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Green Tea/sea Salt Toner. Effective And Easy To Make

 
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(@onefatalgoose)

Posted : 06/04/2012 12:15 am

~Last Update~

Vitamin C

Something i was not aware of when i originally started making these toners, is that the anti-oxidants only last so long after it's been brewed. What you can do to preserve them for much, much longer, is to purchase pure ascorbic acid powder. (vitamin C powder) Now brand sells it at whole foods and online. Pure encapsulations sells a powder, and numerous other online retailers. I add around half a teaspoon to the mixture. The added benefit of doing this is not only preservation of the anti-oxidants in the green tea, but also the addition of another huge anti-oxidant and skin protecting substance. Vitamin C is extremely beneficial to skin, in so many ways. Make sure the only ingredient is ascorbic acid crystals. (Also if sea salt is too drying for your skin, i'd simply take it out. Or use it only occasionally) Thanks to Sepsi for bringing this to my attention in regards to vitamin C preserving the anti-oxidants

(For those sensitive to caffeine)

Rooibos tea is thought to have even more antioxidant
power than green tea. But the red color wouldn't be
ideal for a toner. Thankfully, they have a green Rooibos
tea as well, and this would be the best option for those
sensitive to caffeine. Caffeine gets absorbed through
the skin and can keep you from getting a deep sleep.
Those of you trying the green tea toner currently might
even branch out and give this a shot. It could work even
better given the greater amount of antioxidant power found
in the Rooibos bush leaves. Here's a brand i've found in
stores, but i'm sure there are others

th_numigreenrooibospic.png

One of the issues people may have with this toner is in regards to how pigmented it is. And even when using white tea it can look rather dark on the skin. So...

What I suggest doing is creating the batch I discuss below for overnight use. Then, you can create a batch for daytime use using the equivalent of 4-6 teabags. You can still use the same amount of sea salt in both. Also i found out that they sell distilled water at wal mart and many other grocery stores by the gallon. If you can, i'd suggest picking up one of these specifically for use in creating homemade toners. (And while you're at it, you can pick up more and use it for drinking water.)

Distillation removes fluoride from the water, but chlorine boils before water does, so it can still be found in the distilled water. Everything i've read says that the chlorine left in the water can be removed using a carbon filter, such as a Brita water pitcher. (Anywhere from $15-30) Or, you can pour the distilled water into a bowl and let it sit out for a while. Chlorine's boiling point is around -30 degrees F, so it will turn to gas if left out. If you go the filtering route, it's a small process, but you simply have to pour the distilled water into the pitcher to be filtered, and then use the filtered water. Apparently some pesticides and herbicides that make it into water supplies have low boiling points as well, and these can be filtered out with a carbon filter as well. If you're worried about the removal of trace minerals and electrolytes, you can add these back in to your drinking water.

OP
Anyone who has researched green tea knows how effective it is at combating acne internally and externally, as well as providing a great skin tone, without the harsh side effects that arise from store bought toners/creams/serums or washes. Sea salt is equally as impressive at providing a healthy, acne free complexion.

Well...i combined the two using a high concentration of green tea and love the results. I've been acne free for a year now, but that was due to changing my diet and eliminating all topicals. But before i switched my diet, i was using green tea topically and it was the single best thing i'd ever done for my skin.
So i wanted to go back and explore it again, but this time adding sea salt to the solution.

The concoction:

1) 16-20 green tea bags of your choice. Could even be a mint green tea. I'd avoid honey green tea, in order to keep it light on the face

2) A good quality brand of sea salt. Dead sea salt, Himalayan, Celtic, or a good quality Mediterranean are great, but there are others. Just make sure that if it's a sea salt, that it has been dried naturally by the sun and has no processing involved or added ingredients. I found a grinder at wal mart that uses Himalayan pink salt, so if you don't have access to a whole foods store, you might check your local wal mart

How to:

In a small pan, bring the tea bags to a boil with 1 and a 1/2 cups of (*edit) distilled water. Remove from burner and let it steep for about ten minutes

Next, stir or slosh in about a heaping 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. This concentration has worked great for me and i have sensitive skin

Finally, pour the mixture into a lock tight container and store in the fridge

Application:

I use circular cotton pads (the good kind that don't easily fall apart) and simply dip the pad in the solution and apply. I use one for my forehead, another for my nose and upper cheeks, another for my mouth and lower cheeks, and then another for my neck area. This way the pads don't fall apart. (You can also simply use your fingers, and this works really well too. A bit messy, but it depends on your technique)

- - -

That's it. Once or twice a day and you're set. You shouldn't use any cleanser that you couldn't eat, if that makes any sense. I don't use a cleanser at all, and you shouldn't need a moisturizer either, especially one that isn't 100% natural

When people try green tea and don't see results, it's because they take one tea bag and rub it on their face, which is not a high enough concentration. It's proven to be as and more effective at eliminating acne than benzoyl peroxide, but without the burning and long term skin damaging effects associated with BP. And a good quality sea salt alongside this provides a double whammy of acne fighting and skin healing properties

But remember, diet needs to be addressed if you want to eliminate acne completely, and there is loads of info in the nutrition section of this site. Please go check it out, because that is the first major step in clearing your acne. But this significantly helps when fighting it from the outside

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(@gingergirl22)

Posted : 06/05/2012 8:33 am

I made a batch of this solution using loose green tea leaves (Sencha) and sea salt and Iove it! My skin has never looked and felt better! When I can get my teen son with active acne to apply this, the results happen fast.

