Mar 24, 2016

Above Average: I Tried an Overnight Detox Tea to See if I Could Really Lose Weight in My Sleep – TheGloss

nene tea

(GIF: Tumblr)

If you follow any of the Kardashians on Instagram, you’re at least somewhat aware of detox teas. There are any number of them out on the market right now, ranging from the Instagram-famous Flat Tummy Tea to campier name brands like BooTea, SkinnyMe, or Skinny Teatox. I’m generally wary of products that claim to detox your body, mostly because my experience with senna teas (senna is the main ingredient in lots of detox teas) has been, well, shitty, both literally and figuratively.

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But I remained curious. So many celebrities claim to have tons of success using these detox teas for weeklong periods of time, and as someone who’s done multiple cleanses, subsisted on soup and eggs for weeks at a time, and is generally always on the hunt for a quick fix despite the fact that I know that quick fixes aren’t even really a thing, detox teas seemed like they could be something I could add to my arsenal every so often.

Enter BikiniBOD‘s new Beauty Sleep tea ($29.99). Launched just last month, it claims to do the following overnight:

“This tea will help curb your late night appetite, help give you luminous skin and assist in cleansing and detoxifying your system, all while helping you to achieve the coveted full night’s sleep.”

It reportedly also:

  • Supports beautiful skin with collagen
  • Supports well-being with rooibos and antioxidant properties
  • Supports appetite control
  • Helps cleanse and detoxify
  • Promotes calm relaxed state and supports rejuvenating sleep

I’m a late-night snacker, I’ve never been a good sleeper, and I never say no to luminous skin, so this tea seemed like something I could get on board with. Plus, there’s absolutely no senna in it, so I wasn’t worried about whether or not I would need a diaper to get through the night. So, I set out to drink the Beauty Sleep tea every night for one week.

beautysleep

The tea itself isn’t a tea in the traditional sense. It’s actually a powder stick (it sort of has an Emergen-C or Crystal Light consistency) that you pour into either hot or cold water and stir until it’s completely mixed through. Once your tea is mixed, it looks a lot like a normal cup of coffee with a small splash of cream mixed in. The smell isn’t great, but then again, you’re detoxing, so that’s to be expected.

The tea is super sweet, due in part, I assume, to the vanilla-y flavor from the rooibos in it. Getting used to the taste and texture is actually the hardest part about keeping up this tea regimen, really. It’s a bit too sweet for my taste, so I found it a challenge to get through a full mug most nights, and it left a strange, filmy feeling on my teeth. It goes away the second you drink water or brush your teeth before bed, but it still wasn’t the most pleasant feeling.

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But after a week of consistent use, I can say that I’m not mad at this detox tea. I have days, especially the week before my period (which is when I did this experiment), where I’ll wake up bloated for no particular reason. This tea somehow combated that bloat, and I woke up with a flatter-than-normal stomach. It didn’t have much of an effect on my skin or my sleeping patterns, but it definitely curbed my nighttime snack cravings and I guess it was as relaxing as any other hot cup of tea at bedtime while marathoning Friends can be.

So, is this detox tea worth it? Maybe. I feel weird recommending detox teas to people, just because they’ve been proven to be just pure BS so many times before, but this tea made me feel really good. If I had to guess, I think it’s due to the variety of natural ingredients, even if I was initially turned off by the tea’s powdery texture. Long story short: if you’re looking for a serious detox, this tea won’t be your favorite, but if you want to cure belly bloat and curb late-night snack cravings all while enjoying a nice, sweet, tea, this could be your jam.

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