Green tea toner

I mentioned in a previous post about the importance of a toner if you use alkaline products on your skin. I have been meaning to get around to making this stuff and posting about it for a couple of weeks but always forgot or put if off for some reason or another. Usually it was just because I'm lazy, and I justify my laziness by saying, "I'm a super-busy grad student, I deserve to sit around when I have the chance," which is probably pretty true. Fortunately this recipe is great for the lazy at heart. It took me all of 5 minutes (including the time it took the water to boil, a few seconds if you don't count that time).

One of the other great things about this recipe is you probably have everything you need for it sitting right in your kitchen. Other great things include benefits for your skin and it's pretty inexpensive to make.

I did a little bit of research on what makes a good toner and came across several different recipes, many for making a rose water toner. I decided against rose water because it sounded like it was going to take more time than I wanted to spend, my roses are not blooming right now nor are there any hips remaining, and it does not have an acidic pH. That, of course, could have been remedied by some lemon juice, but that would require me to figure out the ratio of lemon juice to rose water to make it the proper pH range and I'm lazy, as I stated before. 

I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to use when I started, that being: green tea, honey, and lemon. Which is, in fact, what I ended up using, but I had to do some research on the ingredients before I could fully commit. 

Green tea is one of those things that has a lot of buzz about it's health benefits lately, so I suppose that might be why I naturally gravitated toward using it. Turns out it is pretty amazing stuff! It's considered a "superfood" (at least I think it is) because of its high amounts of antioxidants, which may prove to have anti-aging properties. The antioxidants in green tea reduce and prevent sun damage by absorbing free radicals and reducing inflammation, rather than blocking UV rays. This makes it a good choice to put underneath what ever moisturizer and sunscreen you are using. There is also evidence that green tea can offer some protection against skin cancer. I've heard people make claims about the benefits of caffeine on the skin for increased collegian production, among other things. I did not personally check out these claims (again with the laziness) but there are plenty of other benefits that make it a good choice, in my opinion. The pH of green tea typically falls between 6.7-7.5 making it an ideal base.

I chose honey mainly for the moisturizing properties. I hear mixed things about honey. Some health food people swear by it, others have called it "glorified sugar." I think it is actually pretty awesome. Honey has a lot more to offer than sugar: minerals, vitamins, antibacterial and anti inflammatory properties, it's a natural antihistamine for local plants,  it's good stuff. Unfortunately, to get a lot of the benefits of honey you need to buy raw and you need to buy local, and that stuff does not come cheap. For now, I used the stuff I had floating around the house (the kind that comes in a bear) and hoped that all the benefits were not lost in the pasteurizing process. Honey also has antioxidants which help heal and protect the skin from damage. Because of it's anti inflammatory and microbial properties, it can help treat acne. It does an amazing job of healing, I have seen its effects first hand on a gaping wound. Honey reacts with the air and essentially acts as a slow-releasing hydrogen peroxide. Another reason I chose honey is because it is a humectant. That is a fancy word for it draws in and retains moisture. Honey is actually pretty acidic, which I found surprising, with a pH of between 3.2-4.5. So it helps to tip our toner slightly to the acidic side.

Lemons are amazing, let me start by saying that, and I had no idea until researching this toner. I wanted to include lemon mainly for its acidity. With a pH of 2, a few drops should finish getting the toner in the 5-6 range the skin needs. Because of the acidity, lemon also helps exfoliate dead skin cells and leaves the skin looking brighter. Citrus fruit in general is praised for it's vitamin C content and immune system boost, which is (almost) complete malarky. Vitamin C does not do much to help immune system function but it does do amazing things for your skin! Turns out that vitamin C is essential to the production of collegian in the skin, which aids in the growth of new cells and blood vessels. More collegian also means firmer, potentially younger-looking skin. Collegian also helps you skin repair itself because it is an antioxidant. There is some research suggesting that vitamin C may reduce DNA damage to the skin. It may reduce sunburns and help prevent the consequences of long-term sun damage, such as skin cancer. It's amazing stuff. You can get the full scoop here: http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/information/nutrition/vitamin-c-benefit-skin.htm

So there you have it, plenty of good reasons to choose these three simple ingredients for your facial toner.

Here's what you need:

1 tea bag or table spoon of loose leaf green tea, preferably organic* 

1 teaspoon of honey

a few drops of lemon juice

a glass container for finished product*

*I hope it's obvious why you would want organic and non-plastic containers since the point of this is to get rid of toxins. If not, look it up ;)

You need to boil some water and then brew tea in 1/4-1/2 cup of water. Stir in honey until dissolved and add lemon juice. Let cool before trying to put it on your skin. Boom. Nothing too it. I don't know why I put it off so long. 

I chose jasmine green tea for mine because it smells nice, and I like to drink it. Honestly, when I made this I mostly did it by taste. I have a handy dandy quick pour through brewer I bought in China town. I ran the tea through 4 times and had a nice strong tea. I measured the honey, but just added the lemon juice until the tea had a nice tartness to it. If I had to guess, probably about a teaspoon or so of juice. I cannot stress enough, DO NOT MAKE THIS IN LARGE BATCHES. This is food grade stuff and should be treated as such. I kept mine on the bathroom counter and it lasted for about 5 days before starting to ferment. I dumped most of it out in the end. What's cool about it though, is if you make extra you can just drink it! Which sounds odd, but also is awesome. I intentionally did that when I made it and added the mix to some lemon water I was already drinking and it was pretty fantastic. If you want it to last a little longer you can always keep it in the fridge, which may be invigorating when applied to skin! I, however, will probably keep mine on the counter because I will forget about it if I don't see it sitting there. 

Once I made my toner I figured it was a good chance to try out washing my face with baking soda. I made a past in my hand with about 1 tablespoon baking soda and water and massaged it on my skin for 30 or so seconds. It does work quite well. My skin felt soft and had a nice glow. It is a little drying, and I think I over did it with the scrubbing, so my skin was a little sensitive for a while after. I wouldn't recommend using it on a daily basis, but it's great for a couple times a week, followed up by the pH restoring toner.

Jojoba oil update: I'm still liking washing my face with jojoba oil! My skin seems to be "purging" but it's hard to tell if it's because of the oil or because of my hormones. I have noticed a reduction of blackheads on my nose, and my skin is nice and soft and glowing :) My skin care regimen is currently as follows: dip cotton pad in toner and wipe face first thing in the morning, apply coconut oil moisturizer, wash face with jojoba oil before bed. Simple, easy, non-toxic, and effective. I'm quite happy with it all!