 

I keep a batch in a glass container in the refrigerator and a smaller batch in a little bottle with an eye dropper on the refrigerator door for easy access. I release a few drops into the palm of my hand (cupped) and then rub it into my skin with my fingers using clean hands of course. I like the cotton ball method too, but just prefer this way for some reason. It is highly concentrated and is a murky greenish-brown color and it smells heavenly when on my skin.

 

Thanks for sharing the recipe for this fantastic solutiion!

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(@gouldbergvariations)

Posted : 06/06/2012 1:02 am

Thanks for the great advice, i am looking for a new product as i have very sensitive skin. My biggest problem is large pores/ hyperpigmentation. So the regime for this is to wash face with just water then apply? Thank you for your time.

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21
(@onefatalgoose)

Posted : 06/06/2012 2:53 am

Yeah this definitely works for sensitive skin. You can wash with water, or a homemade face wash using all natural ingredients (which there are a ton of ideas for that here and on the web). I prefer to just let the water run over my face briefly. And honestly you don't need to shower excessively. People think you have to shower twice a day or your un-hygenic. I shower once a month and i don't get any complaints. No, but seriously you could get away with not showering for a couple days and be just fine, depending on your activity during those days

 

Also it's good to look into an all natural shampoo as well, because you don't want chemicals running down your face when you rinse your hair

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(@sirvelocity)

Posted : 06/06/2012 4:08 am

heyy should i boil the tea along with it's bag ? also how much time needed for the application of this concoction ? Tq so much if you want answer my questions !

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(@gouldbergvariations)

Posted : 06/06/2012 2:03 pm

I just made a batch last night, pure celtic sea salt and organic yerba mate green ( has more antioxidants and amino acids, vitamins) . I washed my face with plain water last night then , followed by a topical application of this batch.The batch is extremely powerful.. i do not have a bags but rather loose ground herb leaves and i dumped a shitload in my steeper, made a total of 3 liters give or take due to evaporation and added about 3-4 tables spoons of celtic sea salt. Face seems pretty tight today, must be from the salt activity, i wonder if it will eventually get a little dried out. Any suggestions if i need a bit of a moisturizer? Certainly do not want to use any chemicals , but would need something that doesn't break me out. I am only doing this once a day, but i might add in manuka honey as a cleanser.

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MemberMember
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(@onefatalgoose)

Posted : 06/06/2012 5:01 pm

heyy should i boil the tea along with it's bag ? also how much time needed for the application of this concoction ? Tq so much if you want answer my questions !

I boil the tea along with the bag, but i try to use bags that haven't been bleached, and it should say on the box whether they have or haven't been. And really, it doesn't take much time at all. I'm going to say at most five minutes if you're very thorough.

Face seems pretty tight today, must be from the salt activity, i wonder if it will eventually get a little dried out.

I remember the first couple nights I started doing this again my face felt slightly tighter. But after that it didn't reoccur. Your face will just need a couple days to adjust and you should be fine, and i do not think your face will become dry while doing this. I really like that you are using pure celtic sea salt. It's going to have all the vital trace elements still intact

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MemberMember
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(@onefatalgoose)

Posted : 06/06/2012 5:16 pm

I am only doing this once a day, but i might add in manuka honey as a cleanser.

In regards to honey as a cleanser, i've seen people swear by it, and if you try it i'd only use a raw honey, whatever variety that may include. Not the dark golden stuff you see at most supermarkets. But a couple years ago when i tried using honey as a cleanser, i almost felt like it created a barrier on my face that made it temporarily difficult for anything like the green tea to get through. I'm not sure if others have experienced the same thing. I've heard great things about oatmeal and egg white washes. Might be a little messy, but i think it'd be worth checking out

And again, i don't even use a wash. I basically consider the sea salt and green tea a two in one wash/toner

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(@ramblinrose)

Posted : 06/06/2012 7:37 pm

i'm looking for a natural regimen, thank u OFG for ur suggestions!

