Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Green Tea?A Powerful AntioxidantReduces InflammationAntibacterial QualitiesHormonal BreakoutsWon’t Work AloneAdd it to Your RoutineOther TreatmentsFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is Green Tea?
A Powerful Antioxidant
Reduces Inflammation
Antibacterial Qualities
Hormonal Breakouts
Won’t Work Alone
Add it to Your Routine
Other Treatments
Frequently Asked Questions
Tea has been used as an herbal remedy for centuries, and for many different purposes—from indigestion to hair loss. People still use green tea today because it’s rich in antioxidants and purported to have many health benefits.
Green tea has even been touted as anall-natural acne treatment. But how effective is green tea, really, at preventing and treating acne breakouts? And should you add it to your acne treatment routine?
Cheryl Chan/ Getty Images
What Is Green Tea?
Interestingly, green tea, black tea, white tea, and oolong tea all come from the same plant,Camellia sinensis.It’s how they are prepared that gives each of these teas their unique look and flavor profile.
Green tea is prepared from the fresh leaves of theCamellia sinensisplant. The leaves are lightly steamed and dried. This is done quickly to avoid the oxidation and browning of the leaves, that you see in the darker black tea and oolong.
Green Tea Is a Powerful Antioxidant
Here’s what we know for sure: green tea is packed withantioxidants.You’ve heard the term antioxidant before, but have you ever wondered exactly what an antioxidant is?
Antioxidants help protect the skin and body from damage from free radicals. Free radicals are unstable atoms with an odd number of electrons. Those atoms can “steal” electrons from other molecules, causing damage.
And green tea happens to be full of them. (Green tea doesn’t have the antioxidant market cornered, though. Plenty of other foods are high in antioxidants too.)
Green Tea Can Reduce Inflammation
While antioxidants are healthy, antioxidants themselves don’t do anything to improve acne breakouts. But green tea is also rich in a certain type of polyphenols calledcatechins.
Very simply, polyphenols are compounds in plants that have health benefits for people. Catechins are antioxidant and also anti-inflammatory.
Here’s where it gets interesting. The catechins in green tea are very effective at reducing skin inflammation.Can green tea then reduceinflammatory acne? Maybe.
A study published in the April 2016 issue ofComplementary Therapies in Medicinegave decaffeinated green tea extract supplements to a group of adult women with acne.A second group took a placebo supplement.
Those who took the green tea extract supplement had fewer inflammatory breakouts, especially around the nose, mouth, and chin. (You know, the exact spots where those peskypremenstrual breakoutsalways seem to pop up every month.)
But the green tea supplements didn’t completely clear up acne completely. In fact, between the two groups (those who took the decaffeinated green tea supplements and those who took the placebo supplements) there was no significant difference intotalacne breakouts.
So, it would seem that the green tea supplements may be made existing acne blemishes less inflamed, especially around the nose, mouth, and chin area.
Another interesting quality green tea has is its ability to fight bacteria. Green tea shows antibacterial effects against some of the most common bacteria that contribute to acne breakouts, namelypropionibacteria acnesandpropionibacteria granulosumas well as Staph.
In the same study, published in the June 2015 issue of theJournal of Drugs in Dermatology, pomegranate extract was also shown to have antibacterial qualities against these acne-causing bacteria.
Before you run out and grab a green tea mask, know that all of this was donein vitro. This means it was done in a lab and not on human skin. So, whether the green tea would work the same in the real world, on real skin, remains to be seen.
It does give a good jumping off point for more research on the effect green tea has on acne pimples, though.
Besides, bacteria isn’t the onlycause of acne. There are other factors at play including excess oil and abnormal shedding of skin cells.
Affects Hormone-Induced Breakouts
Green tea may help with these hormonally-influenced breakouts, too. Remember those polyphenols? Green tea is high in the polyphenolepigallocatechin-3-gallateor EGCG.
EGCG can lower androgen levels in the body.EGCG helps block IGF-1. IGF-1 is a growth factor that peaks in adolescence (yes, when acne is typically at its worst).
It’s believed that high IGF-1 levels can cause your sebaceous glands to pump out oil, increase inflammation and make skin cells more “sticky” so they’re more likely to clog the pores.
EGCG may reduce IGF-1 levels which, in turn, may potentially reduce acne breakouts.
Green Tea Likely Won’t Work Alone
There’s no doubt that green tea is a healthy drink. But don’t hang your hat on a cup or two a day clearing up your skin.
There is still much more research that needs to be done to unequivocally prove (or disprove) the effectiveness of green tea as anacne treatment. It’s highly unlikely that just drinking a warm cup of green tea is going to clear up your acne.
