To Improve Skin, Visit Your Aesthetician — and Drink Tea

It all began to fall apart almost exactly 7 months ago today. On March 16, Gov. Jared Polis ordered restaurants and bars to shut down for at least 30 days, due to the Coronavirus. Shortly after that, the order extended to all businesses not deemed essential. That included Ku Cha House of Tea and most of our fellow merchants in Boulder, Denver and Fort Collins.

Ever since, we all have plodded through a world of masks, elbow bumps, social distance, Zoom and worry.

When not cooped up in the house, we Coloradans have been out on trails, hiking in the state’s brilliant sun. The anxiety, the solar radiation, the parades of sitting on couches and binge-watching — none of it has been good for our skin.

Today is National Aesthetician Day. It’s time to take care of the body’s largest organ, don’t you think?

Salons improve our lives

Before we get to tea — yes, some teas offer marvelous skin and overall body benefits — we urge people to consider visiting their friendly neighborhood salon. Liquor stores, dispensaries and grocers seem to have thrived during COVID. For the rest of us, it’s more like a collective nose dive.

Salons are among the hard-hit businesses. We lament this. The talented people who work in them are among the friendliest people we ever have encountered — true hospitality pros. Who doesn’t feel better after body scrubs, moisturizing treatments and facials administered by a cheerful and skin-savvy confidante?

Boulder, Cherry Creek and Denver support numerous high-quality salons. Our flagship Boulder store alone counts Tru Skincare, The Honey Pot, Aesthetics by Rachel and Vibrant Skin Care as neighbors. Meanwhile, we love our neighbor in Cherry Creek, Salon Utopia. The team of aestheticians at this salon offer wonderful skin, hair and nail treatments.

No matter where you live, let’s make appointments, shall we? Don’t forget your mask.

And let’s drink some tea, too!

Tea time is balm for skin

As you probably know, hydration of most kinds (probably not hydration via martinis, IPAs and Chardonnays) is essential for skin health. Consuming liquids is especially important in our arid Colorado climate. As a result, tea sipping in general improves skin health.

But some teas provide much more than hydration for skin. Herbs, it turns out, can improve the texture, appearance and health of skin. We offer a range of teas that help in different ways.

Tea for Skin: Organic Beauty Tea

As with all of the herbal teas we explore here, the key to the tea’s skin-enhancing qualities rests with the ingredients. This Organic Beauty tea, rich in A, C, E and B-complex vitamins, helps strengthen the keratin in hair and nails, fight acne and keep skin elastic and nourished.

Tulsi: In Sanskrit tulsi means “the incomparable one,” and we endorse its extreme excellence. Also known as Holy Basil, tulsi offers antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. The combination can prevent blackheads and acne. In addition, the bounty of vitamin K found in tulsi stimulates blood circulation, which promotes hair growth.

Nettles: Studies have shown that this common herbaceous perennial plan can clear acne and eczema, promote thicker, more glossy hair and encourage new hair growth. Nettles’ benefits revolve around its diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties.

Rose hips: These psuedo-fruits of the rose plant are found just beneath the intoxicatingly aromatic petals. Among other things, rose hips appear to encourage collagen synthesis, which is important: collagen, the body’s most abundant protein, is responsible for encouraging skin’s elasticity. In addition, the wealth of Vitamin C in rose hips helps protect against sun damage. Finally, rose hip tea contains something called astaxanthin, a carotenoid that may have anti-aging effects.

Dandelion: Research suggests that dandelion can mitigate skin inflammation, while at the same time boosting hydration and the production of collagen. Both of these qualities are vital for skin health, and also may be useful in treating acne.

Licorice: Studies have demonstrated that sipping two cups of licorice tea a day can mitigate symptoms of eczema. Licorice root is packed with anti-inflammatory properties, and inflammation is known as a primary cause for myriad skin issues.

Tea for Skin: Organic Sweet Heart Blend

In many ways, qualities of overall health can manifest in skin pallor, texture and elasticity. When hearts are struggling and digestion suffers, for example, the issues can reveal themselves through skin. Our Organic Sweet Heart blend involves herbs that have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine to strengthen hearts and digestion. 

The tea involves two ingredients we already have discussed: licorice and rosebuds, which while not precisely the same thing as rose hips offer the same health benefits. But this delicious tea also includes peppermint and hibiscus.

Peppermint: Clogged pores lead almost invariably to skin problems. One way to avoid them? Peppermint. The herb is full of antiseptic properties that prevent the bacterial accumulation that leads to clogged pores.

Hibiscus: This is a special flower for skincare. It’s loaded with vitamin C, which helps the body produce collagen, the health of which is paramount for skin health. It also contains myricetin, an antioxidant that suppresses collagen degradation. Finally, it serves as a source of alpha hydroxy acid, which can increase skin clarity.

Tea for Skin: Organic Meditation Blend

We don’t often think about how stress affects organs like the liver and the kidneys. They aren’t visible. But we understand how stress changes the body’s largest organ, skin. Too much stress cultivates wrinkles, especially in the face.

As a result, dampening stress stands as an important pursuit for skin health. We think meditation provides one of the best tools for calming the mind and softening the spirit.

This Organic Meditation blend includes several ingredients that help the mind stay alert and open during meditation. 

Yerba Mate: Like traditional tea, leaves from the South American shrub yerba mate contain caffeine. At about 85 mg of caffeine per serving, that makes yerba’s caffeine content less than a cup of coffee, but a bit more than most teas. The yerba mate in this blend is the ingredient that helps maintain alertness.

Ginkgo: The Ginkgo biloba tree, a native to China, is the oldest tree genus in the world. Fossils date back 270 million years ago to the Early Jurassic. Leaves from the tree, which now grows in many places around the world (including Boulder) are also fantastic vehicles for promoting blood circulation in the brain. As such, ginkgo is widely used to buttress memory and improve overall brain health. Strong brains are important for meditation.

Cinnamon: The body converts cinnamon into sodium benzoate, a powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant substance. Some recent research shows that sodium benzoate can help improve how the brain makes memories. It’s a potent spice for brain health.

Black Pepper: Piperine, a key component of black pepper, can soften depression and boost brain function, according to studies. 

Don’t forget to take good care

As we pass through autumn’s atmospheric charms and begin catching glimpses of Thanksgiving and the holidays on the horizon, let’s take care of ourselves. The past seven months have been rough. We are entering an especially busy time for everybody. On top of it all, we are just weeks away from an election.

Spend time with that congenial, smart aesthetician. Drink skin-happy teas. Meditate. Before we know it, 2021 will be here. We cannot wait.