5 Scientific Reasons Green Tea Is Good For Your Skin

Is your skin overexposed to dust, pollution, and harsh UV rays? Has it become lifeless, patchy, full of dark spots, acne, or wrinkles, and too oily or too dry to touch? Certainly, your skin needs help.

Enter green tea – the potential one-stop solution to most skin problems. It is obtained from the plant Camellia sinensis. Green tea antioxidants and polyphenols can protect the skin and help retain its youth.

How Green Tea May Benefit Your Skin

1. Green Tea Can Help Manage Acne

Acne is a common problem among teenagers and adults. It occurs due to clogged pores, hormonal imbalance, excessive sebum production, bacterial infection, and inflammation around the sebaceous gland follicles.

Topical application of green tea for two weeks was effective in reducing sebum production and inflammation in the follicles. Ingestion of decaffeinated green tea extract (GTE) also showed promising results with a decreased number of acne lesion counts.

2. Green Tea Polyphenols Protect The Skin From UV Rays

Repeated and prolonged exposure to the sun’s harmful UV rays causes photoaging. EGCG, the green tea polyphenol, can help protect the skin from UVB rays and inhibit UVB-induced protein oxidation. This, in turn, can help prevent skin aging.

The topical application of green tea helps scavenge harmful free oxygen radicals produced due to UV exposure. Green tea may also help reduce skin pigmentation, but more research is needed to establish this.

3. Green Tea May Reduce The Risk Of UVB-Induced Skin Cancer

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, approximately 9,500 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with skin cancer every day. Harmful UV rays, chemicals, and toxins that affect the DNA are responsible for the growing number of people with skin cancer.

EGCG offers cancer-preventive effects and can help suppress tumor growth. A study showed that the polyphenols in green tea could be used as pharmacological agents to prevent solar UVB light-induced skin disorders like melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers and photoaging. Many other studies have concluded that regular consumption of green tea may help reduce the risk of skin cancer in mice and humans. However, more research on human subjects is required.

4. Green Tea Antioxidants Can Help Manage Skin Aging And Wrinkles

Our skin starts to wrinkle as we age. The collagen and elastin fibers in the skin make it look plump and smooth. But with age, these break down, causing the skin to fold and droop. Scientists found that green tea water extract reduced skin damage, promoted anti-wrinkling processes, and delayed collagen aging in mice. Tannase treatment was found to improve green tea’s antioxidant activity, thereby reducing wrinkles.

5. Green Tea May Protect The Skin Around The Eyes

The skin around the eyes is thin and very delicate. It wrinkles, ages, and becomes pigmented due to UV exposure, stress, poor lifestyle, genetics, and lack of sleep. Green tea’s antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, UV-protective, and anti-wrinkle properties may help protect the skin around the eyes from pigmentation, wrinkling, and sagging.

These are the 5 ways green tea can be useful for your skin.

But how to use it? Here are a few ways you can use green to solve most of your skin woes.

How To Use Green Tea For Skin

1. Drink Green Tea

Drinking green tea has many benefits. The antioxidants in green tea help flush out toxins from the body. This, in turn, may help your skin glow from within. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory properties can help reduce stress and improve sleep quality. Getting proper rest is also important for the skin to retain its freshness and youth.

2. Apply Green Tea On the Skin

The topical application of green tea may also help rejuvenate the skin and protect it from UV rays. You may prepare a green tea solution. Let it cool or come down to room temperature. Dab a cotton ball with green tea and apply it to the skin gently. It can act as a toner. You may also use it with homemade face packs.

3. Use Green Tea Bags

Don’t throw away the green tea bags after drinking a cup. Let the tea bags cool down to room temperature. Place them on your eyes. The cooling effect will help with eye strain due to excessive screen time and sun exposure. Regular application may also help reduce dark circles and under-eye bags.

Conclusion

Green tea antioxidants and polyphenols are natural healers. Whether you drink it or apply it, green tea may help improve your skin. Why wait? Start using green tea and take care of your skin. Cheers!

References: https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/anti-aging-benefits-of-green-tea/