If green tea is ever approved as an acne treatment, it will most likely be a more concentrated extract—something that delivers a more powerful punch to the skin than the beverage you buy at the grocery store.
Add Green Tea to Your Regimen
Still, with all the health benefits of green tea, there’s no reason why you can’t use it as an addition to your acne treatment routine. While it’s not enough to completely clear your skin on its own, it may help to give you some improvement.
You can simply drink a cup or two a day. Some people say green tea can make them feel a little queasy when drank on an empty stomach, so if this sounds like you try sipping your tea after a meal.
Green tea can be used topically, too. Many skin care products and cosmetics contain green tea extract.
How much good you’re actually going to get from the green tea in your cosmetic products is debatable, and has a lot to do with how much green tea extract is in the product. Some sources cite green tea as an anti-ager for the skin.
Treatments to Help Clear Your Skin
In addition to green tea, you’ll also want to get started on a daily acne treatment routine. This will give you the most effective and reliable results.
Formild breakouts, over-the-counterbenzoyl peroxideis a good choice. Try that for eight to 10 weeks and see if that helps improve your skin.
If OTC products aren’t doing much good, or you havemoderate acneorsevere acne, you’ll definitely want to get on a prescription acne medication instead. There are plenty of treatment options out there, and one will work for you. Put in a call to your dermatologist.
A Word From Verywell
So, while green tea isn’t a miracle treatment for acne, it isn’t complete bunk either. There’s still plenty of more work and research to do to really see what green tea can really do for acne.
If you’re a tea drinker anyway, swapping another beverage for a steamy cup of green tea is a healthy option. And, as far as skin care products go, green tea is a fun and luxurious addition.
But on its own, green tea isn’t an acne treatment. You’ll still get the best results from a proven medication.
Green tea pills or supplements aren’t likely to clear up acne on their own, but they might reduce some inflammation of existing acne.The use of an over-the-counter or prescription medication is more effective for clearing up acne.
The benefits of green tea for skin include:
Drinking green tea on an empty stomach can cause feelings of an uneasy stomach in some people. If you’re prone to an upset stomach, it may be best to drink green tea after having a meal or snack.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Carloni P, Tiano L, Padella L et al.Antioxidant activity of white, green and black tea obtained from the same tea cultivar.Food Research International. 2013;53(2):900-908. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2012.07.057Chacko S, Thambi P, Kuttan R, Nishigaki I.Beneficial effects of green tea: a literature review.Chin Med. 2010;5(1):13. doi:10.1186/1749-8546-5-13Sailaja Rao P, Kalva S, Yerramilli A, Mamidi S.Free radicals and tissue damage: role of antioxidants.Free Radicals and Antioxidants. 2011;1(4):2-7. doi:10.5530/ax.2011.4.2Saric S, Notay M, Sivamani R.Green tea and other tea polyphenols: effects on sebum production and acne vulgaris.Antioxidants. 2016;6(1):2. doi:10.3390/antiox6010002Lu P, Hsu C.Does supplementation with green tea extract improve acne in post-adolescent women? A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial.Complement Ther Med. 2016;25:159-163. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2016.03.004Li Z, Summanen PH, Downes J, et al.Antimicrobial activity of pomegranate and green tea extract on propionibacterium acnes, propionibacterium granulosum, staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcus epidermidis.J Drugs Dermatol. 2015;14(6):574-8.Graber E.Acne vulgaris: overview of management.Zouboulis C, Jourdan E, Picardo M.Acne is an inflammatory disease and alterations of sebum composition initiate acne lesions.J Eur Acad Derm and Venereology. 2013;28(5):527-532. doi:10.1111/jdv.12298Additional ReadingGrant P, Ramasamy S.An update on plant derived anti-androgens.International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism.2012; 10(2):497-502.National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Green Tea.Payar N, Feily A, Kazerouni A.Green tea in dermatology.Skinmed.2012 Nov-Dec; 10(6):352-5.
