How Green Tea Vs. Coffee Affected My Skin

#1

Since my dad is no skin expert, I turned to dermatologists to uncover if there's truth behind the claim drinking green tea instead of coffee could lessen breakouts and improve my skin. Dr. Shereen Idriss of Wexler Dermatology and Dr. Sue Ann Wee at the Manhattan Center for Dermatology spilled the beans (or should I say leaves?) on the coffee vs green tea debate, and what I might notice by swapping. After all, every good relationship needs to be tested, right?

#2 The Facts

First, the accusation. Dr. Shereene Idriss tells me how, despite coffee's health benefits, "it happens to be a strong diuretic, which in the dermatology world equates to dehydration. In turn, this leads to a buildup of toxins that cause inflammation resulting in dilated superficial capillaries, blotchy and dull skin." Dr. Sue Ann Wee adds, "Coffee drinkers often add sugar and sweetened creamers to coffee, and this excess sugar ... can increase inflammation in the body [and] trigger acne flares." Why coffee, why.

Alternatively, green tea gets some serious praises for its skin-loving effects. Dr. Wee shares, "Green tea [IMO] is better for your skin than coffee mainly because it doesn't spike cortisol like coffee (high levels of cortisol can lead to ... aggravation of acne, rosacea, and other skin conditions." Dr. Idriss also points out how "[it's] not usually consumed with creamer and therefore tends to be more hydrating than coffee without inducing acne." Well, snap.

#3 The Experiment

Armed with some serious motivation, a ton of yummy green tea options, and a little anxiety, I decided to drink green tea instead of coffee for an entire seven days to find out what would happen to my skin. While Dr. Wee and Idriss commented that it would likely take up to a month to notice any incredibly drastic effects, I am only human and a week was the longest amount of time that sounded even remotely feasible. I know my fellow coffee addicts will understand.

And since this is a thoroughly scientific experiment, I want to point out that the photos below were all taken in similar lighting, not photoshopped or filtered, and I made sure to get seven hours of sleep each night!

#4 Day 1

An excerpt from my phone notes on day 1: "Oh my god. This was a terrible idea. Why is morning so bright? Please tell me day 7 is tomorrow."

But for real. The headache struggle was so real basically all day. I popped a few painkillers by 2 p.m. because I needed to function at work. Yowch.

#5 Day 2

I admit, I felt a little less groggy mentally than the day before, but my body was so tired. I had no idea how dependent I'd become on that jittery feeling to get me moving. A headache crept in around 10 a.m. but was intermittent the rest of the day instead of totally constant. #Praise.

As for my skin, nothing to really note in a day

#6 Day 3

My skin may wasn't insanely different yet, but I felt like my mind was definitely clearer than it normally is when I wake up and I felt freaking good...but yes, another late morning headache.

#7 Day 4

So I started my period on day 4 which meant I'd normally be pimple-covered. But! There wasn't a single pimple on my face. What the actual eff green tea?! Is this your doing?!

And, apologies if this is TMI y'all, but one very unexpected benefit of green tea is my bowels are waaay more regular. Apparently I don't need my morning coffee to have my morning banyo moments.

#8 Day 5

I only had a headache for around twenty minutes in the morning, but felt so energized the whole day. I went to bed earlier last night, fell asleep faster, and woke up freaking pumped to power through the day.

Also, can we stop and talk about my dark under eye circles? No, because there aren't any!

#9 Day 6

Yes, I wore the same shirt two days in a row. Please don't judge me.

My body felt great and my skin is noticeably brighter than day 1. But, day 6 was hard.

As I mentioned earlier, coffee isn't just caffeine. It's romance. Like with any breakup I've been through, I missed the days coffee and I spent together. I started totally cheating on green tea in my mind and dreamt of grinding beans, boiling water for the perfect pour-over, and letting the kitchen fill with all that java bliss while waiting for my tea to steep. Shhh.

#10 Day 7

Dang, if my skin gets this bright and clear in a week, it's hard to imagine what kind of difference a whole month would legit make.