Errr, I just opened up my green tea extract

[Jeremy]

And it's not green, silly me to think green tea would be green. That is what I was hoping anyway, had dreams or the orient suddsing on my palms, but it's kinda brown. How have you used green tea extract and do you believe it to be beneficial and if so, how so?

 

[Maria]

I use matcha green tea in my green tea soap. The matcha powder dissolves and colors the soap a pale green and the rest of the tea leaves are various shades of brown and are the exfolliant.
As far as what it adds to the soap, I don't know. I don't care for an exfolliating soap in the shower but I think it makes a great kitchen soap. My customers feel otherwise as it turned out to be one of my best selling soaps.

 

[surf girl]

Maria, do you scent it with anything? Do you know if any tea scent remains?

 

[kaseencook]

I sometimes make soap with green tea (and other teas) steeped in the lye water (for the antioxidant properties to keep my canola from DOS).

I find that the green tea definitely turns the soap brown, but other teas like Ceylon have less of a browning effect.... which is interesting since if you were to brew green tea and Ceylon to drink, the Ceylon is obviously very dark and strong and the green tea is almost clear. I think this is because of how they process the tea. Green tea and Ceylon are from the same plant, but ceylon is fermented before dried and green is fermented after it is dried... I just heard that an hour ago on a TV program about food in India!! :shock:

Oh yea, and there was no tea smell in the finished product.....

 

[Maria]

Matcha green tea does not have much of a smell. I use an herbal type fragrance but I doubt I would smell it even if I didn't.
Keep in mind, I HP and add stuff like this after the soap is finished cooking. Once I added the tea into the lye and the soap turned a hideous shade of brown. I use about 3 oz of water and one serving of tea per pound of oil. I leave the tea in it and add the fragrance and jojoba to the mixture.

 

[beachgurl]

I use it in my lotions, and yes, it's brown. It's slightly astringent and very toning due to the high amount of antioxidants. Great additive; notice ProActive has started using it !!

 

[Jeremy]

in lotions, okay, cool, my wife wants me to make her some cream so I'll add some. It's funny, I must have ordered it because I saw it in a recipe somwhere but do you think I can find the recipe now...noooooooo.

 

[beachgurl]

LOL .. I do that all the time .. but it's great for faces .. and when my husband's feet are like minced meat (he's a Marine), I add some to a foot bath along with a little salt and tea tree ... even he, my biggest critic, admits that it works wonders.

 

[Jeremy]

Okay now I feel real inadequate, Marine???? I guess if it's good enough for a Marine it's good enough for a fat forty year old guy.

 

[beachgurl]

LOL ... it's really not that bad being a Marine, I was one too. The main thing you need to do is take care of your feet (you run on them, hike on them, they affect the knees, hips, back, etc). He fails to do so unless I make him; must be a guy thing :wink: You can add it to any lotion recipe, just make sure you adjust the water that you're using.