The Beauty of Tea

You've heard the advice: for a flawless complexion you must drink eight, 8oz glasses of water a day. If you are like me, water can be a bit...BORING! Sure we all love that occasional clear, crisp glass of water especially on a hot day or after a vigorous workout. But, ugh, it can be a chore and I confess I do not keep to it.

However my skin looks better and better with each passing day.

Instead of turning to sugary, syrupy soft drinks, drink tea. As tea is mostly water exchanging a few cups of tea with cups of water per day you will still get your recommended daily amount; but with much more flavor. I personally enjoy green, white and rooibos tea. My favorite store is Teavana, which are in several higher-end malls across the country but their prices are very affordable. They sell loose tea in the old-fashioned way our ancestors used to drink it. The average teabag in the grocery store is very chopped up and that process leaches the health benefits and you end up with less than what you should consume per serving for the best results. Teavana does offer tea bags in which to put your loose tea if you do not have time to steep your tea or if you want your tea away from home without having to carry its cannister.

Here is pertinent information about each of the teas I named:



White Tea- Hundreds, if not thousands of years ago, this tea was drunk exclusively by Chinese royalty and no one else. It was and still is more expensive than any other. White tea is has a delicate taste and natural sweetness and is fantastic for your skin. Possessing very little caffeine, white tea is very high in antioxidants; far surpassing green tea in this respect. White tea only has to be slightly sweetened but then again this is relative to your taste. The tea at the left is Pear White Luna from Teavana.


Green Tea- This tea is very mainstream these days. It can be found on any supermarket shelf next to soft drinks and other iced teas. Green tea has a motherlode of antioxidants, though not as much as white tea or rooibos, and is great for the skin, hair, teeth and bones. My favorite Teavana green tea is their Green Tea Heaven pictured at left. Teavana describes it as, "A lavishly aromatic blend of Sencha, strawberry, raspberry, rhubarb, and red currants." Yummy! Also, green tea helps regulate blood sugar, so this is great for diabetics. Green tea does need to be sweetened so use pure rock sugar (as opposed to the white refined sugar) or honey.

Rooibos Tea- This tea is harvested from a red bush in South Africa. More antioxidants than green tea, but less than white, it is caffeine free, rich in minerals and vitamins and aids in digestion. These teas are fantastic over ice. At left is pictured the Teavana Peach Rooibos. I drink this tea in combination with their Blueberry Bliss tea and I usually ice it. Heaven in a cup. Rooibos may also help with allergy problems and is, like the other two, excellent for skin, hair, bones and teeth.

So much better than Coke or Sprite or the very boring and occasionally refreshing water. Drink to your health. Drink to your beauty.

Above: Imperial Red Hibiscus from the Imperial Tea Court.