Care for a spot of tea? People have been drinking tea worldwide for thousands of years. In addition to its health benefits, tea plays a special role in beauty and skincare.
Different tea types
Tea is made by steeping processed leaves, buds or twigs. Four basic tea types include black, oolong, green and white. Different teas vary in color, flavor, fermentation and processing. Yet all these tea types come from the same plant - Camilla Sinensis. Regardless of processing methods, all teas contain beneficial ingredients.
Antioxidants: Fighting off free radicals
Environmental free radicals cause skin damage, resulting in signs of aging - lines, wrinkles, discoloration and elasticity loss. Antioxidants counter this free radical damage. And tea, especially green tea, contains large amounts of polyphenol, a special antioxidant.
To take advantage of the antioxidant and anti-aging benefits of green tea, start with a good skincare product. And, thankfully, you have many choices:
Antioxidants and sun exposure
Green tea's antioxidants have important implications for sun exposure, too. Studies suggest that green tea helps make sunscreen even more effective. Applying green tea to skin may also reduce sunburn, inflammation and sun damage.
However, green tea by itself doesn't provide sufficient sun protection and doesn't block UV rays. So, you still need sunscreen daily. Check out SkinCeuticals Physical UV Defense SPF 30, which gives you protection from UVA/UVB rays and provides moisture without being greasy. It contains green tea extract to boost the sunscreen's power. After sun exposure, try Cellex-C Sun Rescue Gel - its green tea extract moisturizes, preventing peeling and redness.
Antioxidants and elasticity
Antioxidants in green tea skincare products improve the elasticity of skin. As these products boost skin's elasticity, your skin becomes firmer and smoother with less wrinkles. Results may take several weeks - even two months - so be patient if you don't see immediate improvement.
EGCG: New life for old cells
EGCG stands for epigallocatechin galleate, a particular polyphenol antioxidant in green tea. According to research conducted by Dr. Stephen Hsu - professor and biologist at the Medical College of Georgia who's performed research on the effects of EGCG, skin cells and aging - EGCG can prevent skin problems in new cells and treat skin problems in older cells. EGCG is also beneficial for different skin concerns and conditions like wrinkles, psoriasis, rosacea and acne.
Specifically, Dr. Hsu has found that a skin cell normally lives for about 28-30 days. Young skin cells are found in inner layers of skin, while older skin cells are found on the outer layer or surface of skin. Therefore, older cells on skin's surface are close to dying. EGCG aids skin cells in multiple ways:
- Helps skin cells travel from inner to outer layers of skin quicker.
- Produces more new, young skin cells.
- Re-activates the DNA of old, dying skin cells.
Caffeine: Anti-inflammatory and UV protector
Various types of tea also contain caffeine - the fuel that many of us use to wake up in the morning! Caffeine also provides skin benefits.
In her article on Yahoo Health, dermatologist Leslie Baumann writes that caffeine has anti-inflammatory properties because it constricts blood vessels, reducing redness and puffiness. Not surprisingly, caffeine is often found in eye creams - one to try is MD Formulations Moisture Defense Antioxidant Eye Crème, which also minimizes the look of wrinkles and protects skin from any environmental stressors.
Caffeine may help prevent and repair damage from UV rays, adds Dr. Baumann. In mice studies caffeinated green tea and black tea - used orally and topically - prevented and repaired sun damage. In contrast, decaffeinated teas didn't provide any sun damage prevention or repair. Some studies even indicate that topical caffeine may be stronger and provide more benefits than the polyphenol antioxidants found in green tea.
Do-it-yourself tea treatments
You can use tea to concoct different beauty treatments. For a toner, Dr. G. Todorov of Smart Skin Care recommends brewing green tea, pouring it into an ice cube tray and sticking it in the freezer. Once it's frozen, remove a green tea ice cube and let it thaw for a few minutes to prevent freezer burn. Then rub the cube gently over your face.
Need a great remedy for puffy eyes? The old school at-home treatment of using a tea bag on eyelids can help. Be sure to use caffeinated tea bags because caffeine serves as an anti-inflammatory. And don't use Earl Grey tea - it actually contains an oil that can leave you red and itchy. Dunk the tea bags in cold water first - the cold feeling will be refreshing and decrease swelling - and apply a tea bag to each eyelid.
Have tired feet? Make a soothing foot soak with green tea - ideal at the end of a long day or prior to an at-home pedicure. Use Helen Foster's recipe from The Beauty Book:
- Boil water and pour it in a large footbath container.
- Throw in five green tea bags and a few drops of peppermint oil.
- Allow water to cool slightly for a few minutes, and soak your feet.
Getting the benefits from products
How do you know if a product contains green tea? Pay close attention to the label. Green tea also goes by many other names, such as: camellia, Chinese tea, GTE, Matsu-cha Tea or Thea viridis, according to Medline Plus. Therefore, any of these names might appear on products containing green tea.
In an article from The Natural Foods Merchandiser, licensed esthetician Lisa Frost stresses the importance of where the green tea is listed with all the other ingredients. For example, if you're looking at a skincare product and see green tea listed as one of the first ingredients, then the product has a higher amount of green tea. When green tea is listed further down on the ingredients list, you can assume there's a lower amount of green tea in the product, and it won't be as powerful.
Adds Frost, if the product has several other ingredients, it will probably have a lower amount of green tea. Some of those other ingredients may even counteract the green tea's benefits, like parabens or propylene glycol, says Frost. Also keep in mind when a skincare product containing green tea comes in contact with the air, oxidization of the polyphenols may occur, so your green tea product may not be as beneficial.
When taking a green tea supplement, experts have different recommendations on the amount to consume. According to Medline Plus, look for one that contains 100 - 150 milligrams of green tea extract, and take it three times a day, suggests Dr. Todorov. Medline Plus notes that various brands and supplements can vary greatly in regards to green tea extract contents - some supplements have far more green tea extract than others. Also it's uncertain whether taking a supplement provides any skincare benefits. Check with your doctor before taking a green tea supplement, because it can interact with other medications, supplements or medical conditions.
The final word
Previous studies have suggested that tea is helpful for our skin. But more research is needed. Currently studies are examining these and other health benefits of tea. So stay tuned!