This week we continue, from where we dropped off last week. We started talking about tea, and we looked at the health benefits. Today we’ll go further on the topic of tea. The wonderful thing about tea is that you don’t have to drink it to utilize it (though I strongly recommend that you do.) There are several miscellaneous uses for tea; from beauty, to household care and even cocktails. Let’s take a look at some of them here:
1. For Soothing Tired Eyes. Cool tea soothes the eyes, reduces puffiness and eliminates eye bags. Brew a cup of tea made from one tea bag and leave to cool, or you can re-use an old tea bag. Place the cool tea bag on your closed eyes and leave for 5 minutes. It can also be used to soothe the pain of conjunctivitis (more commonly known as pink eye or “apollo”). Place a warm, not hot tea bag on your eyes for about 5 minutes, as long as the inflammation lasts.
2. Treating Sunburn. I know because, we’re dark skinned, some of us think we can’t get sun-burnt. Big mistake. Everyone can get sun-burnt; see that dark patch on your forehead? That’s a result of excessive periods in the sun without protection. Lucky for you, I have a solution. Brew a cup of tea, and pour into an ice-cube pack. Rub the iced tea-cubes on the sun-burnt area of your skin. Alternatively, you can run water for a bath, place a tea-bag in the tub and soak in it.
3. Get rid of Smelly Feet. You take your feet out of your shoes and the crowd slowly disappears. Or maybe you have a severe case of sweaty feet which leave your socks damp and stinky. A tea soak is the right thing for you, because tea contains tannin which is a drying agent. Place an already used tea-bag in a bowl of warm water. Soak your feet in the brew for 20 minutes. Do this twice every day for a week, and then twice every week to keep your feet fresh.
4. For healthy, shiny hair. This works especially with herbal green and black teas. After you wash and condition your hair, pour a cooled jug of tea onto hair. Rinse out with cool water. You can decide to leave the tea mix in your hair and move on to moisturise it. Your hair will feel different immediately.
5. To Stop Bleeding and Heal Bruises. The tannins in the tea help the speed up clotting time. If you cut yourself, brew some tip, and place your the warm tea bag on the spot and the bleeding will stop in seconds. The tannin also constricts the blood vessels, so tea can also help clear a bruise, using a warm tea bag as well.
6. To Tenderize Meat. These tannins are wonder elements, aren’t they? They also break down enzymes in meat which make them softer and cook faster. Brew 2 cups of strong black tea, leave to cool and then use as a marinade. Then, cook the meat as you usually would.
7. House-cleaning. Tea makes for a great cleaner. It wipes off scuffs and scratches of all kinds, including toilet stains. Brew the tea, and add to your cleaning liquid for surface around the house including wooden floors and carpet stains. To clean the toilet, place a warm tea bag in the bottom of the toilet bowl for 20 minutes and scrub as you normally would.
8. To Soothe a Sore Throat. Drink a glass of warm tea to soothe your aching throat and open up your airways when you have a bad cold.
Which way are you going to start using tea? Try out all of these, especially the hair rinse which is almost magical. Really it is. Let me know what you think and if you discover any more uses for tea. See you next week.