There is something inherently sophisticated about tea. I mean, what other beverage comes with a whole “set” to drink it? And, you’ll never see a little girl sit her stuffed animals around a table to share a nice cup of joe. The nature of being a tea drinker comes with certain connotations of elegance, class, and nobility that, beyond a nice bottle of champagne, you don’t really get with any other drinks. But, if we dig a bit past the surface of the reputation of tea in general, there are a lot of benefits that the ingredients in this refined beverage have to offer your health and, more specifically, the health of your skin.

Firstly, lets get specific as to the type of tea we are referring to. After all you can’t necessarily rub your face with a pouch of Earl Grey from your cupboard and expect it to have any positive effects on your skin. If you haven’t gathered from the name of this post, the most beneficial type of tea for your skin is green tea. Green tea has a host of positive effects on skin, not the least of which is its ability to protect it from the harmful effect of exposure to the sun. The way it goes about accomplishing this is as unusual as it is incredible since instead of blocking UV rays like sun screen, it instead rids the skin of free radicals and reduces inflammation at a rate which protects it from harm. So if you combine a green tea-based cream with an SPF you are doing wonders for the preservation of your youthful skin.

You would be hard-pressed to find a naturally occurring substance that contains a more potent antioxidant than green tea. This is how green tea is so effective in combating active free radicals that you come into contact with on a daily basis. As we have discussed before, the more antioxidants your skin has, the better and you can’t do much better in that department than the powerful effects of green tea.

Green tea also fights acne causing bacteria on your skin. The medicinal leaf contains catechins which are anti-bacterial in nature and can help reduce redness and inflammation, as well as help healing your pimples without leaving unflattering scars. As if all of these amazing benefits weren’t enough, green tea contains epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which can essentially reactivate skin cells that are dying. So think of green tea as the ultimate multi-tasker, protecting your skin while bringing weak skin cells back to life.

Last but certainly not least, the simple act of taking time out of your busy schedule, putting the kettle on the stove, and stopping to enjoy a hot cup of green tea does wonders for reducing stress which will not only help the health of your skin, but your health overall. Stress is another one of natures vicious cycles: you get stressed over day to day responsibilities, your immune system is effected by your stress level, you get sick, you get stressed that you’re sick, and so on. So break the cycle and enjoy a nice, elegant cup of green tea for your own good. And don’t forget to protect your beautiful skin with the help from the amazing green tea infused products at Lira Clinical.