I’m finding myself indulging way more then I should in the evenings. Couple this with spring allergies and I wake up looking a bit zombie like due to puffy skin under my eyes. I decided to make green tea ice cubes because as we know from THIS post, ice is fabulous for skin health (mainly puffiness) and from THIS post, we learned that green tea is full of properties that help reduce water retention as well as deliver a boat load of antioxidants!

These ice cubes are easy to make. They involve 4 ingredients-brewed and cooled green tea, green tea extract, aloe vera gel and witch hazel. Add these ingredients in a bowl, mix and pour into ice molds, freeze and VOILA-you have an effective, refreshing morning routine to help brighten your skin as well as improve puffy, tired eyes!

More Skin Care Ice Cubes:

• Aloe Vera Ice Cubes
• Cucumber Ice Facial
• Cucumber Mask

Green tea has magical powers when it comes to delivering a huge amount of age fighting antioxidants.

Caffeine helps tighten skin as well as release water retention. Freeze it and you double the benefits! Green tea is amazing at reducing inflammation (puffiness).

Green tea also protects against UV damage so drinking it or using it in your skin care during the summer is a great idea.

Green tea stimulates circulation. Getting the blood pumping can go a long way when trying to reduce water retention and it also helps the skin look healthier. 

The topical use of green tea helps to promote the health and quantity of collagen. Green Tea Extract is basically green tea on steroids so that makes this DIY off the charts effective! 

Witch Hazel has a tightening quality that helps “tone” the skin. It is also a powerful anti inflammatory. I’ve been using just plain ole witch hazel found HERE but you can make this recipe extra special by using THIS cucumber witch hazel since it smells lovely and cucumber is great at calming the skin and reducing water retention. 

Aloe Vera Gel contains antioxidants like beta carotene, vitamin C and E.   These are amazing qualities that make aloe excellent for moisturizing and anti aging! I probably don’t have to tell you how calming and gentle it is which is perfect for the delicate tissue around the eyes. 

Now that I’ve laid out all the benefits of each ingredient, let’s not forget the benefits of applying ice to the skin….

BENEFITS OF USING ICE ON THE SKIN:

• Stimulates blood circulation
• Stimulates collagen
• Primes skin for makeup
• Reduces redness
• Reduces puffiness/swelling
• Shrinks and fades pimples
• Reduces pain (great before and after a lip/brow wax)
• Relieves sunburns
• Prevents the formation of wrinkles
• Constricts the pores
• Soothes irritation
• Encourages lymphatic drainage

Green Tea Ice Cubes

• 1 cup brewed and cooled Organic Green Tea (find it HERE)
• 1/2 cup Cucumber Witch Hazel (find it HERE) or Plain Witch Hazel (HERE)
• 1/4 cup Aloe Vera Gel (find it HERE)
• 1/5 tbsp. Green Tea Extract (find it HERE) *Optional*

Directions:

1. Brew a very strong batch of green tea. I used 3 tea bags for 1 cup.
2. Let the green tea cool. You can place in the fridge.
3. Add aloe, witch hazel and green tea extract to the cooled tea.
4. Thoroughly stir mixture and pour into an ice cube tray. Green tea extract will take some effort to mix into the other ingredients. 

To Use:

1. Cleanse your skin.
2. Gently glide 1 ice cube around the eyes for 1-3 minutes.
3. If you find that your skin is sticky, rinse your skin with cool/cold water. If not, just leave it on!
4. Follow up with a toner and moisturizer.

These cubes are the perfect pick me up each morning. Not only do they reduce the appearance of puffy eyes, they also deliver a powerful punch of skin benefits to support your skin and deliver nourishment! I’ll be using these cubes all summer!

xx, Jenni

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