Contents:
- Medical Video: Green Tea: Bulletproof Treatment for Acne?!
- A glimpse of green tea
- Revealing the benefits of green tea for acne
- 1. Reducing skin inflammation
- 2. Fight the bacteria that cause acne
- In general, further research is needed
Medical Video: Green Tea: Bulletproof Treatment for Acne?!
Tea has been used as a herbal medicine for centuries to overcome various health problems. One of the most famous types of tea because of its efficacy is green tea. High antioxidant content such as catechins, polyphenols, and other natural compounds make this tea has many health benefits, including for the skin. Yes, green tea is often used as a natural acne remedy. However, how effective is green tea for acne? See the full review in this article.
A glimpse of green tea
Basically, all types of tea - green tea, black tea, oolong tea, come from the same plant. Camellia sinensis. However, what distinguishes one tea from another type is how it is processed. This is what makes each type of tea has a different color and distinctive taste.
Green tea is processed by steaming and dried in a very fast process to avoid changing the color of the leaves to brown. Among the three types of tea, green tea is said to be the tea that has the best health potential because it has the highest antioxidant content of polyphenols.
In traditional Chinese and Indian medicine, green tea is used as a stimulant, a diuretic drug, to help accelerate wound healing. In addition, green tea is also often used as a natural remedy for flatulence, controls blood sugar levels, helps facilitate digestion, and improves cognitive abilities.
Revealing the benefits of green tea for acne
Green tea is rich in polyphenol antioxidants which can protect the skin and body from damage caused by free radicals. The following are the benefits of green tea for acne on the face.
1. Reducing skin inflammation
Green tea is rich in polyphenols, called catechins. Simply put, polyphenols are compounds in plants that have health benefits for humans. Catechins themselves are antioxidants and are also anti-inflammatory. Well, catechins contained in green tea are very effective for reducing skin inflammation.
A study conducted by researchers from National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan in 2016 stated that acne-prone women who took decaffeinated green tea extract supplements were known to have fewer zits in the T-Zone, which is around the nose, mouth and chin.
Even so, this green tea extract supplement does not completely cleanse pimples. Even between two groups (those who took supplements or not) there was no significant difference in the number of zits.
From the results of these studies, the researchers stated that the use of green tea for acne only helps reduce a little inflammation, especially in the T zone. So, not eliminate acne as a whole.
2. Fight the bacteria that cause acne
Several studies have shown that antibacterial agents in green tea can fight acne-causing bacteria, such as propionibacteria acnes, propionibacteria granulosum, and staph.
Unfortunately, various studies have only been carried out in vitro. This means that the research was carried out in the laboratory and not on human skin. In addition, bacteria are also not the only cause of acne. There are many other factors that play a role, including excess oil and the buildup of dead skin cells on the face.
In general, further research is needed
The benefits of green tea for health is indeed no need to doubt. However, don't rely on your acne treatment only on green tea. Because the evidence that the efficacy of green tea extracts for acne still has to be reviewed further. Even so, this is a good step to start further research to deepen the benefits of green tea for skin health.
What must be understood, the key to success in treating acne skin is to avoid all kinds of things that can trigger acne. So, it's very unlikely that just drinking a cup of warm green tea will cleanse your pimples. Always remember that wrong facial care is the main factor why acne doesn't go away.
