Most of us throw away our used tea bags after a single use without giving it a second thought. If you’re a tea drinker, just think of how many tea bags you throw away during the cold winter days. While you may not wish to use the same tea bag to make a second cup of tea, there are plenty of other ways to reuse tea bags, whether as part of your beauty routine or in and around your home.
Here are some genius ways to reuse your old tea bags:
Personal care
Hydrate dry skin
Teas are rich in antioxidants that can be absorbed into the topmost layer of the skin, soothing it. Studies indicate that these antioxidants help prevent the spread of free radicals, compounds that cause damage to cellular macromolecules, such as proteins, lipids, and DNA.
Simply re-brew a few used tea bags and allow the tea to cool. Once cooled, pour it into a small (spray) bottle and spray the tea onto your face or apply it with a cotton pad. Then gently massage your skin, and finally wash your face with warm water.
Although any tea will do, the antioxidants in green tea are particularly useful for rehydrating dry skin, while chamomile tea is particularly useful for calming red, irritated skin.
Relaxing bath
For a relaxing bath, add a few used tea bags to your bath. The antioxidants in the tea leaves will help hydrate your skin and leave it feeling ultra-soft. Jasmine and chamomile are two teas known for their relaxing scents.
Alternately, you can take a footbath using warm water in which used tea bags have been soaked. It will not only relax you but also neutralize any odors and soften any calluses.
Soothe a sunburn
In spite of using sun protection, you may find your face sunburned on the hottest summer days. Soothe your skin and reduce inflammation with a mixture of green tea, honey, and lemon juice.
Add two used green tea bags to a bowl with two teaspoons of honey and a sprinkle of lemon juice. Apply this mixture to your skin and leave it for ten minutes. Then, make sure to rinse your face with lukewarm water thoroughly.
This recipe also works great for speeding up the healing of bruises and minor cuts.
Relieve puffy or sore eyes
The caffeine in tea bags does more than act as a stimulant when you drink that afternoon tea; it can help reduce puffiness or dark circles around your eyes.
The procedure is simple and easy to follow: Place two used tea bags in your fridge and let them cool for five minutes. Then, close your eyes and slightly press the teabags against them for a few minutes.
As you keep the bags on your eyes, the caffeine will “shrink” the surrounding blood vessels and leave your eyes feeling refreshed. To see significant results, make this part of your daily routine.
Green tea and black tea work best – due to their content of caffeine tannins – biomolecules that reduce puffiness.
In and around the house
Eliminate odors in your fridge
Smelling funky odors when you open your fridge? Place 2-4 used tea bags in an open bowl in the refrigerator and leave it for three days for the unpleasant odors to be fully absorbed.
Fertilize your plants
The high nitrogen (required for plant growth) content of tea leaves makes them effective fertilizers. You can use leftover tea, or re-brewed used tea bags, to water your plants. A mix of used tea leaves and other organic waste can be used as part of your potting mix. And if any of your plants require acidic soil, adding used tea leaves – which are mildly acidic – will do the trick.
Refresh your carpets
Mixing the leaves of a dried-out, used tea bag with a big handful of baking soda creates a beautiful, natural carper freshener. The combination of tea and baking soda will trap dirt and absorb smells. Sprinkle a small amount over smelly spots on your carpet, leave it for 20 minutes, and then thoroughly vacuum clean the carpet.
Clean greasy cooking pans
If like most of us, you have that one pan with a greasy, mess stuck to the inside that you just can’t seem to clean, tea offers the solution. Just place a teabag in the pan and fill it with hot water. Let it soak overnight to allow the tannins in the tea to help loosen the mess overnight. Scrubbing it clean in the morning will be a breeze!
Polish wood surfaces
Commercial wood floor cleaners contain toxic chemicals that you may prefer to keep out of your home. A couple of used tea bags steeped in warm water applied with a microfiber cloth, and followed by a good buff will naturally restore and add shine to your wooden floors and furniture.
