Green tea is really good! It tastes good and not only that, it is good for your skin!

I'm gonna tell my story of green tea.
About a week ago I made a nice warm cup of green tea and as I was about to throw the tea bag away I thought - isn't green tea meant to be good for your skin? So ripped the bag open and put the leaves in a little pot. ( I really reccomennd making this facial warm, it's so relaxing. So I put a tiny bit more water from the kettle in the leaves to make a paste. Then I just put the leaves on my face and left it on for about 20 minuets! After my skin felt soooooooo smooth! It's such a gentle facial and I recommend this to any one with sensitive skin!

I'm incredibly interested in WHY skin products work. I wanted to know why green tea was good for my skin and why it would work.

In a recent clinical trial green tea has been found to affect the four main causes related to acne production;

(1) increased sebum production

(2) altered keratinization of follicular keratinocytes,

(3) activity of P. acnes, and

(4) inflammation.

Green tea combats all these issues! Meaning it shall create much smaller pores, greatly reduce inflammation, PREVENT the production of acne. It prevents acne as it affects the pore lining; fixing the damaged pore structure; damaged pore structure is how our skin gets clogged up with dirt, dead skin cells and oil. It also kills the P acne bacteria responsible for producing acne (messed up pores and the bacteria are what create acne in the first place). Typically benzolyn peroxide is used to kill P acnes - however many people experience horrific dry skin and skin that looks aged - this is what put me off and why I wanted to research green tea! Green tea has been found to produce none of these extreme affects - found only to have very minor negative affects. BHA is typically used to alter the pores of the skin for those with acne - while I love this product I find it also causes my skin to become flakey. Green tea doesn't! It's also way cheaper than these products!

It also works on acne that is already on the skin; helping healing and lessening inflammation.

Green tea leaves my pores FAR FAR smaller in a couple of uses, it leaves my skin a lot smoother - I haven't been using it long enough to know if it really will do what it has been reported to do but I will update a let you guys know :)!

Green tea is such a wonderful drink and skincare product, I can't believe I haven't thought to see if it was reviewed on MUA! I've used it on and off for a long time (and have therefore experimented with it some), so bear with me for the long and detailed review. For a short answer- green tea is an amazing health drink (the website natural news has numerous articles about its researched benefits with cancer, cholesterol, weight, you name it), the bag makes a great toner against redness and even the leaves are great in masks and as spot treatments. I've tried several different brands of green tea that I have for drinking, but have found that plain and pure Twinings green tea works best for skin treatments and costs about $5 for a box of 50 bags.

EDIT: I originally had a much longer description of how I used to use green tea, but after I tried that regimen the other night and woke to see less than stellar results, I decided I no longer felt comfortable leaving that regimen up here. If interested, it involved steaming with water and Bragg's ACV (you can find directions on their website), and then while still damp, using the hot green tea leaves as a mask and letting dry. Message me if you want more details, but I think there are better ways to tone/use green tea.

The past few nights after reading all these reviews, I started using green tea more often and as an all over face toner (before I'd mostly just used it as toner occasionally before applying makeup/ used the leaves as spot treatment). I definitely wasn't using the tea to its full potential. Using the green tea as a toner at least 2x a day really does make a beautiful difference in reducing redness and irritation- though may be drying on already dry skin. I have very fair and sensitive skin, so for anyone this method bothers, I suggest finding a green tea with no other ingredients (some of my green tea for drinking have additional flavors etc. So after experimenting, I've found some brands work better for me than others- try Twinings). Best of luck and enjoy!

Edit #2 3/29/13: I have had random success with using the green tea toner in the past to combat redness, but after finding something that really works better for me (neutrogena stress scrub- even though it's not natural), I felt I should revisit this review. I feel like the scrub is genuinely addressing the blemishes and redness permanently, so I don't feel the need to temporarily combat these issues each morning with the toner anymore, if that makes sense. The last few times I did try the toner, it actually left some slight discoloration under my makeup that I hadn't noticed! I had to wash up and reapply before heading out. I don't think that this isn't effective, but it just wasn't preventing problems as I prefer to trying to reduce them. So I've reduced lippies from 5 to 3.

