Has anyone made a Green Tea/caffiene lotion?
June 13, 2005 12:45 PM Subscribe
I am trying to make a topical lotion using epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant extracted from Green Tea. Does anyone have advice or experience doing this? I am especially interested sources for the EGCG and recommended potency. The intention is to make a treatment to help reduce to effects of sun exposure, while there are lotions available with EGCG as an ingredient, I would like to make one using it as the primary ingredient.
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Pubmed sez that maximum effectiveness on mouse epithelial cells in vitro was at about 1 micromolar (.458 milligrams/liter), but in those experiments the stuff didn't have to penetrate through the skin and could sit around for a while and stew- the effective lotion dose could be tens to thousands of times higher.
Short recommendation: buy some of the nutritional supplements, and ask your pharmacist for a topical base to suspend 'em in.
Also ask her/him if there is a pharmacopeia entry for EGCG- it might be helpful. Break open/crush the tablets, and make a couple of 10 mL or so batches- the first with none, the second with one, the third with two, the fourth with 4, 8, 16, etc. until you're out of tablets. Then test-apply the batches to a small area on your skin, lowest concentrations first. Give it like an hour to do something before moving upwards in concentration. Any redness, heat, swelling, or pain should lead you to back way off on the concentration. If inflammation persists or gets worse, go to a doctor immediately. Also, I should probably say that I am not a doctor, do not give this advice as a professional, and am not responsible if you keel over dead from anaphlactic shock. Good luck!
posted by monocyte at 6:29 PM on June 13, 2005