It’s no secret that green tea is extremely beneficial to the human body. It might as well be considered the best ingredient to ever exist. It boosts countless aspects of us that it’s almost impossible to list down every single good thing it does. One of the more significant ones is its benefits for our skin! Not only does green tea have a positive impact on us internally, it also improves our externalities like the skin in terms of quality and physique!
Table of Contents
What is Green Tea?
Most of the time, green tea is associated with the Japanese and Chinese. Fair enough, though, as those are where they originated from. Green tea comes from the leaves of a specific plant called the Camellia sinensis plant. Other teas such as black, white and oolong tea come from similar types of plant.
Green tea has a yellowish colour that’s almost green for some. The flavour of the green tea can be described as a reflection of the world — earthy taste with a calming aroma. This tea is also the least processed tea which allows it to retain most of its benefits. Hence why green tea is used for countless of symptoms and illness.
Uses of Green Tea
When the Japanese monks in the 7th century discovered the healing properties of green tea from their travel to China, it became a staple for them in the following centuries. Not to mention that the daily consumption of green tea enhances the focus and calms the mind. This belief in the powerful effects of green tea on health has been brought to today’s Japanese people and eventually the world.
Green tea also has health benefits including detoxifying your body, improving heart health and maintaining good levels of blood pressure. It’s best for people with liver disorders, diabetes and even weight gain as there have been countless of studies that showed positive results.
As green tea contains the most number of antioxidants compared to any other tea, there are various of benefits from that such as cancer prevention from UV rays.
Benefits of Green Tea for Skin
Because of its wonderful list of benefits, green tea has since been included in skincare in a couple of different ways. From cleansers to moisturizers, there is bound to be one of each type of skincare product with focus on the green tea ingredients.
There has been multiple scientific research to prove the effectiveness of green tea for skin. Green tea is known to be one of the best ingredients for skin health and skin treatment for disorders, and tests have been done to prove that.
So, what’s so good about green tea that it can do all that? Here’s a list of the benefits of green tea when you use it on skin!
1. Anti-Inflammatory Properties
This is one of the most valued benefits of green tea, skincare or not. Green tea has a high level of catechins, a type of polyphenols, that improves swelling and redness, as well as reducing irritation. When you’re feeling puffy, throw on a green tea face mask — it’s so hydrating and the swelling and redness will go away in no time!
2. Reduce Oiliness
Green tea has been marketed as a useful tool to combat oily skin. The reason is because the tannin compounds in green tea are able to shrink the pores in your face, which will slow down your sebum production. Avoid the harsh, chemical ingredients and use green tea instead to achieve a less oily complexion.
3. Exfoliates
Green tea is a wonderful exfoliation tool naturally without the use of other chemical skincare ingredients. This helps with the removal of dead skin, excess oil, blackheads and any other pollutants.
Even though it is slightly abrasive in texture, it is gentle enough to be used on acne-prone skin. Green tea is known to improve acne as well.
4. Protects from Sun Damage
Just like now consuming green tea can prevent you from getting cancer from UV rays, having green tea in your skincare product also has the same benefit. Green tea protects your skin from sun damage as the ingredient prevents the inflammation of the skin that is caused by the sun exposure. This is because of its anti inflammatory properties, too.
5. Anti-Aging
This might be an amazing benefit for some. Not a lot of people like to look older, and green tea is good at preventing that. The catechin EGCG in green tea can reactivate dying skin cells that improves your skin quality. The formation of wrinkles and age spots that are caused by free radical damage can be avoided with green tea in skincare.
BONUS: Supports Growth in Scalp
Green tea is not only great for your skin in terms of face and body, it’s also great for the hair! The catechins and polyphenols in green tea have been proven to stimulate hair growth by improving the cell turnover in hair follicles.