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Carloni P, Tiano L, Padella L et al.Antioxidant activity of white, green and black tea obtained from the same tea cultivar.Food Research International. 2013;53(2):900-908. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2012.07.057Chacko S, Thambi P, Kuttan R, Nishigaki I.Beneficial effects of green tea: a literature review.Chin Med. 2010;5(1):13. doi:10.1186/1749-8546-5-13Sailaja Rao P, Kalva S, Yerramilli A, Mamidi S.Free radicals and tissue damage: role of antioxidants.Free Radicals and Antioxidants. 2011;1(4):2-7. doi:10.5530/ax.2011.4.2Saric S, Notay M, Sivamani R.Green tea and other tea polyphenols: effects on sebum production and acne vulgaris.Antioxidants. 2016;6(1):2. doi:10.3390/antiox6010002Lu P, Hsu C.Does supplementation with green tea extract improve acne in post-adolescent women? A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial.Complement Ther Med. 2016;25:159-163. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2016.03.004Li Z, Summanen PH, Downes J, et al.Antimicrobial activity of pomegranate and green tea extract on propionibacterium acnes, propionibacterium granulosum, staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcus epidermidis.J Drugs Dermatol. 2015;14(6):574-8.Graber E.Acne vulgaris: overview of management.Zouboulis C, Jourdan E, Picardo M.Acne is an inflammatory disease and alterations of sebum composition initiate acne lesions.J Eur Acad Derm and Venereology. 2013;28(5):527-532. doi:10.1111/jdv.12298Additional ReadingGrant P, Ramasamy S.An update on plant derived anti-androgens.International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism.2012; 10(2):497-502.National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Green Tea.Payar N, Feily A, Kazerouni A.Green tea in dermatology.Skinmed.2012 Nov-Dec; 10(6):352-5.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Carloni P, Tiano L, Padella L et al.Antioxidant activity of white, green and black tea obtained from the same tea cultivar.Food Research International. 2013;53(2):900-908. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2012.07.057Chacko S, Thambi P, Kuttan R, Nishigaki I.Beneficial effects of green tea: a literature review.Chin Med. 2010;5(1):13. doi:10.1186/1749-8546-5-13Sailaja Rao P, Kalva S, Yerramilli A, Mamidi S.Free radicals and tissue damage: role of antioxidants.Free Radicals and Antioxidants. 2011;1(4):2-7. doi:10.5530/ax.2011.4.2Saric S, Notay M, Sivamani R.Green tea and other tea polyphenols: effects on sebum production and acne vulgaris.Antioxidants. 2016;6(1):2. doi:10.3390/antiox6010002Lu P, Hsu C.Does supplementation with green tea extract improve acne in post-adolescent women? A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial.Complement Ther Med. 2016;25:159-163. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2016.03.004Li Z, Summanen PH, Downes J, et al.Antimicrobial activity of pomegranate and green tea extract on propionibacterium acnes, propionibacterium granulosum, staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcus epidermidis.J Drugs Dermatol. 2015;14(6):574-8.Graber E.Acne vulgaris: overview of management.Zouboulis C, Jourdan E, Picardo M.Acne is an inflammatory disease and alterations of sebum composition initiate acne lesions.J Eur Acad Derm and Venereology. 2013;28(5):527-532. doi:10.1111/jdv.12298
Carloni P, Tiano L, Padella L et al.Antioxidant activity of white, green and black tea obtained from the same tea cultivar.Food Research International. 2013;53(2):900-908. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2012.07.057
Chacko S, Thambi P, Kuttan R, Nishigaki I.Beneficial effects of green tea: a literature review.Chin Med. 2010;5(1):13. doi:10.1186/1749-8546-5-13
Sailaja Rao P, Kalva S, Yerramilli A, Mamidi S.Free radicals and tissue damage: role of antioxidants.Free Radicals and Antioxidants. 2011;1(4):2-7. doi:10.5530/ax.2011.4.2
Saric S, Notay M, Sivamani R.Green tea and other tea polyphenols: effects on sebum production and acne vulgaris.Antioxidants. 2016;6(1):2. doi:10.3390/antiox6010002
Lu P, Hsu C.Does supplementation with green tea extract improve acne in post-adolescent women? A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial.Complement Ther Med. 2016;25:159-163. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2016.03.004
Li Z, Summanen PH, Downes J, et al.Antimicrobial activity of pomegranate and green tea extract on propionibacterium acnes, propionibacterium granulosum, staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcus epidermidis.J Drugs Dermatol. 2015;14(6):574-8.
Graber E.Acne vulgaris: overview of management.
Zouboulis C, Jourdan E, Picardo M.Acne is an inflammatory disease and alterations of sebum composition initiate acne lesions.J Eur Acad Derm and Venereology. 2013;28(5):527-532. doi:10.1111/jdv.12298
Grant P, Ramasamy S.An update on plant derived anti-androgens.International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism.2012; 10(2):497-502.National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Green Tea.Payar N, Feily A, Kazerouni A.Green tea in dermatology.Skinmed.2012 Nov-Dec; 10(6):352-5.
Grant P, Ramasamy S.An update on plant derived anti-androgens.International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism.2012; 10(2):497-502.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Green Tea.
Payar N, Feily A, Kazerouni A.Green tea in dermatology.Skinmed.2012 Nov-Dec; 10(6):352-5.
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