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(@gouldbergvariations)

Posted : 06/06/2012 7:58 pm

Thanks for your replies. The manuka honey is 12+ active , it's the real stuff , got this idea from tracy at the lovevitamin. The antimicrobial properties of manuka honey are pretty well documented in research on pubmed. But i might not need it, i like the idea of reducing acid mantle destruction by only washing with water and using the tea/salt toner. I also ordered some authentic dead sea mud mask, to use every once in a while. Pretty excited , and hope this really works for me. I have done a fair bit of research on Yerba mate tea, and it has proven quite effective against acne bacteria as a topical. The pure celtic sea salt was pretty expensive , but definitely worth it. I also went swimming today, parents have a salt system as opposed to chlorine so it is like swimming in a really salty sea ( dead sea type).Thanks again for your advice.

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(@sirvelocity)

Posted : 06/06/2012 8:21 pm

Allright ! thx for the tips man !

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(@sirvelocity)

Posted : 06/07/2012 1:17 am

btw my skin is damaged because of acne, it looks like an orange skin. is it safe to use this concoction ?

Hey also i read some articles about green tea on some website, they said if you drink it everyday after meal or after you get up, it'll make your face free from acne !!

gonna try it ! :3

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(@gingergirl22)

Posted : 06/07/2012 10:05 am

Thanks for your replies. The manuka honey is 12+ active , it's the real stuff , got this idea from tracy at the lovevitamin. The antimicrobial properties of manuka honey are pretty well documented in research on pubmed. But i might not need it, i like the idea of reducing acid mantle destruction by only washing with water and using the tea/salt toner. I also ordered some authentic dead sea mud mask, to use every once in a while. Pretty excited , and hope this really works for me. I have done a fair bit of research on Yerba mate tea, and it has proven quite effective against acne bacteria as a topical. The pure celtic sea salt was pretty expensive , but definitely worth it. I also went swimming today, parents have a salt system as opposed to chlorine so it is like swimming in a really salty sea ( dead sea type).Thanks again for your advice.

 

GouldbergVariations - If you've found a site online that compares the various green teas in regards to the strength of their healing ingredients, I would love a link. A while back I did find such a site that was unbiased, but cannot locate it now. Thanks.

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(@ghost08)

Posted : 06/07/2012 12:42 pm

This sounds interesting. I might give this a try, if I do I'll let you all know what I think.

If anyone tries this be sure to post and let us know!

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(@gouldbergvariations)

Posted : 06/07/2012 2:03 pm

"]The results of this study suggest that duzhong and yerba mate may be useful in the treatment of acne, perhaps in a topical application. Further study is required to assess the active constituents and possible mechanisms of action."

[Removed]

Comparison of Green Tea Vs Yerba Mate

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Yerba mate tea contains significant levels of polyphenol antioxidants, and has a slightly higher antioxidant capacity than green tea. On average, mate tea contains 92 milligrams of the antioxidant chlorogenic acid per gram of dry leaves, and no catechins,giving it a significantly different antioxidant profile than other teas.

http://en.wikipedia....#Health_effects

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Yerba mate contains nearly all vitamins needed to sustain life, according to the Pasteur Institute. It contains more antioxidants than green tea, 15 amino acids and numerous vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, vitamin C, zinc, potassium and manganese. The primary antioxidant in yerba mate is chlorogenic acid and the primary antioxidant in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate compounds, more commonly referred to as catechins.

[Removed]

For some reason all the extra research i had in this box just disappeared when i hit post? Annoying system

As compared to other beverages, yerba mate contains a significantly higher level of polyphenols:

Beverage

TP (mg equ. GA/100 ml)

Bibliographic source

Orange juice

62.56 0.49

Bravo and col., (2007) (Folin-Ciocalteau method)

Red wine

170 80

German and col., (2000) (Folin-Ciocalteau method)

Red wine

195.68 1.78

Bravo and col., (2007) (Folin-Ciocalteau method)

Rose wine

46 13

German and col., (2000) (Folin-Ciocalteau method)

Rose wine

41.36 0.67

Bravo and col., (2007) (Folin-Ciocalteau method)

White wine

19 29

German and col., (2000) (Folin-Ciocalteau method)

White wine

18.98 0.59

Bravo and col., (2007) (Folin-Ciocalteau method)

Black tea infusion in tea bags

93.63 2.02

Bravo and col., (2007) (Folin-Ciocalteau method)

Green tea infusion in tea bags

116.22 1.07

Bravo and col., (2007) (Folin-Ciocalteau method)

Yerba mate infusion in tea bags

148.4 7.4

Brumovsky and col., (2008)* (Folin-Ciocalteau method)

Simulated mate

586.5 73.9

Brumovsky and col., (2008)* (Folin-Ciocalteau method)

Simulated terere

217.5 41.5

Brumovsky and col., (2008)* (Folin-Ciocalteau method)

TP: Total polyphenols GA: Gallic acid

Data expressed as average standard deviation

*Data obtained from this study; not yet published.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf902255h

Just do a search for yerba mate and you will eventually find some information. I would have had more in this previous post but unfortunately, the fail posting system made some of it disappear.

