Is Tea Good for Your Skin?

Tea has many different health and medicinal benefits, but one of the benefits it’s most famous for is the effects it has on your skin. Tea is included in many skin care cosmetics as a rejuvenating agent.

Tea is good for the skin because it contains polyphenols, L-theanine, and caffeine that promote cellular regeneration and improved blood flow. When ingested, tea also reduces the production of stress hormones that can age skin more quickly.

Tea is a great supplement for your skin most of the time, but there are a few situations where it can do more harm than good. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of tea for your skin and how to apply it in a beauty routine.

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Is Tea Good for Skin Care?

As far as natural ingredients go, tea is pretty high on the list for supplements that can help improve the appearance of your skin. This popular botanical contains many active ingredients that fade blemishes, reduce redness, and calm a blotchy complex. Both black and green teas offer benefits for your skin.

Ingredients in Tea That Help Your Skin

Many of the same ingredients in tea that can aid you in skin care are the same ingredients that give tea health benefits regarding other parts of your body, such as your brain and cardiovascular system. Here are the main active ingredients in tea that have beneficial effects on your skin:

Caffeine: When tea is used in topical beauty creams, it is usually included because the caffeine in it helps constrict blood vessels. This can reduce puffiness, dark circles, and redness when tea extract is applied around the eyes.
Polyphenols: Polyphenols are antioxidants that help reduce free radicals in the body. Along with improving cellular regeneration and making skin look younger, these antioxidants also help prevent other health disorders, such as heart problems and cancer.
L-theanine: L-theanine is the chemical in tea that’s responsible for its calming effects. Regular ingestion of L-theanine can reduce and stabilize cortisol levels, a stress hormone leading to premature aging.

Whether you take in these chemicals through a topical application on your skin or ingesting it as a beverage, tea can make your skin look bright, fresh, and radiant. It also has many advantages over non-organic commercial skin creams. Homemade tea remedies are much cheaper and made of all-natural ingredients.

What Kind of Tea Helps Your Skin?

When applying tea to your skin, a black or green tea extract is usually the best option. This is because these types of tea contain caffeine, the ingredient that creates visible results in tea-based skin care by reducing redness and discoloration.

Black Tea vs. Green Tea in Skin Care

When it comes to green tea versus black tea in skin care, green tea comes out as the winner. Here are a few reasons why green tea is preferable to black tea for your skin:

More antioxidants: While both black and green tea contain polyphenols and antioxidants, green tea is less processed and contains more antioxidants than black tea.
Fewer tannins: Green tea contains fewer tannins than black tea. Tannins are chemicals in tea which can dehydrate your skin if you don’t take steps to moisturize it after using black tea treatments.

Both black tea and green tea contain L-theanine, so if you prefer the taste of black tea to green, you can still take advantage of tea’s anti-aging properties to help protect your skin. Green tea is good for your hair as well and can be found in many shampoos and conditioners.

One of my favorite skin care products is a green tea toner that I apply just after washing my face at night. I just put a few drops into the palm of my hand and gently pat it on all over.

However, black and green teas aren’t the only varieties of tea that can be used to help improve your skin. There are also several types of herbal tea that can also be used in a skin care routine.

Herbal Teas That Help Your Skin

If you have a sensitivity to caffeine or you just don’t want to use it, there are several herbal teas that can also be used to help care for and protect your skin. These are a few alternative teas you can try:

Lemongrass: Lemongrass is a fragrant plant that can be used to beautify and detoxify the skin. It can also be used to remove impurities from the skin, and regular application of lemongrass tea can help to prevent acne. Like tea, lemongrass also contains many antioxidants that are great for your skin.
Lavender: Along with its calming scent, lavender is a botanical that can also help to moisturize your skin. This purple flower has antibacterial properties that help it dispel skin breakouts and prevent infection.
Chamomile: Chamomile is a flower that can reduce inflammation and redness when applied to the skin. It can also help promote tranquility and reduce stress levels, which helps prevent premature aging. Chamomile tea also has benefits when brewed and consumed.

Many herbal teas contain botanicals that are just as good for your skin as black tea, and they have the added bonus of smelling good too. This is one of the reasons why botanicals used in tea are also commonly found in skin care cosmetics.

Can Tea Hurt Your Skin?

Even though tea is generally good for your skin, there are still some situations where tea exposure can have a negative effect on it. Here are a few situations to look out for:

Skin allergies and herbal tea: While chamomile is famous for reducing inflammation, in people with hay fever or other botanical allergies, this flower-based herbal tea can induce an allergic reaction that may actually increase redness or cause hives.
Caffeine dehydration and skin care: Drinking tea is good for your skin unless you drink too much of it. Excess exposure to caffeine can have a dehydrating effect. This effect can make your skin look older and more wrinkled.

As with anything, tea should be ingested or used in moderation to prevent any problems. Always be sure to spot-test any skin care botanical before slathering it all over your face to avoid a serious allergic reaction, too.

Tea Is a Useful Skin Care Supplement

With moderate use, tea is one of the best and most convenient homemade skin care treatments you can muster up for a spa day at home. Between its calming attributes and the clarifying effect it has on your skin, tea can help have you both looking and feeling younger.