With all the health benefits of Japanese green tea — from boosting immunity to improving overall mental health — it’s no surprise that this ancient superfood also has a plethora of beauty benefits. Either used topically or ingested as your favorite beverage or treat, Japanese green tea can help fight the signs of aging, treat acne, hydrate your skin, and so much more.

As we know, beauty certainly comes from within. But beauty also starts with a foundation of good skin, and good skin starts with feeding that skin with healthy, clean ingredients. Japanese green tea is chock full of vitamins, antioxidants, and other components that work wonders for rejuvenating, restoring, and maintaining healthy, glowing skin.

Here are five key ways that incorporating more Japanese green tea into your daily life and on your journey to simplify you can help your beauty shine. We’ve even thrown in a few easy-to-make at-home spa treatments using Japanese green tea to treat yourself or a loved one this Valentine’s Day. They’re not just a great way to pamper yourself — and your skin — but these recipes are also sustainable and good to the Earth as they feature used tea leaves or tea bags and leftover Matcha. Enjoy them for a night of self-care, for an at-home spa day with friends, or wrap them up as gifts for Valentine’s Day — or Galentine’s Day, if you prefer!

The top 5 beauty and skincare benefits of Japanese green tea are…

One of the secret weapons in the quest for eternal youth is getting your “beauty sleep” every night. Theanine, a key amino acid in Japanese green tea, can help with that as well. It contains components that promote relaxation and calmness, which in turn help you get a good night’s sleep and aids you on your journey to simplify you.

Drinking caffeine to sleep might sound counter-productive, but it’s actually not. According to research studies, Japanese green tea can actually promote both the quality of sleep and the quantity if consumed in lower amounts throughout the day. Here’s the reason why: Theanine works to reduce stress-related hormones and neuron excitement in the brain, which helps the brain to relax. Of course, a relaxed mind leads to a good night’s sleep. A few low-caffeine Japanese green teas to try for this are Hojicha and Bancha.

Japanese green tea features a good amount of Vitamins C, B2, and E. Both B2 and C help with the maintenance of healthy skin and music membrane (collagen formation). B2 plays an especially important role in maintaining collagen, which helps provide skin a youthful appearance through firmness and structure. Vitamins C and E are also strong antioxidants that protect the skin. Additionally, Vitamins E also supports new skin cell growth and helps to hydrate and nourish skin to give it a softer, younger appearance.

Here is a very simple recipe for a mask you can make with your leftover Japanese green tea to give you hydrated, healthy, and glowing skin…

Japanese Green Tea Hydrating Facial Mask Recipe
Ingredients:
— 1 Japanese green tea bag or 1 teaspoon of green tea
— 1 tablespoon of baking soda
— 1 tablespoon of organic honey

Step 1: Brew a cup of tea and let it steep for an hour. Drink up and enjoy the cup of tea!
Step 2: When the tea bag has cooled off, open it up to get the tea leaves out.
Step 3: Mix the tea leaves with the baking soda and honey in a bowl. If it’s too thick, you can add a little leftover green tea or water.
Step 4: Clean and dry your face.
Step 5: Apply the mask over your face and gently massage it into your skin.
Step 6: Leave on for 15 minutes and then rinse off with warm water.

Japanese green tea also has anti-inflammatory properties from its high content of polyphenols. This helps reduce redness, irritation, and swelling. Applied topically, it has additional benefits, such as soothing minor cuts and sunburn as well as the irritation and itching.

Additionally, the caffeine and tannins in Japanese green tea help reduce puffiness under the eyes and swelling. How does it work? The caffeine constricts the blood vessels in the thin skin under the eyes, which reduces the puffiness and inflammation. This treatment is especially good after a crying jag, when hungover, or if your eyes are puffy due to seasonal allergies.

How to use tea bags to treat puffy or swollen eyes:
Step 1: Steep two tea bags as you normally would. Drink up and enjoy!
Step 2: Chill the used tea bags in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Step 3: Place the tea bags under closed eyes for 15-20 minutes.

The mighty catechins in Japanese green tea have an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antibiotic effect, which helps fight acne and unclog pores. It does this in a few ways. First, when applied topically to the skin, Japanese green tea helps reduce sebum secretion, which can lead to acne. Second, when consumed, the polyphenols also have the power to fight infection by damaging bacterial membranes, which means it controls the bacterial growth that can cause acne. To apply topically, try this mask…

Japanese Green Tea Acne Mask
Ingredients:
— 2 tea bags or 2 teaspoons of Japanese green tea leaves
— 1 tablespoon of aloe vera gel (either from a bottle or straight from a plant if you have one)

Step 1: Remove the leaves from the tea bags
Step 2: Mix the tea leaves with the aloe vera gel
Step 3: Spread the mixture on the acne-prone areas of your face
Step 4: Leave the mask on for 10-20 minutes
Step 5: Rinse off with warm water

The antioxidant EGCG (catechin) and the abundance of the aforementioned B2 vitamin have another benefit for beauty as well. It has powerful anti-aging properties and helps with cell rejuvenation. This aids in turning dull skin into younger, healthier-looking skin, while the B2 also helps with premature sagging.

Dr. Stephen Hsu, a cell biologist in the Medical College of Georgia Department of Oral Biology, conducted a study that found that EGCG reactivated dying skin cells. “Cells that migrate toward the surface of the skin normally live about 28 days, and by day 20, they basically sit on the upper layer of the skin getting ready to die. But EGCG reactivates them. I was so surprised,” said Dr. Hsu in his report.

To slough off the dead skin that shows signs of aging, try this recipe…

Matcha Sugar Scrub
Ingredients:
— 1 ¼ cup organic sugar
— ¼ cup coconut oil (jojoba, sunflower, or grapeseed oil works as well)
— 2 tea bags or 2 teaspoons of green tea leaves
— 1 teaspoon of Matcha powder (if you have Matcha powder that is about to expire, this is a great use for it!)

Step 1: After enjoying your cup of tea, dry out the used tea bags or loose tea. If using bags, open them up to release the loose tea first.
Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Step 3: If using coconut oil and it’s hard, melt it first.
Step 4: Slowly add the oil to the dry mixture until you get the consistency of damp sand.
Step 5: Apply to a slightly damp face and neck with your hands, gently massaging in a circular motion for a few minutes. Wipe it off with warm water. You can also use this as a body scrub in the shower.

We hope you take time out of your hectic lives to love yourself, love your skin, and always partake in some pampering and self-care. We’d love to see you enjoy Japanese green tea, so try out these treatments and share them on social media with the hashtag #JourneyToSimplifyYou and tag us at @justteayourself.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Disclaimer: Recommendations may not have been formally tested by us or for us and we do not provide any assurances nor accept any responsibility or liability with regard to their originality, quality or safety.