3. Anti-Bacterial Effects of Green Tea
Acne may be caused by the P. Acnes bacteria and so studies have been done to show whether the antibacterial and antimicrobial effects of green tea may be beneficial against this particular form of bacteria as well.
An article in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology by Jo Young Yoon, et al. investigating the effect of EGCG on acne states that:
“EGCG significantly decreases mean colony-forming units in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that EGCG suppresses the growth of P. Acnes.
These results suggest that EGCG could target the abnormal colonization of P. Acnes in the development of acne.” [3]
How Green Tea Can Be Used for Acne
Green tea can be taken in a number of forms to aid in the treatment of acne.
First, a number of topical applications have been created in which green tea extracts can be used externally on the skin to treat acne.
Including green tea in your diet is another solution and may help treat the acne from the inside out.
Green tea has been seen to have three primary roles in the treatment of acne, namely, decreasing sebum production, acting as an anti-inflammatory and preventing the abnormal colonization of P. Acnes bacteria which causes acne.
Most of these effects are due to the presence of EGCG, a strong antioxidant present in green tea.