Green Tea Offers Anti-aging Skin Care

Tea is an ancient herbal drink known for its stimulant qualities, largely due to caffeine. The medicinal properties of tea are attributed to flavonoid phytochemicals called polyphenols. The polyphenols found in tea mainly belong to a subtype called catechins.

Green tea has more catechins than black tea (about 25% versus 4%) largely due to the differences in harvesting and processing. Black tea leaves are fermented which results in the oxidation of more of the catechins. Green tea leaves are steamed therefore they retain as much as 30% of their dry weight in catechins.

The main catechin in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG. One cup of this tea, properly brewed, contains 20 to 35 mg of EGCG. EGCG is 100 times more potent than vitamin C and 25 times more potent than vitamin E. The antioxidant agents slow the signs of aging externally and provide beneficial nutrients for overall health when taken internally.

Research suggests that green tea can inhibit skin cancer due to its protective properties. Both animal and human studies have credibly demonstrated that topical polyphenol formulations reduce skin damage. Green tea appears to exert sun damage protection by quenching free radicals and reducing inflammation rather than by blocking UV rays. Therefore, it may synergistically enhance sun protection when used in addition to a sunscreen. It is best to combine green tea with zinc oxide-based sunscreens because zinc oxide is chemically inert and should not react with it especially in sunlight.

Considering their well documented antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, topical polyphenols are likely to slow down the development of some signs of aging. As skin ages it loses some of its firmness and elasticity. This is partly due to the action of free radicals, or unstable molecules, which damage the proteins of the skin. Cells then divide and die much more quickly and if not removed, build up and appear as wrinkles. Green tea actually slows down the oxidation effect of the free radicals and inhibits this cell division, making the skin appear smoother.

Green tea also promotes collagen formation which helps keep the skin firm and elastic. In a 2005 study, 40 women with moderate photo aging were randomly selected to use a combination regimen of 10% green tea cream and 300 mg twice daily of green tea oral supplementation, or a placebo regimen for 8 weeks. Histological grading of skin biopsies showed significant improvement in the elastic tissue content of treated specimens versus the placebo groups.

Simply applying a green tea cream may or may not provide the benefits you are expecting. Like most other antioxidants, polyphenols are oxidized and lose their activity when exposed to air. Whether commercial creams retain their antioxidant activity is unclear and varies from product to product.

Drinking three to five cups of green tea a day or taking 100 to 150 mg of standardized extract (which should contain 80% total polyphenols and 50% EGCG) three times daily, may supply your skin with enough polyphenols via the bloodstream to slow down skin aging.