Why You Shouldn't Throw Away Your Tea Bags After Use: 7 Surprising Reasons

A Spanish-born physician named Dr. Victor Marchione published a blog post about seven unique uses for black tea bags, including skincare, plant care, and more. Dr. Marchione bases his opinion on studies about a key component in tea bags called tannin.

Tannin is a substance found in many types of plants, serving to protect the plant from predators. Tannin, found in grape skins, pomegranate, persimmon, banana, date, and tea, creates an astringency that causes a 'dry' sensation when biting unripe fruit.

According to Dr. Marchione, tannin is highly beneficial for calming and healing skin, stopping bleeding, and even improving soil quality for planting flowers.

Here are the 7 uses Dr. Marchione suggests for tea bags:

1. Injured or cut yourself? Soak a black tea bag in warm water and place it on the affected area for about five minutes. The tannin in the tea bag will help stop the bleeding. Similarly, it can stop gum bleeding. The tannin particles within help constrict blood vessels and reduce swelling.

2. Tannin also has remarkable ability to eliminate 'dark circles' under the eyes. The next time you drink a cup of black tea, store the tea bag in the refrigerator (up to two days) and use it for this purpose. Soak the tea bag in some warm water and place it on the dark circles for 15 minutes.

3. Got sunburned? No worries, the tea bag can help here too. Place the tea bag on the painful area for quick relief. If your whole body aches, Dr. Marchione suggests filling a bath with warm water, steeping 10-15 black tea bags in it, and soaking for 10 minutes. Polyphenols (antioxidants) and tannic acid will hasten the healing and soothing process of sunburned skin.

4. Neutralizing unpleasant odors in shoes: Inserting a tea bag into a smelly shoe overnight can easily solve the problem. By the next morning, the odors will disappear. You can also soak your feet in a footbath of tea bags as mentioned before, to rid unwanted odors.

5. Tea bags help relieve eye pain and infections – simply place the tea bag over the eyes for 20 minutes. This action helps release infectious secretions and reduces redness and swelling.

6. Black tea bags 'specialize' in softening and healing cracked lips (similar to lip balm). Pressing the tea bag on the lips for 30 seconds will work wonders for your feeling and gradually heal the wounds (although not immediately).

7. Tea bags have also proven effective in healing mosquito and other insect bites, providing a cost-effective alternative to creams and gels that may not always be effective.

And one additional tip unrelated to personal healing but certainly helpful if you're trying to plant flowers in 'problematic' soil: According to Dr. Marchione, black tea bags also act as strong 'degreasers' from utensils, as well as soil enhancers.