White Tea and Your Skin
You’ve probably heard about the benefits of antioxidant-rich green tea. White tea is another herbal tea common in China which is made from the growth buds and young leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis. Because it contains buds as well as leaves (while most teas only contain leaves), white tea maintains a pale color, hence its name. White tea is also considered to be even higher in antioxidants than green tea, and some acne sufferers have found it to have a noticeable effect in promoting clear skin.
There are different grades of white tea, some with a stronger flavor than others. However, most of the white tea you are likely to come across in the west will have a light and possibly fruity flavor. I find it a nice change from green tea myself. On the downside, it’s often more expensive than green tea since it is less common.
Skin care is one of the traditional uses of white tea, and some have claimed to see benefits in their skin condition from only a single glass of white tea per day. I remain a little skeptical about this myself. In most instances green tea users requires 5-8 glasses of green tea per day to see any real effects on their skin (which does raise the question of whether these benefits derived simply from drinking more water), and even if white tea is stronger, you’re more likely to see results with a higher intake. As with green tea, fresh-brewed white tea (un-sweetened) is best, as sugar and preservatives can counteract many of the benefits the tea would otherwise have.
White tea is generally higher in caffeine than other teas due to the presence of buds as well as leaves. This means that long-term high-dose usage of white tea may not be the greatest thing for your health. Find a dosage from 3-5 glasses per day and try that for approximately 2 months. If white tea is going to have a beneficial effect on your skin, you should see it within that time. Taken at a reasonable dosage, white tea does remain one of the healthiest things you can drink, so adding a glass every day is certainly a good idea. I’m just not confident it could have a strong enough effect to combat acne at this dosage.
