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Green tea has been popular in Asia for over 4000 years, both as a beverage as well as a medicinal ingredient. While this may be the case, it has recently experienced somewhat of a resurgence, with the ingredient now appearing in everything from ice cream to skincare.
So, what’s all the hype about? Is green tea actually an effective enough skincare ingredient to warrant all of the praise it receives? The short answer is yes, most definitely, and VouPre is about to explain why.
What is Green Tea Extract?
Many assume that green tea and black tea come from different plants. However, they’re both obtained from the buds and leaves of the same tea plant, the Camellia sinensis. The difference between the two is that black tea consists of oxidized tea leaves, whereas green tea is much fresher and greener. As a result, it contains a higher concentration of chemical compounds and antioxidants than other types of tea.
In skincare products, green tea is used in extract form. This is essentially an even more concentrated form of the pure leaves. This is why the ingredient is revered for its potency.
However, what exactly does green tea do for the skin when used topically? Let’s take a look at some of its biggest benefits:
It Helps the Skin to Feel Protected Against Free Radical Damage
Free radicals are your skin’s biggest enemy. These unstable molecules arise when your skin comes into contact with various environmental aggressors. From UV rays to pollution, there’s no getting away from free radicals.
What’s so bad about free radicals? They cause serious damage to your skin cells. They trigger a process called oxidative stress, which basically drastically accelerates the skin aging process. From wrinkles and sagging skin to dark spots and dullness, free radicals will make your skin look so much older than it really is.
How can you put a stop to the appearance of free radical damage? With antioxidants, and green tea extract is absolutely brimming with them. Studies confirm that the antioxidants in green tea are highly effective at neutralizing and preventing the visibility of free radical damage, making it an ingredient that everybody would benefit from.
It Reduces the Appearance of Skin Aging
So, you now know how green tea extract can help to prevent the appearance of aging. However, what about all of those visible signs of aging that have already dotted themselves around your face?
Well, whether it may be fine lines, deeper wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, or loose skin, green tea can help to make all of those skin concerns less noticeable. The antioxidants in green tea are superstars at firming and tightening the complexion, with research pointing to how it can help the skin to feel bouncier and more elastic. At the same time, it will also lighten the look of discolored skin while brightening the overall complexion.
It Rebalances How Oily the Skin Feels
Everyone’s skin produces sebum. It’s a must-have in order for the skin to keep itself hydrated and moisturized.
However, sometimes the skin can produce too much sebum. This can occur for a number of different reasons, but the results are usually the same – greasy skin that frequently suffers from clogged pores, inflammation, and acne breakouts.
If you can relate, then you’ll know how frustrating it can be to deal with oily skin. You’ll also likely always be on the hunt for ingredients that can reduce how oily your skin feels, which is where green tea extract comes in.
Again, its antioxidants are to thank for how it can do this. One antioxidant in particular, known as EGCG, can help the skin’s lipid levels to feel more balanced. Therefore, if you have oily skin, using green tea will help to cut back on how greasy your skin looks and feels. As a result, you’ll also likely see a reduction in the appearance of acne breakouts. On the other hand, if you have dry skin, green tea will rebalance your complexion in a way that makes it feel more moisturized.
It Soothes the Feeling of Inflammation
Another big benefit offered by green tea extract is how it can soothe the feeling of inflammation. This can occur for a variety of reasons, and in addition to being responsible for acne breakouts, it also dramatically speeds up the skin aging process. The more inflammation your skin experiences over the course of your life, the faster it will age.
There are several ingredients out there that can lower the feeling of inflammation, but green tea is one of the best. It all comes down to its polyphenols, a group of antioxidants that can quickly have the skin feeling calmer and less inflamed.
So, whether you have sensitive skin that’s easily irritated or you suffer from an inflammatory skin condition, such as eczema or psoriasis, green tea extract is an ingredient that’s definitely worth using.
It Reduces the Look of Puffiness
Green tea is a great natural source of caffeine and tannins. Not only do both of these compounds function as antioxidants but, when applied topically, they help to calm the look of puffiness. They do this by shrinking the appearance of blood vessels while also tightening the surface of the complexion. This de-puffs the look of the skin and leaves it with a smoother finish.
