Hot Beauty Ingredient: Tea

It’s antioxidant rich, anti-inflammatory and gentle—and it’s in everything

The beauty benefits of tea have been known for generations. What teenager hasn’t tried to remove post-party dark circles with a couple of soggy teabags? But in the past couple of months, we’ve seen every kind of tea—black, blue, green and fermented—included in our beauty products. Why? It’s rich in antioxidants, compounds that neutralize skin-damaging free radicals. It’s anti-inflammatory, so it soothes redness and irritation. And it’s gentle, so it suits most skin types.

Here are 6 products to try…

1. Fresh Black Tea Kombucha Facial Treatment Essence

U.S. brand Fresh has multiple tea-based products in its collection. This one has kombucha (fermented black tea), which is rich in antioxidants; plus mandarin peel extract for radiance; kigelia africana fruit extract for improved texture; and moisturizing hyaluronic acid. Apply with fingertips after cleansing, but before serum and moisturizer.
$85, at Sephora

2. John Frieda Daily Nourishment Leave-in Conditioner

Green tea is the key ingredient in this spray, which helps protect hair from heat-styling damage. There’s also vitamins A, E and C, plus moisturizing ingredients. Apply to clean damp hair, concentrating on the ends.
$11.99, at drugstores and major retailers

3. Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant

Rub a teaspoon of this powder into wet hands and massage over skin once a day. It contains salicylic acid and rice enzymes to gently exfoliate, plus green tea, gingko and colloidal oatmeal to soothe skin. Afterwards, skin feels smooth and fresh—and best of all—it takes the same amount of time as regular cleansing so there’s no need to add weekly scrubs or masks to your regime.
$80, at authorized Dermalogica spas, salons and skin centres, Sephora and dermalogica.ca

5. Huna Apothecary Clarify Face Serum

This luxurious serum targets pimples and excess oil with a combination of botanicals including green tea, burdock root, dandelion, nettle, neem and licorice. Soothing, not drying, it has antimicrobial, antibacterial and antiseptic properties. Apply a few drops morning and night to cleansed skin. Like the rest of the Huna Apothecary range, it’s made from mostly organic ingredients grown in Manitoba.
$86, at Hunaskin.com

6. Amore Pacific Vintage Single Extract Essence

This essence is made from green tea leaves grown on South Korea’s Jeju Island, which is famous for its clean air and water. The leaves are fermented for 50 days then aged for another 50 days, which supposedly turns them into a concentrated skin superfood that boosts clarity, texture and elasticity. Pat onto skin after cleansing and toning, before moisturizer.
$200, at Holt Renfrew, Nordstrom and Sephora