How to Use Green Tea for Skin
There is no one way to use green tea for your skin. In this day and age, green tea is added into so many different types of products. These products contain the valuable ingredient which is the EGCG antioxidant. This antioxidant is hard to find, but green tee is abundant in them. This antioxidant, along with others, are what gives the green tea skincare products the benefits of green tea.
A cleanser with green tea as one of the ingredients is basically what it says it is. It cleanses your skin from pollutants and even make up from the day. Some cleansers can be quite harsh to the skin but a green tea cleanser will clean your pores without getting rid of your natural face oils.
A green tea exfoliant or face scrub will be way gentler than the chemical ones. You won’t have to worry about being too rough to your skin with a green tea exfoliant or face scrub as green tea is a natural ingredient that’s effective with its detoxing even though it’s gentle.
Sometimes, having green tea in a serum form is a good way to nourish your complexion and give yourself that glow. This can help you get rid of any existing wrinkles or formation of new ones. The boost of all the good stuff green tea lets your skin manage a good balance, which will make an even, healthy complexion.
Recommended Green Tea Skincare Products
Ever since the skincare industry discovered the benefits of green tea for skin, there have been endless of products online and in stores that have green tea in them. Some brands also have a whole green tea product line!
If you’re only beginning to get into green tea skincare products, it might be quite overwhelming to go through the whole market. Here’s our top three green tea product recommendations!
1. Green Tea EGCG Concentrate Defense Cream
If you’re extremely new to green tea, the best product to go for first is the cream. It’s the gentlest type of product of them all. What’s more, it stores your natural moisture in your skin as well as provides you with more. The Green Tea EGCG Concentrate Defense Cream does that and more. This product still has the natural caffeine that’s in green tea, so the tannins from it will help in brightening your skin, reduce the puffiness and prevent skin-aging.
2. The Face Shop Real Nature Green Tea Face Mask
Everyone loves a good face mask. Nothing beats The Face Shop Real Nature Green Tea Face Mask. Be it before bed or after a good brush of the teeth in the morning, this green tea face mask will keep your skin hydrated and radiant, locking in moisture that your skin needs.
3. Innisfree The Green Tea Seed Serum
If you want to go a step further with green tea products, instead of applying it on the surface level, add green tea to deep within your skin and pores. A serum can do just that. Innisfree’s The Green Tea Seed Serum is a great serum that will fill up your pores with all the hydration green tea can provide.
Recipes of Green Tea for Skin
If you like a good DIY or would prefer all-natural than a skincare product where green tea is mixed with other ingredients, make some green tea green tea stuff for your skin on your own. Here are two recipes — a toner to reduce the appearance of large pores, and a mask to help with acne, discolouration and anti-aging — just for that!
Toner
Materials
Green tea, raw apple cider vinegar, natural essential oilTools
Container (for mixing), spray bottle (for storage)Steps
- Brew green tea in a container.
- Add apple cider vinegar and natural essential oil, and mix well.
- Pour the mixture into the spray bottle and let it cool.
Yogurt Mask
Materials
Greek yogurt, green tea leaves (or matcha powder), turmeric powder, coconut oil (optional)Tools
Mixing bowlSteps
- Mix all the ingredients (excpt coconut oil) at once in a mixing bowl until well mix.
- Add the oil in accordance to your texture of your skin (or opt out entirely).
- Directly apply to the face and let it sit for 20 minutes.
- Rinse off. Use once or twice a week.
Precautions to Have When Using Green Tea
Green tea is generally super safe. Just a small precaution is when using it in the areas around the eyes. The skin in those areas are sensitive and thinner than the rest, so apply lesser product or not apply it there at all, if possible.
If you experience any discomfort, pain or irritation from any product or home recipes of green tea, it’s best to stop and consult a doctor.
Conclusion
The green tea is such a supreme ingredient that there’s no doubt it’s beneficial to our skin too. It’s so gentle and effective in skincare products, and results are almost instantly! What are you waiting for? Consider getting a green tea skincare product or make your own green tea skincare recipe!
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