Green Tea and Sunscreen

Last week I talked about Green Tea and how it is a powerful antioxidant which makes it a wonderful ingredient in our products. Well, I came across an article which stated that by having green tea as an ingredient in sunscreen, it can actually enhance the protection! I looked at Sensaria's Daily Sun Protection SPF 28 and it has green tea listed as one of the ingredients! It is that time of year again when we should all be wearing sunscreen on a daily basis so this was a good reminder for me to start putting it back into my routine.

Here is what I found online but there are many medical studies as well if you can sift through all the scientific jargon.

"Green tea appears to exert sun damage protection by quenching free radicals and reducing inflammation rather than by blocking UV rays. Therefore, green tea may synergistically enhance sun protection when used in addition to a sunscreen." ~Smart Skin Care~

"Topical applications of green tea extracts (EGCG) have protective effects on UVA- and UVB-induced skin damage (photoaging and carcinogenesis)" ~Wikipedia~

"Green tea is extremely skin-friendly and may even be cancer protective. 'Preliminary studies suggest that certain green tea polyphenols may help prevent skin cancer if they are applied directly to the skin,' says Steven Bratman, M.D., an integrative physician and author of The Natural Pharmacist (Prima, 2000). 'In addition, there is some evidence that green tea constituents might help protect the skin from sun damage and sunburn,' he adds.

In a recent study, six volunteers received applications of green tea extract on their skin prior to being exposed to UV radiation, which would normally produce redness. Those who received the highest concentration of green tea extract (10%) were almost completely protected from burning. Even a low-dose solution (2.5%) provided significant protection." ~Natural Herbal Healing~

"Compresses made with green tea are helpful pain relievers. Green tea acts as an antioxidant and helps reduce inflammation. The active ingredient in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Another option - [product name]. Believe it or not, it's the ideal after sun treatment, too. Not only can I get you to apply sunscreen (which can help reduce your risk of getting sunburned again), but it contains high levels of green tea." ~DERMAdoctor~

(I just wanted to note that DERMAdoctor promotes her own brand but she seems to be a well respected dermatologist. Plus, Sensaria's sunscreen is 10th on the ingredient list while hers is 16th)