Green Tea Extract for Skin Health

Research suggests that green tea extract may offer several benefits for skin health, with evidence pointing toward improvements in elasticity, hydration, barrier function, and visible signs of aging such as wrinkles and skin dullness. The available evidence includes a small randomized controlled trial using a topical green tea cream and two additional studies — one combining laboratory and clinical methods — that collectively found antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and skin-protective effects associated with green tea compounds, alongside a broader 2025 review that positioned green tea extract as one of several antioxidants with meaningful roles in defending skin against UV radiation and oxidative stress. Studies indicate that both topical application and dietary intake may contribute to these effects, and that delivery methods such as encapsulation in chitosan particles may enhance absorption and efficacy. That said, the clinical studies are small in scale, and independent replication with larger trials would be needed to draw firm conclusions, so current findings should be considered promising but preliminary.