EGCG / Epigallocatechin Gallate / Camellia Sinensis
Rich in catechins, primarily EGCG — a potent free-radical scavenger, anti-inflammatory, and mild androgen receptor inhibitor relevant to sebum reduction. Topical EGCG reduces sebum, calms inflammatory acne, provides UV photoprotection, and inhibits MMP activity that degrades the dermal matrix.
This concentration sits at or below the 1% line — that's expected and effective for this ingredient. Below the 1% line isn't automatically fairy-dusting; some ingredients genuinely work at low doses.
Topical 0.1–1% EGCG in serums, toners or moisturisers, AM and/or PM. Well-tolerated by all skin types.
Everything above concerns EGCG applied to the skin. But green tea is also something people drink, and its catechins — led by EGCG — are absorbed and circulate as part of the body’s antioxidant pool. Oral green tea polyphenols have been studied mainly for photoprotection: the idea that a systemic catechin load makes skin modestly more resistant to UV-induced oxidative damage from the inside.
The honest part: the human evidence here is thinner and more mixed than the topical case. Some controlled studies suggest oral green tea polyphenols slightly raise the skin’s threshold for UV redness and nudge measures of elasticity or microcirculation; others find little visible effect, and doses vary widely. Absorption is modest and catechins clear quickly, so a daily cup is a pleasant antioxidant contribution rather than a treatment — and never a substitute for sunscreen.
Topical and oral do different jobs. Applied directly, EGCG reaches far higher concentrations in the skin than drinking ever could — that is the route for the sebum-reducing, anti-inflammatory and MMP-inhibiting effects described above. Drinking green tea, or taking a standardised polyphenol extract, tops up the whole-body antioxidant reservoir instead. Both are defensible; neither replaces the other.
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