Matcha Madness

Matcha - The green powder and tea that we see all over trendy instagram accounts, it's that cool it even now has it's own emoji! It's even taken over Avacado on toast and Chia seeds - now that's saying something!

It's worth noting that the colour determines the quality, the brighter the better. I always buy Organic Matcha Powder from either Teapigs or a pack from Goodness Direct website. See the image for a good idea on colours.

I've been having matcha powder every morning for the last six weeks, it tastes much better than its weaker sister green tea, lets face it green tea is vile! Matcha tea apparently has 137x more antioxidants than regular green tea, and one cup of matcha tea = 10 cups of regularly brewed green tea in terms of nutritional content. Plus just one little teaspoon of good quality organic matcha contains enough antioxidants to cover you for three days! three whole days! Beats the skincare we religiously slather on daily at £100+ a bottle, don't get me wrong I'm still using my Vintners Daughter a few times a week and a good Vitamin C serum every morning from Roccoco Botanicals, better safe than sorry, right? and I'm a recovering sunbed addict who needs all the help I can get.

There are so many benefits to implementing matcha into your daily life, but for me personally, I am struggling with an immunity disorder that affects my full body, but mainly exhaustion, memory loss, and my skin. I have noticed the immediate effects of increased energy but I am  yet to see any skin results, however, I have been also under extreme stress, and I mean extreme so my skin is suffering hugely. The way I have my daily matcha is in a smoothie every single morning.

Recipe
Matcha Madness
I sachet of teapigs matcha,
1 green skinned banana,
1 handful of baby spinach,
Half a pint of organic nut milk such as coconut or almond,
A quarter of a teaspoon of turmeric,
I also add in my bio-kult probiotic 
2 teaspoons of Moringa powder
1 huge spoonful of pre-soaked chia seeds and another of linseeds.
Whizz it in the blender anfd voila! a superfood smoothie, about 1 pints worth.

However, I need to address the rest of my eating habits *insert eye roll.
I am struggling now with cystic acne under my jaw, itchy weird bumps, after being acne prone since i 19 and having had accutaine  with devastating mental health results and a minimum clear skin time, I am now trying to avoid a third bout rather desperately and have turned to skincare and inner health, with not much luck thus far, however I will keep going as these things do not happen over night. Saying that the rest of my face is pretty clear after using a great skincare brand from Australia , Roccoco Botanicals Trial
So Mathca Powder is seemingly a great choice for me, especially as I am now approaching 40 fast and need a bloody miracle.

So whats to lose, right?

Nothing, except cost. A decent one is usually quite pricey, I currently use Teapigs 100% pure organic matcha, it contains 14 single serve sachets, which last two weeks at a sachet per day £12.75.
The benefits:

• High in Antioxidants - Antioxidants are the magical nutrients and enzymes responsible for fighting against the negative effects of UV radiation and free radicals, giving us younger looking skin, and help preventing lots of life threatening maladies. Also protects against inflammation in the body, these antioxidants also help eliminate acne  (I hope) and other types of skin eruptions and roughness. The strong presence of the  EGCG antioxidant in matcha slows cell degeneration to impede the ageing process, promoting smooth, tight skin tgat retains moisture and natural smooth colour tones... YES please!

• Chlorophyll - During the last few weeks of growing, matcha leaves are kept covered for protection from the sun. This results in higher chlorophyll production which is what makes matcha such a vivid green, it also makes matcha a strong detoxifying agent for the users, cleansing the bodies entire system of toxins and hazardous chemicals and other impurities, leaving the skin glowing and radiantly clean.

• Natural Antibiotics - Matcha has a variety of natural or organic substances that have a powerful antibiotic acton for the body. These include catechins, Vitamins A and  C, calcium, protein, iron and potassium. As these cleansing agents cleanse the internal system, they purify and and smooth the skin too, eliminating any blemishes or rashes. A healthy immune system also promotes clear, well hydrated and youthful skin with good elasticity and resilience.
• DIY Beauty Treatments - You can use matcha powder as a face mask, with fantastic results,  I have only tried matcha on its own as a mask but  I found some other recipes on good old google.....

Honey & Matcha Mask
1 teaspoon of matcha powder and 1 teaspoon of organic raw manuka honey pref medigrade, mix the two to form a paste, spead the mixture all over your freshjly cleansed face in circular motions and leave for 20 minutes before removing with a clean, warm facecloth.

Matcha & Yoghurt or Keffir Mask
For a probiotic rich and brightening mask try mixing with plain yoghurt or even better keffir, I used to do a plain, organic yoghurt mask a while ago, I'm not sure why I stopped actually, it gave me instant and quite shocking in a good way results. It instantly smooths, brightens and fights the acne bacteria, it plumps skin beautifully (rushes to Sainsburys for keffir). Simply mix a teaspoon of matcha with plain, organic yoghurt and apply to freshly cleansed skin, leave for 20 minutes and wash away with a cleanm, warm flannel.

I use matcha on its own, 1 teaspoon of matcha with a few drops of filtered water, go slowly stiring with the end of my mask brush stick, until its a nice consistency.  With 1 sachet (teaspoon) there was just enough to cover my whole face and under my jaw, but paying more attention and applying a thicker layer to my jawline and under, it dries like a mud mask, to remove I held on a warm wet, steaming flannel then wiped off ever so gently. This morning I found my skin to be much more settled, and some of the cysts that were struggling to break free are sratring to come out to the surface. I will be doing this 1 x a week, and another interesting one is mixing it with May Lindstrom The Problem Solver mask, although this is expensive £72 I believe every acne prone should have it in, and use 3 x a week. It lasts forever, again more on that later.

Other variations I found are: mixing with pumpkin for a firming, brightening and exfoliating mask. Mix with mashed bananas or avacado for those with dry skin. The possibilities are endless, I love a good multi-tasking product.

Anyway I digress.... back to the benefits of Matcha...

• Boosts metabolism and burns calories.
• Calms the mind and relaxes the body.
• Detoxifies effectively and naturally.
• Is rich in fibre and vitamins.
• Enhances mood and aids concentration.
• Prevents disease.
• Lowers cholesterol and blood sugar.

Please let me know what results youve had from implementing Matcha in your life.
Skincare Secrets
resources>>>
www.matchasource.com
www.naturallivingideas.com
www.matchasecrets.com