Wonder Ingredient for Skin: Green Tea

For about a year now, I have been treating myself to one glass of green tea per day. Personally, I have been using it to wean myself off of soda but give myself a more flavorful alternative to water. I was interested, however, in finding how this great-tasting ingredients can enhance our health, appearance, and beauty regimens. I was amazed to learn at just how many benefits green tea provides.

Use of green tea for health and wellness purposes dates back to as early as the 7th century. Purportedly, Japanese monks went to China on a Buddhist pilgrimage and were introduced to green tea taking it as an aid to both energize the mind but sharpen its focus during meditation. They returned with to their home with tea plants and continued to discover its many internal health benefits such as the reduction of stomach pain and the lowering of cholesterol. Basically, it quickly became known throughout Asia, and now the rest of the world as a great healer and powerful rejuvenator, and those same benefits are reaped by our skin.

Green tea is particularly high in the antioxidant EGCG. EGCG Is thought to help repair cell damage and correct DNA distortion and damage. This is especially key in correcting the damage done from the absorption of UV rays, which can lead to skin cancer, but this also triggers the body’s natural antiaging defenses, not just within the skin but throughout our whole body.

Green tea is also an abundant source of polyphenols. Like EGCG, polyphenols are known to assist the body in fighting the aging process in that they help to firm the appearance of the skin. But polyphenols also are wonderful at reducing the look of stress in the skin, especially in terms of both heightened redness and swelling and puffiness. Polyphenols are known also to help fortify and sustain the body’s resistance to bacteria, which helps us stave of acne breakouts. Green tea also to help fortify the immune system and stimulate through a mild dose of caffeine and also supporting the skin's barrier function and the body's overall resiliency towards infection with its anti- microbial properties.

But of course, drinking green tea is not the only way to receive its advantages in beauty. It is also a lovely and powerful ingredient to have in your skincare. For my own skin, topical products made with a high concentration of green tea really help with my recurring redness and also help instrumentally calm any flare-ups with acne. Also, green tea is an ingredient that I especially look for either summertime moisturizers or ones to use when my skin needs a lightweight, cool-feeling moisture as opposed to a blankety, occlusive one. One of my favorite products for this is the Youth To The People Superfood Air Whip Moisture Cream, which, in addition to green tea is also rich in spinach, kale, and hylauronic acid, all of which help to calm and fortify the skin with a water-light feel and calming inflammation of any sort. This is one of my favorite products to help ease my skin through a breakout while giving it the hydration it needs. Also, because of its ability to reduce puffiness, thanks to both the polyphenols and the naturally-occurring caffeine, green tea is also a great ingredient to look out for when shopping for an eye cream . I am not someone who gets a lot of sleep ever and using creams with green tea recently has really helped with the look of tiredness in my eyes, while continuing to drink it, energizes me from the inside.

Green tea is a popular health food mainstay for a reason for its amazing ability to restore energy and vitality to the human system, but it is truly one of those ingredients that benefit us both from the inside out and the outside in. If you are looking to give your skin or beauty routine a similar boost, try finding a product with green tea in it or consider trying to add in a glass or cup or two into your diet every once in awhile. And may the results be truly zen and beautiful.