This makes green tea a fantastic ingredient to use on the skin around the eyes. This area is prone to the appearance of puffiness, which green tea can help to deal with. The fact that this ingredient is so gentle also makes it a game-changer for the delicate eye area.
It Helps to Keep the Skin Hydrated
When trying to keep the skin hydrated, most people look for skincare products containing humectants or emollients. After all, both are known for increasing the skin’s moisture content. However, green tea is a strong contender for doing this too…
Again, its antioxidants are the reason for this. In particular, vitamin E. This antioxidant actually functions as both a humectant and an emollient. As a result, it’s fantastic for keeping thirsty skin cells feeling quenched. It will also thicken the feel of your skin barrier, allowing for enhanced moisture retention in the long run.
It Brightens the Complexion
Whether due to natural aging or environmental harm, it’s common for the skin to take on a dull and dreary finish when it’s feeling stressed. Although not necessarily harmful in itself, nobody wants their skin to look lackluster and aged. Instead, we all seek a vibrant and radiant glow, which is something else that green tea can help with.
How?
Well, in addition to vitamin E, green tea is packed with several other vitamins too, including vitamins A and C. Both of these antioxidants are famed for how they brighten the complexion while fading the look of dark spots. They’re highly sought-after compounds in skincare products, making green tea an even more valuable ingredient!
Adding Green Tea Extract to Your Skincare Routine
Now that you’re aware of the many different ways in which green tea extract could improve your complexion, you’re probably wondering how to go about adding this ingredient to your skincare routine.
Well, the good news is that this is extremely easy. The way in which green tea has surged in popularity in recent years means that you’ll now find the extract in so many different skincare products. Side effects are virtually unheard of and it plays well with just about every other ingredient too.
One thing to keep in mind is the antioxidant content of any green tea-infused product you use. Antioxidants always work better together. So, if you want to maximize on the benefits of the many antioxidants in green tea extract, look for skincare products that combine the botanical with other antioxidants too. Ideally, they should also make use of organic green tea extract, as this means that the plant will have been grown with minimal use of chemicals.
Let’s take a look at a couple of organic green tea extract-infused bestsellers from VouPre:
The VouPre Advanced Gold Eye Serum
Earlier, we mentioned how green tea is an incredible ingredient to use on the skin around the eyes, and the VouPre Advanced Gold Eye Serum highlights this. It has been designed to counter the appearance of fine lines and dullness around the eyes, so that the eye area looks brighter, tighter, and firmer after each use.
You already know how green tea can contribute to that, but there are several other noteworthy ingredients in this formula too. Multiple peptides and sodium hyaluronate help to hydrate and plump up the complexion, while licorice root extract, vitamin C, gold, and grape stem cells work to brighten and tighten the look of the skin. Meanwhile, calendula and aloe vera soothe the feeling of inflammation and puffiness. It’s a multi-tasking formula that can really transform the look of creased and tired skin around the eyes.
The VouPre Cannabis Silk Cream
Of course, it’s not just your eye area that would benefit from green tea – the rest of your face deserves some of its magic too! That’s where our Cannabis Silk Cream comes in. You’ll find this cream in our Cannabis Collection, which also contains a face mask, a serum, and a microneedle roller.
As you can tell from the name of this product, the cannabis plant, in the form of hemp seed oil, is the star of the show. However, green tea is the perfect accompaniment, as both share similar properties. From soothing the feeling of inflammation to reducing the look of skin aging, these botanicals, when used together, can amplify each other’s visible effects.
You’ll also find vitamins A and E in this moisturizer, along with amino acids and several other plant extracts. Use it daily and your skin will look consistently soft, dewy, and smooth.
Summary
With so many different benefits on offer, it’s easy to see why green tea has become such a popular skincare ingredient. It can help with a variety of different visible skin concerns, making it a multi-tasker that pretty much everybody would benefit from. Even better, it’s such an easy ingredient to incorporate into a skincare routine, without any potential side effects to worry about. So, if green tea extract is an ingredient that you haven’t yet taken advantage of, now is definitely the time to start doing so!
Click here to explore more bestselling botanical-infused skincare products from VouPre.
