Green tea and olive oil. They taste good and are healthy to eat. Well, why not put them on your face, too? What is good for the inside is good for the outside. Well, I have been doing this since 2006 and it works really well for keeping wrinkles at bay and the skin moist.
First, I purchase some not-so-very expensive face cream from Kruidvat in Noordwijk. Kruidvat's Groene Thee en Druiven-Green Tea and Grape moisturizing creams is a good base to start out with. (The ones I use are the Dag, Nacht, and Oogcontour Cremes-Day, Night, and Eye Creams).
If you are in the United States rather than Nederland, try CVS or Walgreens for your face cream. Anything middle of the range will do, as long as it is contained in a pot or jar.
To start the process, I remove 1/4 of the cream to an empty container and added extra virgin olive oil to the cream leftover. (The amount of oil added depends on how much moisture you want to have in the cream. As a guide, I usually add the same amount of oil to the container that I have removed in the form of cream. That would be about 1 tablespoon, more or less).
After mixing the cream and oil, it will appear very oily. That is normal. Now, we will add the green tea, which will act as a binding agent, binding the oil and cream, giving it a nice smooth consistency. For the tea added, I pour a tiny bit of hot water over a green tea bag to moisten it. (Any good quality green tea will do). Then, I squeeze the tea into the cream and oil mixture. After stirring the cream, you can adjust the oil and tea until you are satisfied with the consistency.
I went without this cream for 2 weeks and noticed a big difference in my skin. The moisture in the cream seems to keep the skin fresh. So, long as skin is kept exfoliated with regular skincare, such as using a good cleanser, such as Lumene Artic Touch Clarifying Mineral Peeling/Scrub, or face loofah, this cream will naturally bring color to the cheeks, as moisture serves to give one color. If you have combination skin, which I do, this cream is light enough for everyday. The olive oil will not break the skin out, but will just keep it moist, and green tea is a tightening agent for the skin.
As an alternative, you can also add a bit of srong espresso coffee to the mix. I tried this yesterday and it also seems to work well.
Olive Oil and Green Tea photos by scottpartee and mat.teo of flickr, respectively. Some rights reserved.
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