You may have some in you cupboard or like to order it when you’re out for a change. Green tea is a popular choice in coffee shops and restaurants but did you know it is also an amazing skincare ingredient? Especially for skin during your 20’s. Green tea can help to treat acne prone, sensitive and combination skin and is gentle enough to use on younger skin.
What is about green tea that makes it a great skin care ingredient? We decided to take a closer look.
Green tea is a type of tea that has been made from camellia sinensis leaves. It’s different to black teas as the leaves haven't been through the same oxidation process so are still green.
You may have heard of the benefits of drinking it and may even regularly have a cup of green tea, but the skin health benefits of this natural ingredient are often overlooked.
Green tea is packed full of antioxidant goodness. It has epigallocatechin gallate (ECCG for short) which is a naturally occuring catechin and polyphenol, which means it has super antioxidant powers. This makes it especially good for your skin. It also has hydrating properties and has been linked to reducing melanin secretion, for more even skin tone.
Well, the first thing to say is they are actually important for the health of your whole body, not just your skin! They help to fight free radicals - which can damage your cells and cause premature ageing of your skin.
Well, free radicals are a Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) that are generated when your body is under oxidative stress. This happens often - when you exercise, when you are exposed to sunlight, stress, pollutants… in fact there are external and internal influences causing free radical generation a lot of the time. This is a problem because free radicals are unstable single atoms missing an electron. They try to stabilise by stealing electrons from healthy cells in your body - but this actually causes further damage to the cells in a chain reaction.
The results of free radical damage are cells that are chemically burnt and can have altered DNA. This can lead to increased risk of certain types of cancer, heart disease and other diseases in the body and also in the skin can lead to premature ageing. This is because free radicals attack the collagen and elastin in your skin - the stuff that keeps it plump and taut. When those cells are damaged over time, lines and wrinkles can appear and deepen and your skin can start to feel saggy.
Antioxidants are super stable and can ‘give’ free radicals an extra electron without becoming damaged. This neutralises the effect of free radicals and stops further damage. Antioxidants can also stop the start of free radical damage.
Green tea is also great for:
Well the short answer is… both! Drinking green tea has benefits for the body and can help to boost your body’s natural antioxidants. But to get the best direct benefits for your skin, applying green tea topically (to the skin) gives the best results. There are obviously ways to do this - it might surprise you to know that green tea extract is actually in a lot of skincare products! And if it isn’t, you can always add it!
To give you a head start we have been doing some research at Jersey Beauty and have come up with a whole skincare routine that contains green tea goodness. Whilst every skin is unique, green tea is great for lots of different skin concerns and particularly for combination skin.
It helps to treat oily skin concerns, hyperpigmentation and dark spots, is good for sensitive skin and reducing redness and can help with clogged pores and breakouts. It is also a great eye cream ingredient and is great for rehydrating dry skin.
It is also a great ingredient for younger skin in your 20’s and 30’s, as it isn’t too harsh but builds up goodness and skin health.
At Jersey Beauty we love a skincare routine! This is our seven steps to healthy skin with green tea products. You may want to add one or more into your daily skincare routine, depending on your unique skin concerns.
Guinot Hydra Lait Hydra Beaute (Confort) is a rich and creamy cleanser that is gentle but really effective.
Dermalogica Daily Resurfaceris a gentle way to exfoliate daily. With individual daily treatments, this daily exfoliant has:
This can be used daily or a couple of times a week if your skin is more sensitive.
One of the major causes of free radical generation in the skin is exposure to the sun. So it makes sense to wear a daily sun protection! Green tea extract is a powerful antioxidant and when used daily can help to protect the cells against free radicals, as well as fighting any that have been generated. Dermalogica Solar Defense Booster SPF50is a really simple way to get daily SPF sun protection, without the weight of a suncream.
This handy booster can either be directly placed on the skin or can be added to your daily moisturiser for an SPF boost.
Dermalogica Intensive Eye Repaircontains green tea extract for a double boost for the eyes. It both works against puffy, tired eyes and also fights against free radical damage. The eye area can be tricky to treat as the skin is different to the rest of your face. Specially formulated skin care for the eye are can give your eyes a much needed treat.
As well as fighting free radicals, green tea is also a powerful skin repairing tool. Science of Skin Solution for Scarsoffers up to 40% reduction of the appearance of scars and blemishes thanks to its powerful green tea ingredient.
Finishing with Guinot Creme Pur Equilibregives your skin a lightweight moisturiser without clogging pores. Green tea extract helps skin to soak up moisture and other goodness in this daily moisturising cream.
As well as using products that have green tea extract in them, there is also a trend for adding green tea to your existing face creams and products. This can be done by:
Whilst this can get some of the goodness of green tea, when you use products that have been specially formulated you are more likely to get the right amount of this active ingredient in the right form. You want to make sure that the skin can absorb the antioxidant power of green tea and products that have been developed by leading skincare companies can help this to be more effective.
Green tea can be an amazing active ingredient to add to your skincare routine. The best and easiest way to do this may be to discover those skincare products that already contain this amazing antioxidant superpower!
To discover more about your skin why not try our free skin profile tool.
