

 

To preserve and store your infusions: 

Sterilise any utensils and containers you are using in the infusion making process, as the key is to eliminate as much bacteria as possible. Filter the green tea leaves out of your infusion with a  filter paper. Prep a storage bottle (I like  these ones) by sterilising it with boiling water. Stir in your preservative to your filtered infusion, then pour into your prepared storage bottle. Cap and store in the fridge for maximum shelf life. Cold green tea also feels amazing on the skin! An alternative storage method is to fill a sterilised ice tray with the green tea infusion and freeze into ice blocks. These can then be applied directly to the face to shrink pores, or melted and used in a recipe.

 

Green Tea & Peppermint Facial Scrub

Green tea and mint is a divinely refreshing combination that smells like summer. This scrub is particularly good after a hot day when you just want to really get all the grime and sweat out of every pore. It will leave your skin feeling clean, fresh and glowy. The added oliveM 300 makes it easy to clean off as it combines nicely with water into a creamy scrub.

 

¼ - ⅓  c castor sugar or  fine Himalayan salt

2 T  green tea powder

1 tsp  peppermint powder

2 T  marula oil

1 heaped tsp  avocado butter

1 T  oliveM 300

This  jar with a silver lid looks very attractive

 

Melt the avocado butter. While it's melting, stir the castor sugar, green tea and peppermint powder together in a bowl. Then add in the melted avo butter, marula oil and oliveM 300. Blend until it gets nice and fluffy, then decant into a jar. To use, scoop out a small amount on your finger and massage into your skin, then rinse off and apply hydrosol, serum and/or moisturiser.

 

Bentonite and Green Tea Face Mask

This one-step face mask takes two minutes to make and is a great way to gently cleanse and exfoliate your skin with the power of green tea and clay. The clay draws out impurities and the lemon juice helps brighten the complexion. Green tea is packed with antioxidants and helps revive skin cells.

 

1 T  to 2 tsp  bentonite clay or  green clay

1 tsp lemon juice

Prepared green tea infusion or make a cup of  green tea for yourself and use some of that.

 

Blend the lemon juice with a tablespoon or two of green tea. Then stir in the bentonite clay. You might need more green tea to make a smooth paste. Butter your face in the mask and leave on for 15-20 minutes while you sip your green tea. Wash off with warm water and apply a moisturiser or a green tea serum.

 

Green Tea, Hyaluronic Acid and Collagen Serum

This is the holy grail of botanical serums! With added hyaluronic acid, collagen and moisturising vegetable glycerine, your skin will feel plumped and supple. I like to apply it to wet skin during or after a shower, otherwise follow up with this after your green tea facial scrub or mask.

 

30ml pipette bottle

Green tea infusion (must be preserved, otherwise you will need to add in a  preservative)

7ml of  hyaluronic acid

7ml of  marine collagen

2-3 drops of  vegetable glycerine

 

Add the hyaluronic acid and collagen to the bottle, then top up with green tea infusion and add in the glycerine. Shake gently to combine. Apply to wet skin (this moisture is taken in by the hyaluronic acid and carried down to your skin so this step is important!). After 5 minutes I like to spritz on additional water or a hydrosol to really just add to the moisture factor.

Optional add-ins or substitutions:  aloe gelVitamin C powder, or other another botanical infusion of your choice.

 

SHOP THE TOP INGREDIENTS HERE:  green teagreen tea powdermarine collagen, hyaluronic acid and  fine Himalayan salt


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1 comment

I would like to order a book bathing related products scrubs and salts etc

Sindi Dlamini