Admittedly, despite the inexplicable popularity of my first “magic potion” tip, I was not intending on writing a lot of posts about beauty and facial care. But here’s another quick zit fix, the efficacy of which I can attest to personally. And the idea actually came from a tip a nurse gave me when my daughter got a flu vaccination.
She said that if the injection site got red and swelled, I could use a warm tea bag on it to take out some of the redness and inflammation. So I got to wondering, would it do the same for those pesky (and very painful) subcutaneous pimples I sometimes get, (ones I refer to as underground zits.)
Turns out, it does. Take a tea bag and run it under hot water, as warm as is comfortable, and then press the bag to the blemish. (Hold it there with a paper towel to catch any tea that drips out.) Within minutes, you will notice a difference in the size and redness of the pimple. This is especially helpful when I’ve picked and squeezed at the damn thing, trying to get it to come to a head, but only accomplished making it bigger, redder, and more sore.
I’m not a dermatologist by any stretch, but I think it works for several reasons. Firstly, heat will open your pores and likely start to draw the blemish out. Normally, to reduce swelling, an ice cube would probably be a safer bet, but I believe the tea has a sort of drawing salve effect, and the benefits of tea are well documented. I have used this trick several times, and I don’t know if my blemishes necessarily heal any faster, but I definitely notice the short term effects of a reduction in size and redness. At any rate, it’s cheap and easy, as most of you probably keep tea bags in your kitchen anyway.
Tea can also be used topically, as a tincture or a poultice, for cuts, burns, baggy eyes, or as an astringent. It can also be ingested, different types of tea supposedly having different therapeutic benefits. I’ll include some links below if you are interested in using tea or other herbs for health and beauty.
So…there’s your quick tip, and here’s your links. Don’t say I never gave you anything!
common herbs and some of their uses
Related articles
- homesteading: making homemade tea (growinggracefarm.wordpress.com)
- Acne Alert: How to Hide That Zit (forallwomentoknow.blogspot.com)
alienredqueen 