Like many others, I drink a lot of green tea.

Every once and a while I'll put it on my skin. Particularly when my skin is pretty bad, aggravated, sore.... I find green tea really helps to soothe my skin greatly
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After making a cup of tea and letting it steep , a take a small bowl and put the green tea bag in it. I squeeze out the liquid which for me is golden, slightly green in color. I just use the tea bag on my face, dipping occasionally in the extra tea. I don't break open the bag or anything. Just dab the tea on with the teabag. I do not rinse.

I use organic BignLow green tea. Just the brand/flavor I like. Huge boxes can be found at places like BJs.

I personally use Lipton Green Tea teabags (caffeinated) and steep them in an 8 oz glass of water for about 3-5 minutes. After steeping i simply apply pat the tea bag on my face and make sure it coats all troublesome areas (forehead, cheeks, chin). A box of tea bags costs around $2-$3 dollars and is a great substitute for a salicylic/witch hazel toner.

I am a regular green tea drinker, especially in the summer when we drink almost a gallon of it every day, iced.
I've been reading reviews for a few days and tried spent bags as under-eye compresses this afternoon. Amazing for reducing under eye bags and puffiness.
I have had problems with my eyes ever since a friend died tragically this fall. My stress level has been through the roof, coupled with my grief and the cold weather- I look pretty rough: baggy eyes, dull dry skin. I've tried several eye creams/depuffers and they haven't worked. 7 minutes of cooled green tea bags under each eye and it's amazing how the bags have deflated. I have some cooled tea and bought some reusable cotton pads to use as a compress every morning. I'm so excited- the prospect of spending the rest of my 30s and beyond looking this haggard wasn't very nice.

The price is fantastic, too! $3 something for 100 bags of tea that I'll use anyway. I'm sold!

I consider myself pretty objective in my analysis of products- natural or not, and price has no sway on my judgment.
I have concocted the most delightful skin potion, however.
I logically conclude that the concentration of freshly brewed green tea has more beneficial/antioxidant properties than something that's been processed and diluted and indefinitely sitting on a shelf somewhere... consumables don't get any better after packaging.
So basically I brew a couple ounces of VERY strong organic green tea, let cool, add a little bit of royal jelly with honey, a couple drops of tea tree oil (tea tree oil stinks- if it didn't work I wouldn't use it...Smell dissipates however), a drop or two of lavender essential oil in a small glass bottle and keep in fridge. Feel free to adjust ingredients as necessary. Use as a toner. This particular formula gently tightens my skin and keeps my pores clear.
If I find something that works better for any price, I'll buy it but so far, no luck. I demand results and in some cases buying watered down junk on the shelf doesn't do it for me.

What works for many, doesn't always for you. I wanted this to work, but it just tightened and irritated my skin from the moment I applied it. It was worth a try. Though I am not quite sure I see the point in toners anyway. I don't really have luck with them.



EDIT: I bumped it up to 3 stars. I tried the freeze method and it did irritate my face a little, not as much as when it was hot (I believe because my skin is already dry, the heat made it worse) But because it still irritated me, even if it was just a little, I won't continue to use it on my face. I will use it for my eyes as it helped a great deal with puffiness and waking up. So Kudos for the eyes, not so great for my face.

I read that if a product makes your skin feel tight, that causes aging. After the tea drys on my face, it feels very tight! Could my skin be too dry for this tea toner?

Another miracle product!! Green tea is sooo good for puffiness, good health, antioxidents (which is the one of the #1 issues with sagging skin besides the sun and other things), etc. I use these all the time, as a face toner, de-puffer, and drink it!

I usually take about 2 tea bags of pure green tea, and boil water, and let them sit for about 3-4 min, then squeeze just a little water out and put them over my eyes, or just simply "wipe" around my face, neck, eyes, nose, etc..even if there is water dripping,...let it..just hold a papertowel under so it doesn't stain/fall on your clothes. Let the tea water dry on its own over your face, and your face will feel much better and "awake"!

I also use coffee grinds mixed with facial wash and let it sit on my face for about 15 min before washing it off since it also has caffeine in it too. :) LOVE! Green tea is CHEAP, healthy, and beauti-fies!!