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(@gingergirl22)

Posted : 06/07/2012 2:29 pm

Very interesting...thanks for sharing!

I hope you post your results using the Yerba Mate toner.

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(@gouldbergvariations)

Posted : 06/07/2012 2:33 pm

Very interesting...thanks for sharing!

I hope you post your results using the Yerba Mate toner.

 

I will definitely. Tonight will be my 3rd day, haven't had any problems so far, but there is much less total inflammation and redness. I attribute this to the only washing once a day and not using harsh synthetic chemicals, possibly feeling some of the anti inflammatory effects of Yerba Mate , but it is too early to tell. I am just coming off 10 days on the caveman regime, which broke me bad on my forehead. But i cannot say if it was directly the cause , because i did have a buildup of bumps on my forehead prior to trying it.

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(@onefatalgoose)

Posted : 06/07/2012 6:55 pm

btw my skin is damaged because of acne, it looks like an orange skin. is it safe to use this concoction ?

Hey also i read some articles about green tea on some website, they said if you drink it everyday after meal or after you get up, it'll make your face free from acne !!

gonna try it ! :3

 

I think this would be perfectly safe for anyone. I've never felt any burning sensation or experienced any harsh side effects from using this, and i have extremely sensitive skin. And yeah, drinking green tea has helped tons of people with their acne. White tea has less caffeine than green tea if that's an issue for anyone. Rooibos or red tea is also praised for it's internal acne healing properties, and it's caffeine free. And it's also loaded with antioxidants, so even if you don't struggle with acne it's worth checking out

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(@ramblinrose)

Posted : 06/08/2012 1:44 am

i'm very nervous about not using any kind of cleanser on my face so i think i will be trying the dr bronner's baby soap, it only has natural, organic products and no SLS.

 

ETA: in addition to giving this toner a try, lol! i was considering using an organic, unpasteurized ACV, but maybe i should just use the ACV internally?

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(@onefatalgoose)

Posted : 06/08/2012 10:03 am

I know there are threads on this site discussing ACV, and from what i've read it seems to help alot of people. I've tried it, and i even mixed it in with green tea. Personally, i'm staying away from topical acids from here on out. My skin is sensitive enough to where i'm not even going there again. However i'm sure if you put a little ACV in this toner it'd be fine, and for all I know it could make the toner even more effective. But i'd read up on how much to dilute it, cause i know adding too much of that stuff can be harsh

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(@gingergirl22)

Posted : 06/08/2012 11:39 am

I just wanted to report some results with this toner. My son has a pretty bad case of acne, although not cystic. He has been using this toner for a week now, although I cannot get him to use it twice a day. He is showering each morning, only rinsing his face with water, and at night he applies the toner with a cotton ball. Before starting he had about 5 large whiteheads and dozens of various sized pimples (could be 50 or so). His whiteheads dried up within days and there are no new breakouts. His skin appears less oily than usual and it has a nice even tone to it and has never looked better since his acne appeared 3 years ago. Can't help but wonder what the results would be if he applied it twice a day. ofg - I'm just so glad you shared this!

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(@onefatalgoose)

Posted : 06/09/2012 11:34 pm

Also if anyone is sensitive to caffeine, i'd stick to decaf green tea. It still gets absorbed through the skin, so just a heads up. If you're not sure if you're sensitive to caffeine, basically if you notice you're having trouble falling asleep or getting deep sleep, or if your heart starts feeling weird, i'd avoid it. On many occasion i've had too many cups of green tea in the span of a few days and noticed these symptoms. But everyone's different

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(@epicdermis)

Posted : 06/11/2012 10:35 pm

What do you think of adding lemon juice to the toner, in order to correct its acidity level? The pH of concentrated green tea is probably slightly below 7, but the pH of skin is 5.5 and the antioxidants have a pKa of 4.6 (so they aren't very stable at neutral pH).

 

I'm going to try making this tomorrow. I have some decaf green tea, himalayan pink salt, and a lemon. I also have some white tea, but I don't know if I should add it because it's expensive and I don't want to change too many variables at once...

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(@onefatalgoose)

Posted : 06/11/2012 10:58 pm

I think if you want to experiment with anything natural in this toner it'd be absolutely fine. There are loads of concoctions i've seen people come up with, and this is a very simple one that i've suggested. Adding a little lemon could potentially make it even more effective. On the other hand, i guess you don't want to add too much as this could make the toner feel less light on the face. But yeah, there are quite a few things you could experiment with. I guess the only thing i'd keep in mind is ratio, but even that is flexible to an extent

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(@ghost08)

Posted : 06/12/2012 12:45 pm

After I wash my face at night, my skin feels a little tight and my current toner always relieves my skin and makes it feel soft and moisturized.

Does this toner do the same?

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