How Does Green Tea Benefit the Skin?

Some skincare ingredients are amazing multitaskers that are capable of helping with a wide range of visible skin concerns, and green tea is one of them. This natural ingredient has been consumed for centuries due to its medicinal properties, and it has recently been making its way into more and more skincare products.

How exactly does green tea benefit the skin? Read on as Lionesse talks you through the many wonders of this ingredient!

What Exactly is Green Tea?

Just like all other teas, green tea comes from the tea plant. What sets green tea apart from the others is the fact that green tea leaves aren’t as processed. This allows them to retain a richer nutrient profile.

The result is a tea that’s loaded with antioxidant-rich polyphenols. Some of these are unique to green tea, meaning that they can’t be found in other ingredients. This is what gives green tea its special edge, enabling it to benefit the skin in ways that other ingredients cannot compete with.

Green Tea Reduces the Visibility of Aging

When it comes to fighting the appearance of aging, just about every dermatologist will recommend the use of antioxidants. These potent compounds work to repair the appearance of free radical damage, which triggers the skin aging process.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of antioxidants out there, but those that can be found in green tea are among the best. Not only do they slow down the appearance of aging, but they also work to reduce the visible signs of aging that have already shown up on your face.

Studies have found that the topical use of green tea can significantly improve how elastic your skin feels. This, in turn, tightens up the look of wrinkles, giving the face a smoother and more youthful finish. 

Hyperpigmentation is another problem that worsens with age. Again, green tea can help to lighten the look of dark spots and discoloration to give the skin a more even appearance.

Green Tea Keeps the Skin Feeling Protected Against Environmental Aggressors

The visible signs of skin aging tend to be brought on by environmental damage. From UV rays to pollution, all of these environmental aggressors affect skin cells on a DNA level. Not only does this lead to wrinkles, discoloration, and other skin problems, but it can also trigger skin cancer.

While you can turn to green tea to help you reduce the visible impact that the environment has had on your skin, the ingredient also works to protect the complexion, preventing the appearance of those issues in the first place. 

Again, this is down to the antioxidants within green tea, particularly EGCG. As a result, green tea has been proven to keep the skin feeling protected against UV rays, pollution, and more, ensuring that the skin looks healthier for longer.

Green Tea Lowers the Feeling of Inflammation and Irritation

Catechins are natural polyphenols that are found in certain foods, and green tea is jam-packed with them. When it comes to the skin, catechins are fantastic for lowering the feeling of inflammation and irritation, making green tea products highly sought after by those suffering from inflammatory skin conditions.

Whether it may be redness and swelling due to acne or itching and sensitivities caused by eczema, green tea will soothe the complexion, calming the look of the skin to leave it feeling balanced and happy.

Green Tea Can Prevent and Slow Down the Appearance of Acne

By reducing the feeling of inflammation in the skin, green tea is a great ingredient to use if your skin is prone to acne breakouts. After all, inflammation is what causes each pimple to erupt. Taking inflammation out of the equation will, therefore, give you a much better chance of achieving a pimple-free complexion.

However, that’s not the only way in which green tea can help with the appearance of acne…

The ingredient has also been found to reduce the appearance of the bacteria that contribute to acne. Other studies have discovered that green tea can leave the skin feeling less oily too. With excess sebum, bacteria, and inflammation coming together to create the perfect recipe for acne, not having to worry about any of those factors will leave you with a much clearer complexion. 

Green Tea Can Help to Hydrate the Skin

Green tea’s abilities to help with the appearance of aging and acne are well documented. Beauty brands and bloggers rave about them, meaning that anyone who has done some reading on skincare ingredients will be aware of these effects.

However, many don’t realize that green tea can also boost the skin’s hydration levels. Although more studies are needed, current research suggests that the topical use of green tea can improve the skin’s moisture retention capabilities. This is something that everyone would benefit from, with moisture being vital in order for skin cells to function optimally. 

Green Tea Soothes the Look of Puffy Eyes 

If you often wake up with puffy eyes and dark circles, green tea is an ingredient that you should definitely start using. 

