In this article we explore some of the best teas that could cure your acne. We delve into scientific evidence, anecdotal evidence and what has worked for our team. Whether you drink it or apply it directly on your skin, one of these herbal teas is likely to scare away those horrible spots!
Green Tea
The health benefits of green tea have been known for centuries. But it’s a little known fact that green tea can also cure your acne and clear your skin.
Green tea gets its power from antioxidants. More specifically, there is a natural chemical in green tea called polyphenol, which give this tea its benefits. These benefits include anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic effects. But that’s not all! Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is a polyphenol in green tea that has shown the most promise in recent studies.
Much scientific research has been done to prove the health benefits of green tea. For example, green tea has been scientifically shown to improve blood flow. Better blood flow, leads to better skin, which in turn leads to less acne.
But what scientific evidence is there that green tea can help with acne? Unfortunately, there isn’t as much scientific evidence on green tea for acne as there is for heart health and diabetes. But some of these studies show some promising benefits for skin conditions such as acne.
Should I drink green tea to cure my acne?
In order to get the most out of this drink, follow these three easy tips.
- Buy a high quality tea. The better the tea, the more nutrients it will contain, and the more benefit you’ll get. Try to find an unprocessed, whole leaf green tea and preferably from organic green tea leaves. Avoid powdery green tea. It’s better to spend a little more on green tea, as quality matters.
- Don’t use boiling water. Wait a few moments after the water has boiled and use warm water only. Boiling water will destroy the health benefits of the green tea.
- Adding lemon to the tea will enhance the taste, but the Vitamin C will actually make the catechins (the healthy chemicals in green tea) easier to absorb.
Want more proof before you start swapping your daily coffee for green tea? Well, a recent study suggests that green tea can be the key to treating various skin conditions, even conditions such as psoriasis. Green tea was shown to help with conditions caused by inflammation, such as severe acne. This again shows that green tea could help cure acne and reduce skin outbreaks.
If you hate the taste of this particular drink, you could always explore green tea supplements, also called EGCG supplements. They are more expensive than the drink, and there might be side-effects which you wouldn’t have from drinking this brew. Some research also suggests that drinking this tea is better than taking green tea supplements.
I won’t go on to bore you with a bunch of dry science facts justifying why you need to drink this. Needless to say, many people have benefited from this natural remedy, and scientists mostly agree that it’s a great treatment.
Gree tea is of course not a magical solution for acne. It will take time for results to be visible and if you’re looking to clear pimples overnight, drinking tea won’t help. It will in time give you better skin, and worst case scenario, even if it does nothing for your skin, you’ll likely be healthier for drinking green tea.
Can I use green tea directly on my skin?
Drinking green tea to cure acne is one solution. There are many beauty products which have started including green tea as one of the key ingredients, including face cream, moisturiser and face cleansers. Using green tea topically on skin may help, considering it has anti-inflammatory properties, but there is little scientific evidence.
Other than buying a product with green tea for acne, you could simply apply a tea bag directly on your skin. Be careful to let it cool down so as not to burn your face! A method we’ve experienced with is to make a face mask with green tea. To add some power to this home remedy, you could cut a tea bag open, mix the wet green tea leaves with honey and some tea tree oil and apply directly on the affected skin. All these ingredients will help fight inflammation and should at least reduce the redness caused by spots. We recommend using manuka honey if you’re making your own face mask for acne, which has scientifically proven anti-inflammatory effects.
Spearmint Tea
Before researching this article, I can honestly say I never considered using mint tea to clear up acne. But apparently, this works! Spearmint has more anti-inflammatory power than any other mint tea, including peppermint tea, and is very good at destroying bacteria.
But before I recommend anything here, I always like some sort of scientific evidence to put my mind at ease. In a recent study conducted by the American Academy of Dermatology, the effectiveness of organic spearmint tea was compared to a prescription acne drug called minocycline. The results showed that the drug was most effective, but here’s the surprising fact. The spearmint tea (when drinking it twice daily, everyday for three months) was actually a close second, and had none of the side effects that the medication brought. So overall, and this really surprised me, the tea was a better alternative. In fact it reduced inflammatory acne lesions by over 50% over the test period of 3 months, with results being visible within a month. Impressive!
Many user reviews claim that spearmint tea is the best tea for hormonal acne, which tends to be stronger and deeper. The reason it works so well is that spearmint has a natural antiandrogenic effect. Anti-androgen therapy is used to treat skin conditions such as acne, and is used to counteract the effect of testosterone on the skin for women. So spearmint is a contender against drugs which act as androgen receptor blockers on the sebaceous gland, which produces the skin outbreaks by reducing sebum production. The bad news? Well, this would only work for women, as men won’t see the same results from drinking spearmint tea.
