Love Your Skin With TEA.L

 “We love tea.” That is how TEA.L, a producer of all natural body care products, begins its discussion of its company philosophy.  When I learned about TEA.L back in 2019, I was immediately intrigued by their embrace of tea for self-care.  And I thought:  all-natural body care products that are made with real tea?  Yes!  Count me in!

 

I wanted to try all 3 TEA.L products, so I ordered the TEA.L Ceremony Set which includes the green tea & guayusa face lotion, the green tea & rooibos body lotion, and the green tea & yerba mate eye cream. I used these three products until gone and was hooked. The delicate scent of these all-natural products (no artificial fragrance) suited my very sensitive nose and appealed to me - especially in the lotion and cream that I use on my face.  The scent of the body lotion is delicate and appealing as well. After using these products for a while, my skin felt soft and well hydrated. So that’s my testimonial regarding the products. 

 

My initial exploration of the TEA.L website convinced me that not only did I want to try the TEA.L products, but that I wanted to learn more about the men behind them.  So I have interviewed TEA.L founders, Zhao Lu and Ronald Taylor.

 

I love your philosophy that everyone deserves to practice self-care.  Tell us a bit about your self-care routines - both those that involve tea and those that don't.

 

Covid has completely changed our self care routines in a very positive way, as we are able to dedicate more time to self care with less social distractions. Tea plays a central role in our renewed routines, as now we actually have time to follow a routine daily and steep loose leaf almost every single time. I (Zhao) usually have 4 cups of dragonwell a day and I changed it up once in a while with Guayusa (if I need more caffeine) or some sort of Chinese black tea. Ron, on the other hand, prefers Gyokuro or Yerba Mate in daytime. We do enjoy Rooibos together after dinner to aid digestion or mellow down before bed.

 

Outside of tea, we lift weights 5x a week in our home gym, which really helps relieve stress and build up stamina. Another area we are focused on is sleep hygiene, i.e. being mindful of winding down an hour or so before bedtime, no phones, no TV, and incorporate aromatherapy into the unwind process. We actually drew inspiration from aromatherapy to develop the scent for TEA.L products: we want to make them smell like something we are happy to fall asleep to.

 

In the "About TEA.L" page of your website you encourage people to live authentic lives that reflect who they are beneath any label they might carry. This is a beautiful idea and I would love to hear more about how authenticity comes through in your own lives, in your company, and in your products.

 

Living authentic lives came from a place really close to our hearts. Both me and Ronald learned the importance of self-care, both physically and mentally, while growing up gay in small towns. And I personally immigrated to the US 10 years ago from China with limited language skills and zero acquaintance. As we stumble and tumble to establish an authentic self in our adulthood, we have to fight the stigma and prejudice associated with the labels put on us. I think a lot of people nowadays can relate to that experience to a certain extent, and that experience continues for all of us. Through TEA.L, we want to empower everyone with labels on their backs by giving them an authentic way to heal after they work so hard to establish their true self. Tea, for the longest time, instead of being known by their names, origins and unique profiles, carries a color category and lives in a pre-packaged teabag or some sort of chemical extract for beauty purposes. So I can’t think of a better vehicle to carry that message.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to “talk” with me Zhao and Ronald!  

And now for a special offer from TEA.L: You will receive 30% off of your full TEA.L order between now and September 30, 2020 with the exclusive code TEADIARY30. You can only use the code once, so fill up your cart the first time around.  Visit TEA.L at https://tealotion.com/ to get your discount by entering TEADIARY30 at checkout!