Why? Because green tea is a natural source of caffeine and tannins. When these compounds are applied topically, they shrink the look of the blood vessels beneath the eyes. This de-puffs the complexion while also brightening the look of the skin. The blood vessels that lie beneath your eyes won’t be so visible from the surface of your skin anymore, meaning that your dark circles will appear to just fade away!

Green Tea Can Prevent and Minimize the Appearance of Cellulite

Most people who use green tea topically do so on the face. However, this botanical works impressively on the skin on the body too.

In addition to experiencing all of the above benefits, from a reduction in the visibility of wrinkles to improved hydration, applying green tea to your body can also help to prevent and minimize the look of cellulite. 

Although cellulite is harmless, people tend to dislike the dimpled texture that it gives to their skin. Studies show that using green tea prevents the appearance of fat accumulation in the skin, doing away with the look of cellulite. Again, larger studies in this area are needed but, so far, it looks promising!

Adding Green Tea to Your Skincare Routine

With green tea being such a wonderful all-rounder, it’s no surprise that this ingredient can be found in a wide array of skincare products. Ideally, to really benefit from its unique properties, you should try to add the ingredient into as many steps of your skincare routine as possible.

If you don’t yet have any green tea skincare products, here are a few Lionesse formulas that have been infused with the botanical:

The Amber Eye Serum

The Lionesse Amber Eye Serum highlights a few of the benefits offered by green tea. Not only does it work to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes, but it will also tackle the look of puffiness and dark circles.

In this formula, green tea is backed up by several other potent antioxidants. You’ll find ascorbic acid in this blend, which is the purest and most powerful form of vitamin C. Aloe vera, licorice root, ginkgo biloba, and calendula are all also included in extract form, with each one packing a punch in terms of antioxidant content.

This serum also happens to be incredibly hydrating. It’s brimming with moisture-binding humectants, including sodium hyaluronate, peptides, and allantoin, which give the skin a plumper and fuller finish.

The Amber Eye Cream

Following on from the Amber Eye Serum, we have the Amber Eye Cream. It’s a lightweight cream that can either be used after the eye serum has been applied or as a standalone product. 

Again, you’ll find numerous vitamins and antioxidants in this formula. They all enhance the visible effects of green tea, especially when combined with the serum featured above. 

Another noteworthy ingredient in this formula is caffeine. As mentioned earlier, green tea also contains caffeine, meaning that your skin will receive a double dose of the compound when you apply this cream. With caffeine being a superstar at tackling the look of puffiness and dark circles, this eye cream will go a long way in giving your eye area a smoother and more rested appearance.

The Golden Sapphire Cream

The Lionesse Golden Sapphire Cream is a game-changer if you’re looking for a way to keep your skin hydrated and moisturized for hours. 

As we discussed earlier, green tea can help to improve the skin’s hydration levels. This cream takes things further with the inclusion of aloe vera, olive oil, and peptides, all of which will also increase moisture retention in the skin. 

Just like all Lionesse products, this one is bursting with antioxidants too. Some are provided by green tea while others come from the long list of other botanical extracts blended into this formula. 

Drinking Green Tea

There’s no denying the many benefits offered by the topical use of green tea extract. However, if you want to really get the most out of the ingredient, pair your skincare efforts with green tea consumption.

This way, your skin will be receiving the ingredient from within, as well as externally. Since topical products can only penetrate the skin to a certain extent, drinking the ingredient will ensure that the deeper layers of your skin can soak up its antioxidants too. 

Of course, let’s not forget the many other health benefits that can be experienced by drinking green tea. It can help with everything from weight loss to disease prevention, meaning that your overall health, along with your complexion, will improve if you drink more of it. 

How much green tea should you be drinking?

Ideally, around three to five cups a day. However, even a single cup of green tea a day will do wonders for your health and your skin!

Summary

If you’ve been looking for ways to make your skincare routine more effective, incorporating green tea-infused products will no doubt do just that. This single ingredient has the potential to boost the complexion in so many different ways, and the fact that it can safely be used on all skin types makes it one that everybody could benefit from!

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