Just as with green tea, make sure you use high quality tea. Spend that little bit extra to ensure you retain all the natural chemicals, properties and nutrients. If you’re not sure which one to get, experiment with a mixture of different type of mint teas. But stick with spearmint if you’re suffering from hormonal acne (and you’re a woman).
Rooibos Tea
This is another tea which shows a lot of promise. Green tea and spearmint tea are the top two contenders when it comes to tea for clear skin. But Rooibos (also known as red tea) is a close third and is used by many to get rid of spots.
Like many of the other herbal teas, it’s naturally free from caffeine and low in tannins. It’s also packed with nutrients and minerals, including zinc, which is known to clear up skin (there is some debate on this). Red tea also includes alpha hydroxy acid and can help cleanse the skin. It’s certainly worth a try, and it’s a very warming drink, so quite pleasant in the colder winter months.
There’s actually a tea out there specifically to clear up skin. It’s called Get Gorgeous Tea, which has organic Rooibos as its main ingredient, combined with other ingredients such as Hibiscus flower and Burdock root, which are also known to help clear up skin. Get Gorgeous Tea has positive user reviews, so I might order some and test it myself. So keep an eye out for this review. For now, most supermarkets or health stores sell rooibos tea on its own or combined with flavours to make it more pleasant.
Chamomile Tea
I personally love chamomile tea. It’s a little bit of an acquired taste, but it does grow on you. It’s know for its calming effects and has many health benefits. If you’re suffering from stress-induced acne, then chamomile tea might help you sleep better. It works particularly well for me personally with a short meditation (such as mindfulness).
But for those who are relaxed and still have bad skin, you’ll be pleased to know chamomile tea has anti-inflammatory, which can help reduce inflammatory acne and calm the skin. I think if you’re going to start drinking tea to clear up skin, then chamomile should be one of the teas you try.
Burdock Root and Dandelion Root
Burdock Root (or scientifically known as Arctium Lappa) is a well known skin care herb containing tanning agents and Vitamin C. It is also rich in essential oils. Like many of the other teas discussed here, it has strong-anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties that can help with acne.
It can be applied either topically or you can drink it as a tea. It is a remarkable diuretic, which means it can help rid your body of toxins via the digestive system. This is important seeing that toxins escaping the body via the skin can cause problems such as blackheads and pimples. Burdock Root is a key ingredients in many skin care products and acne creams. You can apply this home remedy topically by pouring burdock tea on a cloth and wrapping this on your skin. As with the other treatments, wait until the cloth cools down before putting it on your skin to avoid burning yourself.
You can also try drinking the tea, which you can make by adding some dried burdock root to boiling water and letting it steep for around 10 minutes. If you don’t like the taste, you could try and take it as a supplement.
Burdock Root is a popular natural acne remedy, but there isn’t much scientific evidence to back up the many claims made online. There re a few scientific studies that suggest it can help with skin problems, but none of these are conclusive.
Is Dandelion Root A Good Pimple Remedy?
Very similar, to burdock root, is the dandelion root. Dandelion root is also known as Taraxacum Officinale. So can this root be an effective acne treatment? There isn’t much scientific evidence, but this root is rich in vitamins A, B, C, and D, including several minerals. There are plenty of people that swear this is an effective acne treatment and the fact it is a diuretic does give it some credibility in its power to remove toxins from your skin. Dandelion Root can be used by itself or in combination with Burdock Root.
As with all natural treatments that are ingested, we would recommend seeing a medical professional if you have any doubts whether these herbal medicines are safe for your personal circumstances.
Other Teas?
Apart from herbal teas, black tea is gaining popularity. I am not sure as my research is far from conclusive. Some people claim black tea causes skin outbreaks, while others claim black tea helps to give them, clear skin. It’s very similar to coffee, where some people shout it is the worst thing for acne, whilst others say it helps reduce acne.
There are plenty of other herbal teas that might work, but the above have received the most attention. Ive heard of people seeing some good results with dandelion tea, stinging nettle tea and arrowroot tea for acne. Whether these work or not is difficult to say as there just isn’t enough evidence. So whether they work or not is difficult to say, but if you like the taste, you might as well start drinking some different herbal teas.
One last tea to include in this list is turmeric tea. I’ve started adding turmeric in food, as it has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. There is plenty of scientific evidence, and widely used in India, where people seem to suffer less from pimples! Some other benefits of eating turmeric include increased blood flow, and anti-inflamatory properties. So it’s worth adding it to food or trying turmeric tea to see whether it helps clear acne for you.
Conclusion – Should You Drink Herbal Tea For Acne?
Yes! Don’t get caught up in the reviews and science. Herbal teas are good for you, and good for your skin. You don’t even need to pick a specific one. Go out and buy some different teas, experiment which one you like the taste of most, and then go with the tea that helps with your acne the most. It really all depends on your skin type, and as with most treatments, different people will react differently. So don’t overthink this, and go have a cup of tea right now!