Green Tea for Skin: What Are the Benefits and Risks?
If you are trying to build a skin care kit and are curious about which ingredients you should include, you may have already heard about some of the benefits of green tea for skin. Green tea skin care is becoming more popular as this ingredient in creams and beauty masks because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. If you are trying to treat skin care issues such as acne, rosacea, or fine lines and wrinkles, you may want to consider purchasing products that contain this ingredient, as green tea for skin care applications has been proven effective for all these problems. There are many products available that contain this ingredient; green tea creams, masks and even facial cleansers. However, before you make the decision to use this ingredient, you should understand both its benefits and side effects as they relate to your skin type. Before you use green tea for skin, you should consult your dermatologist to ensure it’s the right choice for you, as this ingredient is derived from plants that may cause an allergic reaction in some individuals.
Why Green Tea for Skin Care?
Skin care companies have been using all different kinds of teas in their creams and masks for a number of years now because some herbs are well known for their antioxidant benefits. However, unlike other teas, green tea is not fermented and when it is steamed. This is important in green tea face mask and cream products because the lack of fermentation allows the antioxidants to remain in the leaves, stems, and the buds so that they remain at their highest effectiveness. This makes green tea skin care quite beneficial, especially for fighting aging when it is combined with other ingredients such as collagen, other antioxidants, and hyaluronic acid.
Green tea also contains molecules known as polyphenols, which have been proven to reduce inflammation, promote healing, and fight certain types of bacteria. This makes green tea cream products effective for acne prone skin, because soothing inflammation is one of the important treatment goals for most acne sufferers.
Green tea also contains caffeine in concentrations up to four percent, which makes it a helpful ingredient in under eye creams, especially in those that treat puffiness and dark circles. Not only does caffeine calm inflamed blood vessels that create dark circles, it also soothes puffiness and tightens the skin, making it appear younger. Using green tea for skin under the eyes may treat both of these problems at the same time, so adding an eye cream to your skin care kit that contains this ingredient may bring beneficial results.
Choosing Products with Green Tea for Skin Problems
If you want to buy products that include green tea for skin problems, you must first understand how effective the tea will be at treating these issues. For example, green tea would not have much effect on dark spots or hyperpigmentation because it does not have any skin lightening effects like other natural ingredients do, such as licorice root. Because the main benefit of green tea for skin problems is its antioxidant properties, you will most likely benefit from it if you suffer from acne, rosacea, psoriasis, or other inflammatory skin issues. If you do decide to add green tea masks or creams to your skin care kit, be sure to follow all packaging instructions to reduce your risk of side effects.
Green Tea Skin Care Side Effects
Most of the side effects associated with green tea apply only if taken orally. Using green tea for skin problems has a very low instance of side effects and very few people experience irritation as a result. However, allergic reactions to green tea are possible and you should use any product that contains it sparingly until you know how it will affect you. If you experience any allergy-related symptoms after using green tea for skin care, consult your dermatologist right away.
