Green Tea
| Best used: AM Or PM | Caution: Plays well with most | Best for: Sensitive skin, anti-ageing, inflamed skin |
| Comments: Well tolerated organic skin care | Mode of action: Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory | Science Score: ** |
What is the Skin Science Behind Green Tea?
For all those who are into organic skin care, green tea is a sensible ingredient to add to your routine. This ancient antioxidant can reduce free radical damage to your skin & hence its use in anti-aging. Green tea has a myriad of effects on skin, including antioxidation, anti-bacterial & inflammatory properties, modulation of blood vessels.
What dermatological conditions can green tea treat?
Anti Aging: Protection against UV damage: Green tea contains antioxidants & free radical scavengers, protecting your DNA & collagen
Acne: Catechins & polyphenols are antibacterial & anti-inflammatory in nature. Reduces sebum production (oil), adding to antiacne effects & can potentially reduce enlarged pores.
Dark circles: Caffeine found in green tea acts as a vasoconstrictor, modulating blood flow under the eyes. You can’t get cheaper eye rejuvenation than using 2 tea bags under your eyes.
Oily skin: Green tea has been shown to reduce sebum or oil production in laboratory conditions. Thus it can be a useful adjunct to medically prescribed retinoids .
Inflamed Skin; Green Tea can calm down inflamed & angry skin. Inflammatory skin conditions include rosacea, acne, psoriasis & dermatitis.
What are the side effects of green tea?
Green tea has no known side effects. Skin allergies are extremely rare. This plant extract has no photo toxic/ sun reaction properties – unlike lemons, lime, parsley, & celery. The main point to note is that green tea is simply too weak to have any meaningful before & after results.
Can green tea be combined with other skin care products?
Given the low irritation potential of this plant extract, it can be mixed in with other topicals without too much concern. If in doubt, patch test & go slow.
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Can drinking green tea be beneficial to my skin?
Your general practitioner can discuss the role of topical retinoids as adapalene is not available in Australia. Hormone control with the OCP such as Diane, Estelle, Yaz, Yasmin, Juliette, or hormonal control with spironolactone or even cyproterone acetate. Anti-inflammatory antibiotics can be considered. So, when should you consult a medical dermatologist for acne? My guidelines are if you fail to respond to the above, including medical intervention from your GP &/or if you have scarring associated with acne.
Studies comparing the topical versus oral intake of green tea benefits for the skin, has not been performed. Anecdotally I consume at least 3 cups of green tea daily, not because I am into organic medicine, nor organic skin care, but because I like the taste, and most importantly green tea has a lower caffeine content compared to coffee or other teas.
How do I incorporate green tea into my daily skincare routine?
The best way to use green tea as a part of your daily routine depends on the product. As the main function of green tea is to protect your skin against UV & environmental damage, it would be sensible to use this as part of your morning skin care routine. I recommend using green tea combined with other antioxidants such as vitamin B, C & E, which work together synergistically.
Jessner TCA peel, one session
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👉This is a medium depth peel. Occasionally I prep with retinoic acid beforehand, but thin skin like this patient, RA is not needed. I scrub with acetone, then coat with 2-4 layers of Jesser. I then have a cup of coffee then come back to finish off with TCA at 35%
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😁Was having a friendly banter with my mentor & close friend @aprofphilipbekhor last night. Peels vs lasers. Why do I like peels? My chill out time. No loud noises apart from the patient's muffled screams 😱😱(joking). Despite the tech of lasers, I still like looking carefully at end points from peels. It is tactile, much like driving a manual car vs an automatic. Sure the latter is easier, but sometimes it’s the challenge to get the downshift perfectly matched, or the epidermis so evenly gray that the entire sheet slides from the dermis. It’s old school cool
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👊🏻Disclaimer: You do need to watch your peel patients more closely cf. NA laser patients, that is fact💯
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😎Davin Lim
Dermatologist
Brisbane🇦🇺
#tca #jessner #jessnertca #chemicalpeels #dermatologist #dermatology #drdavinlim #skinrejuvenation
TCA peels are a simple way to rejuvenate skin. This picture is over a decade old, but I still enjoy peels over lasers (more tactile). It’ much like driving a older vintage car, it’s slower to get to your destination but the drive is more enjoyable🚘
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🔬Skin science: TCA can be applied as a superficial, medium (most common) & deep peel. In this case I employed it as a medium depth peel, to the upper papillary dermis. In some cases I combine it with Jessner for deeper penetration
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👉Downtime: 5- 8 days depending on the strength and coats
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😢Pain: Tolerable with topical application of numbing and skin cooling. I do give oral conscious sedation if deeper peeling
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👍🏻Good for: Skin type 1-2+, pigment, freckles, sun damage, solar keratosis, mild to moderate wrinkles, lentigos/ age spots
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👎🏼Not good for: Darker skin, deep wrinkles, melasma
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😎Davin Lim
Dermatologist
Brisbane🇦🇺
#chemcialpeels #TCApeel #jessner #jessnerTCA #skinrejuvenation #skinlightening #skinbrightening #davinlim #dermatology #skinscience
Davin’s ProTip on Green Tea
This ingredient is worth a try if you are into botanicals for skin care. The science is there, however I suspect that lab data can’t be translated to reproducible clinical outcomes. The bottom line is that green tea is harmless, however don’t expect this to cure your acne, or magically make that skin cancer disappear. As with all skin care products, give this a go for 6-8 weeks, if you like it & see a difference, stick to it. If not, move on. I am not against any skin care products or ingredients that are safe, if they work or not is another point.
