Clear Up Acne Now with Green Tea!

Though there is no actual cure for acne, an effective all natural acne treatment can be found at your local grocery store. I am talking about green tea. Green tea has been shown to treat acne and even be as effective as benzoil peroxide in some cases! So move over minocycline, salacylic acid, and adaplene gel, it's time for mother nature to have a shot at acne treatment! Goodbye zits!

Immediately after harvest, green tea leaves are steamed to prevent the tea leaves from fermenting. This allows the leaves to retain their natural antioxidants and polyphenols, giving green tea its acne fighting power. Green tea has no calories, and can be naturally decaffeinated giving the tea all manner of health benefits. There is evidence that the antioxidants in green tea can help prevent cancer caused by free radicals and increase metabolism. So drinking green tea has many benefits in addition to acne treatment!

Green Tea By The Cup

How much green tea should you drink for optimal acne treatment potential? I'd say at least three to four cups worth. This may sound like a lot, but three cups of tea a day is definitely attainable. Your typical coffee mug is 12 fluid ounces, or the same as a can of soda. Just replace these empty calories with green tea, and you'll easily hit your quota and start acne fighting!

Green Tea Extract Capsules

If the taste of green tea does not appeal to you, green tea extract is available in capsule form. You can find it at any major pharmacy in the supplements aisle. Each green tea capsule is roughly equivalent to two cups of tea on average (depending on dosage) and retains all the polyphenols and antioxidants to zap those zits!

Applying Green Tea Directly to the Skin

Your third option is to apply green tea directly at the source. Purchase some bags of tea like normal and wet them. Then rub the tea bags all over your acne and let it dry. I've had folks with moderate to severe acne suggest this, and they have said it helped them achieve acne free clear skin like no other treatment!

Ready to buy some green tea to help cure your acne? Well quality bags are easy enough to find. I recommend going to your local grocery store and picking up a box of Tazo China Green Tips, Tazo Zen, or Celesteal Seasonings Decaf Green Tea. These should set you back about four dollars for 20-40 bags depending on the brand. If uncut and unbagged tea leaves are your thing, you will have to find an herb store or farmers market of some sort. This blog provides information on the different types of green tea.

So if you've been through the works of acne remedies - Accutane, Differin, minocycline, benzoil peroxide, salacylic acid, you name it - and you are looking for an all natural alternative, green tea is inexpensive and readily available.  As an acne remedy, green tea has no harmful side effects.  The worst it can do is help protect you from cancer, so go ahead, give green tea a shot!