It won’t replace sunscreen, but it may be a smart addition to your skin-care routine.

Reviewed by Dietitian Jane Leverich, M.S., RDN

Key Points

• Your skin is your body’s largest organ, acting as a barrier against environmental stressors.


• Dermatologists and dietitians agree that green tea is the best tea to drink for healthier skin.


• Wearing sunscreen daily, staying hydrated and eating a varied diet may also support skin health.

Skin is the largest organ in the body and serves as a barrier against environmental stressors, like pollution and the sun. These extrinsic factors can cause oxidative stress and contribute to skin aging. Intrinsic factors, like genetics and hormonal changes, are part of the natural aging process. While you can’t control intrinsic factors, there are things you can do to help protect and boost the health of your skin, and one of those is drinking more tea, specifically green tea.

“Green tea is rich in catechins, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Research suggests that regularly drinking green tea may help support skin health by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation as part of an overall healthy lifestyle,” says Vandana Sheth, RDN, CDCES, FAND. While other teas may be beneficial, green tea is the most well studied, says Tanya Kormeili, M.D.. Green tea also contains a high concentration of polyphenols.

Keep reading to learn why green tea is the best tea to drink for healthier skin, according to dietitians and dermatologists.

Why Green Tea Is Best for Healthier Skin

It Helps Fight Free Radicals & Oxidative Stress

Over time, our skin takes a hit from both the normal aging process and external exposures like smoking, pollution and the sun. This leads to oxidative stress and the production of free radicals, which can damage cells and increase the risk of age- diseases, like heart disease and cancer. The catechins in green tea, specifically EGCG, help neutralize free radicals generated by UV exposure and pollution, says Dr. Marisa Garshick, M.D., FAAD. 

Fun fact: The reason free radicals aren’t stable is because they have an unpaired electron, so they try to steal electrons from other molecules. When EGCG is present, it donates an electron to the free radical, stabilizing it and helping prevent damage to healthy cells.

Reducing oxidative stress may help slow visible signs of skin aging, says Garshick. That’s because free radicals can damage collagen and elastin, the proteins that help keep skin firm and elastic. “By protecting the collagen and elastin you can have more youthful skin and slow down the aging process,” says Kormeili.

It May Help Defend Against UV Damage

Photoaging is the premature aging and damage of the skin from being exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, most commonly from the sun. “Green tea is not a substitute for sunscreen, but research suggests its polyphenols may help reduce some of the inflammation and oxidative damage triggered by ultraviolet exposure,” says Sheth. 

“Regularly consuming green tea catechins raises the skin’s threshold for UV-induced redness,” says Dr. Indy Chabra, M.D., Ph.D. “A 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis found catechin intake increased the minimal UV dose needed to trigger sunburn,” she explains. Some research also suggests that EGCG may help protect components of the skin, including elastin, from UV- damage.

Green tea is certainly not a replacement for sunscreen, but it may complement other sun-protective habits.

It May Help Calm Inflammation

In addition to antioxidants, the catechins in green tea have anti-inflammatory properties. Skin inflammation can present as dry, flaky, red, burning or itchy skin and may be linked to allergies, rashes or autoimmune conditions, like psoriasis. “While drinking green tea is not meant to be used as a sole treatment for inflammatory skin conditions, regular consumption as part of a healthy diet may contribute to a lower inflammatory burden throughout the body, which can benefit the skin,” says Garshick.

Keeping inflammation at bay may also help slow visible signs of premature aging. As we get older, we naturally lose collagen and elastin, which can lead to wrinkles and sagging skin. Sun exposure can speed up that process by triggering inflammation that breaks down these proteins. Green tea may help offset some of the inflammation. Research suggests that EGCG, the primary catechin in green tea, may help reduce some of this UV- inflammation, helping preserve collagen over time. “EGCG dampens the UVB-driven inflammatory signaling (NF-κB and MAPK pathways) linked to photoaging,” says Chabra. “Less chronic inflammation means better-preserved collagen.”

Ways to Enjoy Green Tea

If hot tea isn’t, well, your cup of tea, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy green tea.

• Drink it hot or iced. Enjoy 1-2 cups of green tea daily, hot or iced. One 8-oz cup has about 25-50 milligrams of caffeine, but you can also buy decaf green tea, which still retains beneficial polyphenol compounds, says Sheth. To make iced green tea, refrigerate the tea after brewing or pour it over ice.


• Blend it into a smoothie. One creative way to consume green tea, says Sheth, is to use cooled brewed green tea as the liquid base for a smoothie. Mix with berries for an even bigger boost of antioxidants.


• Try matcha. Matcha is a powdered Japanese green tea that has more catechins than traditional green tea. That’s because you consume the whole tea leaf versus what’s steeped into water. It can be enjoyed hot or iced, or mixed with milk to make a matcha latte. Keep in mind that matcha has a naturally bitter flavor, so many prepared versions contain added sweeteners.


• Use it topically. You can also apply green tea to your skin. Cooled green tea bags can soothe puffy or irritated skin. But there are also topical creams made with green tea extract that may offer UV protection, improve acne and reduce wrinkles., However, more research is needed. As someone who’s formulated her own skincare product, Chabra says green tea works best when you drink it. “When used in prescribed doses, it can be unstable and oxidize. That instability is exactly why many topical green tea products underdeliver,” she says.

Other Strategies to Support Healthy Skin

Keeping your skin healthy over time requires an ongoing holistic approach that involves more than drinking tea. These are some of the best strategies to support healthy skin, according to experts. 

• Wear sun protection daily. UV radiation from the sun can lead to premature aging of the skin and increase the risk of skin cancer. “Wear a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher every day, seek shade when possible and wear sun-protective clothing to help protect against UV exposure,” says Garshick.


• Eat colorful fruits and vegetables. Eating the rainbow supports your skin from the inside out. Different-colored fruits and vegetables provide different vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and polyphenols that keep your skin healthy. For example, lycopene, which is found in tomatoes, fights free radicals and protects against UV damage, while vitamin C helps boost collagen and brighten skin tone.,


• Stay hydrated. Drinking water won’t cure sunburn or prevent cancer, but it does keep skin hydrated and helps maintain a healthy skin barrier. For optimal hydration, use a moisturizer on your skin, in addition to drinking enough water each day.


• Avoid smoking. Smoking destroys collagen and elastic fibers, increasing wrinkles and other signs of aging. Not only that, smoking can lead to skin allergies, worsen psoriasis, delay wound healing and increase the risk of some types of skin cancers.


• Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep has been associated with reduced hydration and elasticity as well as acne. Aim for 7-9 hours of good quality sleep so that every part of your body, including your skin, can rest and repair.

Our Expert Take

Green tea stands out as one of the best teas to drink for healthier skin thanks to its catechins, particularly EGCG, a plant compound with powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Research suggests these compounds may help fight oxidative stress, protect against UV damage and calm inflammation caused by natural aging and outside exposures, like the sun. Of course, drinking green tea isn’t a replacement for sunscreen, a balanced diet, or a good night’s sleep, but it’s a simple habit that may help support healthier skin over time.