Green tea has been a popular ingredient since ancient times, due to its various health benefits. People drink green tea to help with weight loss, relieve cold or flu symptoms, and provide various other benefits. But in addition to those benefits, topical application of Green Tea to the skin has many benefits. With its soothing qualities, anti-aging, oxidant properties, and oil-control properties, Green Tea is KEY for healthy skin.
Why Should You Look for Skincare Products with Green Tea?
Green tea is a fantastic NATURAL skincare ingredient when it comes to the treatment and prevention of skin-related issues. It is rich in vitamins and antioxidants that can deliver calming and soothing effects for the skin. The high level of antioxidants in green tea makes it an essential ingredient for many skincare products. It can also soothe, detoxify, and calm inflammation. Let’s learn more about the benefits of green tea.
One of its many nutrients, EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate), has many therapeutic properties. EGCG is known to work synergistically with other anti-oxidants and active ingredients, so the formulation is key.
Understanding that anti-oxidants like Vitamin C or E can prevent the breakdown EGCG is important to our formulations at Hale Cosmeceuticals. It has also been shown that Green Tea has enhanced skin penetration when combined with Hyaluronic acid. We also understand that Green Tea extract is easily oxidized and can be unstable at higher temps or pH. Our experienced research and development team understands when and where to include Green Tea Extract in our formulations for the most benefit!
1. Works to reduce breakouts and blemishes
Our sebaceous glands produce an oily substance called sebum that is responsible for providing moisture to our skin and hair. However, when your skin produces sebum in excess, it can clog the pores. This can be due to hormones, stress, or environmental factors which cause the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum. In any case, clogged pores can house bacteria and lead to breakouts.
Luckily, adding green tea to your skin care routine can help. How? It contains ECGC, which has incredible anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, ECGC also acts to lower lipid levels for reduced sebum production. With less sebum production, coupled with less inflammation and bacteria, Green tea can be very effective to reduce breakouts.
2. Protects the skin
Green Tea acts as other anti-oxidants to scavenge free radicals in the skin which are caused by UV rays or pollution. Studies suggest that the polyphenols derived from green tea extract are effective against some proteins and has protective effects against skin photoaging from UV rays. (Roh 2017)
It is also believed that the EGCG compound can help promote DNA repair in cells. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory and soothing effects of green tea can be beneficial in skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, dandruff.
3. Soothes the Skin around Your Eyes
For many years, green tea has been a major component in home remedies for the treatment of puffy and swollen eyes. It contains tannins and caffeine that can help constrict blood vessels around the eyes to reduce inflammation and swelling. Applying green tea around the eyes can reduce the appearance of dark circles and puffiness. You can use the following steps to follow an easy method of de-puffing your eyes with green tea:
- Let two teabags of green tea steep in water
- Take out the green teabags and remove excess liquid
- Refrigerate these teabags for around 15 to 20 minutes
- Take the chilled green teabags and place them on closed eyes for around 30 minutes
SUMMARY
Green Tea has key benefits of anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and calming/soothing effects on the skin. It also plays a key role in controlling sebum production in the skin. For these reasons, we at Hale Cosmeceuticals have worked to incorporate this amazing ingredient in SEVERAL formulations, including: our Natural AZA Cleanser, Date Palm Deep Moisturizer, Marula Mask, ORAC, and more!
Sources
1) Roh E, Kim JE, Kwon JY, Park JS, Bode AM, Dong Z, Lee KW. Molecular mechanisms of green tea polyphenols with protective effects against skin photoaging. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2017 May 24;57(8):1631-1637
2) http://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-green-tea-for-skin#green-tea-and-the-skin-around-your-eyes
3) http://www.100percentpure.com/blogs/feed/top-6-benefits-green-tea-for-skin
