Acne and Green Tea: What You Should Know
There are a few topical active ingredients on the market that have proven to be effective acne fighters. These are the ingredients that you consistently see listed on the packages of typical over the counter acne products. They go by the names salicylic acid, sulfur, resorcinol and benzoyl peroxide. In the skincare business, which is regulated by the FDA, you cannot legally have “acne” in the label of your product unless it contains one of those ingredients in a minimum percentage. So you won’t see any product on the market labeled for acne use containing only green tea as its active ingredient.
Why Green Tea Works in Fighting Acne
Regardless of the FDA’s labeling laws, green tea in its topical form is actually an amazing acne fighter. In a 2009 study published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, topical green tea lotion in 2% was found to be an effective treatment for mild to moderate acne. Green tea is a powerful antioxidant that helps treat inflammation and acne is an inflammatory skin disease. Most over the counter skincare products only contain less than 1% green tea. At Clear Clinic Labs, we created an over-the-counter product called GTS 2.4, which contains 2.4% green tea. The results have so far been promising. Green tea is a lot less irritating than most other acne ingredients, so people are more inclined to stick with this product for a longer period of time.
