Green Tea Benefits for Skincare: Powerful Ingredient or Pointless Fad?
Green Tea Benefits for Skincare: Powerful Ingredient or Pointless Fad?
Green tea is well known as a superfood, but did you know it’s also a superstar skincare ingredient?
In this post we’re going to shine a spotlight on the benefits of green tea for skin, bur first, a quick dive into the history of green tea:
Green Tea Origins
Green tea was discovered and brought home by Japanese monks in China around the 7th century. It quickly became famed for its healing properties and became a common drink for monks, used to help enhance their meditation, focus and energy for centuries.
In the modern age, green tea has become known as a superfood, primarily due to it’s very high concentration of antioxidants - regular drinking of green tea can reduce inflammation, help detoxification, and even reduce cholesterol and lower blood pressure.
The benefits of green tea for skincare, however, are much more recently discovered and less commonly used. With that said, scientific evidence is growing that green tea is a beneficial topical skincare ingredient. Some of the most accepted benefits include:
Effectively reduces inflammation
Just like ingesting green tea can reduce inflammation, this works topically too. The high levels of polyphenols in green tea can reduce redness, irritation and swelling, soothing the skin and preventing outbreaks.
Works as an Antibacterial Agent
The same polyphenols referenced above are able to damage bacteria membranes and fight bacteria, preventing infection and stopping bacteria from spreading further. Since bacterial growth in pores is the leading cause of acne, green tea can be effective both at preventing and fighting acne symptoms. When combined with the anti-inflammatory effects of green tea, it will help keep your skin calm, clear and zit-free.
Protects Against Sun Damage
Yep, it’s the polyphenols again! Most people interested in skincare know that UV damage from the sun is the worst thing for your skin. It’s not just that sunburn hurts - even mild sun exposure can age the skin, dry it out, or even cause skin cancer.
Thankfully, the polyphenols found in green tea have photoprotective qualities, meaning they can protect the skin from sun damage and prevent UV light related skincare disorders!
Packed full of Powerful Nutrients
Green tea is rich in vitamin E and B2, two of the most important nutrients for skin health. B2 will help to manage collagen levels, leaving skin bouncy, youthful and firm. Vitamin E can help support new cell growth and repair, as well as dramatically reversing dry skin and aiding in hydration.
Protects from Pollution
As pollution and industry grows around us, our skin becomes more and more under assault by particle pollution. Pollution from car fumes, dust and more can all coat our skin, block our pores and cause all kinds of issues from irritation and itchiness to acne and aging.
However, one of the polyphenols found in green tea known as EGCG has been found to protect the skin from pollutants and help remove nasty foreign substances from pores.
Effective on Puffy Skin & Dark Circles
Green tea is rich in both caffeine and a class of astringent biomolecules known as tannins. Both of these have been found to help shrink blood vessels, which makes them highly effective at brightening dark circles and treating puffy eyes.
How to Use Green Tea for Skincare
Given all of the above benefits, it would be irresponsible to have a skincare routine that doesn’t include green tea in some way. Given the wide range of benefits green tea provides, combined with the fact it can help improve moisturisation - one of the best ways to implement green tea into your regime is a face mask that is high in green tea, allowing you to sit and absorb the benefits before/after your other skincare products.
We would recommend taking the following steps:
-
Cleanse thoroughly
Cleansing should always be the first step of any skincare routine, and ideally double cleansing if possible. This will remove environmental contaminants, excess oil and dirt, and prepare the skin for the following products, ensuring nasty unwelcome bacteria doesn’t get trapped under them.
-
Use a quality toner
A toner will help to further clean your skin while also softening and nourishing it, while brightening your complexion. An AHA serum or a toner rich in hyaluronic acid can also be great options for this stage.
-
Green tea mask time!
Now that your skin is well cleansed and toned, it’s time to let it absorb that green tea goodness. Our hydrating green tea facial mask is ideal for boosting hydration while providing all of the green tea benefits. It is rich in concentrated green tea allowing you to harness the full power of the ingredient, while also containing hyaluronic acid, jojoba oil and other beneficial ingredients, resulting in plumper, softer skin after every use.
Whether you use our green tea facial mask or already have one of your own, simply follow the directions for use and take your time, allowing the green tea to absorb into your skin and do it’s thing.
-
Continue with your usual routine
For most people, the above will be enough to keep your skin and pores clean, bright, healthy and hydrated. However, if you already have other products you enjoy using such as skin serums, moisturizers or SPF protection, now is the time to add them - so they can cover your newly protected skin and be absorbed slowly throughout the day.