Tea Tree Oil – Uses & Thoughts

I’ve said before I’m into natural skin care. I know I can’t say the same for some of my makeup, but I’ve gotten very simple with my skin care. I read some interesting things on Tea Tree Oil, and it sparked my interest to buy some. After reading the reviews on my favorite beauty website, I had to try it. Along with my Witch Hazel & Lemon Toner my Argan Oil, and my EVOO, this was bound to fit right in!

Tea Tree Oil is an essential oil derived from a plant that is native to Australia. It is a natural disinfectant, and has been used for that purpose for many years, dating back to the Australian aboriginals! Tea tree oil is another one of those multi-purpose oils. It can be used for acne, dandruff, psoriasis, cuts/scrapes/boils, lice, eczema, yeast infections (yikes!), vaginitis (I have no idea what the heck that is but it sounds painful in a secret place), and much more!

Tea Tree Oil is very strong. The scent seems familiar to me, like strong minty eucalyptus or something. Very medicinal. Very strong scent. It lingered in the bathroom for a bit after I used it. I had a tiny bit on my face the other night and Greg commented that I smelled like motor oil. I have no idea where he got that because it really does smell medicinal-minty-eucalyptus-y. The smell wears off, though, so don’t be worried. More importantly, Tea Tree Oil and must be diluted when used, so make sure that whatever you’re using it for, you do a little research before you apply it. For example, I know you can add a few drops to shampoo to help with your scalp, or a little bit to your facial cleanser.

What particularly interested me is the use for acne. I decided I wanted to spot treat my stubborn acne spots with tea treel oil. I did so by dipping a Q-Tip in the bottle, running it under water to dilute it, and applied to problem areas. I noticed the spots dried up pretty quickly, but after a while, I sort of lost interest in it as it seemed to lose its bite on my acne. It really is used best on acne as a spot treatment, but I prefer a Benzoyl Peroxide treatment.

But this isn’t a total loss, here…

One awesome use I accidentally discovered: Tea Tree Oil helps heal canker sores.

Yep! It relieves aphthuous ulcers (aka “canker sores” not to be confused with herpes, people!) in my mouth very quickly! I tend to get those little buggers every once in a while due to stress or hormones. They’re very painful and can take up to two weeks to heal without any form of treatment. I actually have a prescription from my dentist for this (it’s this little paste) to help when I get the ulcers. I thought, “Well, if tea tree oil is a disinfectant and can relieve other ailments, why not a canker sore?” Spot treating one like I did my acne (applied with Q-tip diluted with water) totally made the healing time much less and the ulcers far less painful! It actually worked much better than my prescription! YES to saving money and not refilling a prescription!

Bottom line: 
I wouldn’t buy Tea Tree Oil again for the sole purpose of acne, but I will definitely keep buying to treat canker sores! True story: I had two painful ones in my mouth last week and they healed within a matter of days with tea tree oil!