Tea, which is a popular drink, also often appears in cosmetics. According to Mintel's new product database, as early as 2016, green tea has become one of the skin care ingredients most familiar to Chinese people. In the years of development, the types of tea in cosmetics have become more and more diversified, and have gradually become a mainstream plant skin care ingredient.
Many brands on the market will specifically launch tea series of skin care products. At the same time, many marketing accounts are also promoting the effects of drinking tea for beauty, acne removal, and weight loss. In people's perception, there has always been an equal sign between tea and health and beauty. Therefore, the use of tea extract in cosmetics, in addition to its efficacy in the formulation, also emotionally conforms to the needs of consumers.
According to literature records, there are more than 4000 active compounds contained in tea, and polyphenols account for more than one third. Tea polyphenols, also known as catechins, are one of the main antioxidant components in tea extracts. In the category of catechins, the component with the strongest antioxidant activity is epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG). ).
In 2019, a review published in the "Molecule" magazine made a very detailed comparison and summary of the antioxidant properties of various tea ingredients. It is mentioned that among the various tea ingredients, green tea contains the most abundant EGCG, followed by oolong tea and black tea; in addition, the active ingredients of tea have the effects of photoprotection and fat reduction in addition to anti-oxidation.
In addition, since the tea extract contains tea polyphenols and caffeine, it also has a certain effect on reducing cellulite. Clinical trials have shown that about 3-4 cups of green tea (600-900 mg of tea polyphenols) per day can significantly reduce the total abdominal fat content of obese patients [3].
The research on the efficacy of tea extracts is relatively comprehensive and clear, but there are some limitations in its application. On the one hand, as a plant extract, the content of the active ingredient contained in the tea extract itself varies, and there is no clear reference standard for its application concentration in the product.