Tea Tree Oil

I watch training videos on my treadmill. Recently one of the trainers was in Australia. He was passing by tea trees . He stopped to talk about tea tree oil. The Aborigines use it for a variety of skin problems.

This clearly sounded like a cure all snake oil sales pitch. I decided to look it up to get the “real” story. The first thing that popped up was an article from the Mayo Clinic talking about the benefits of tea tree oil. It appears that it is indeed useful for some things. But not for everything.

Tea tree oil is an essential oil. It is primarily antibacterial. It is safe to use externally. It is toxic if swallowed. The key question is whether it is effective.

Because of its antibacterial properties it is an effective hand sanitizer. Of course other hand sanitizers are cheaper. For that reason, it may not be that cost effective.

It is also a safe disinfectant on surfaces. Other cleaners have ingredients that may be toxic. The mixture for this is 20 drops of tea oil + 3/4 cup of water + 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar. Put into a spray bottle and shake well.

It is effective as an insect repellent. However, other essential oils like rosemary, lavender, eucalyptus and citronella are more effective. It can help keep ants off produce in agriculture. It is lethal to house flies and their larvae.

Underarm odor is a mix of sweat and skin bacteria. Because tea tree oil kills the bacteria, it is effective as an antiperspirant. However, it may not be more effective than a cheaper deodorant.

It can be used as an antiseptic for minor cuts and scrapes. It does seem to encourage wound healing more quickly when applied to each new wound dressing.

It can help reduce dandruff when used for an extended period of time. To do this a few drops should be added to shampoo and not used as the shampoo itself

The jury is still out as to whether it helps remove acne bacteria. However, a mix of one part tea tree oil with nine parts water applied with a cotton swab can sometimes be useful. There are actually tea tree oil-based acne gels for sale. Walmart sells several versions.

Some people use it as an additional ingredient when treating nail fungus. It does appear to help healing faster than the traditional treatments alone. The same is true for athlete’s foot fungus.

It can kill mouth bacteria that cause bad breath when used as a mouthwash. However, since it is toxic if swallowed, this may not be the best idea.

It may or may not help soothe skin inflammation. The problem with this is that you cannot use it if the inflammation is eczema. So you have to be sure of what you are treating.

Some people can have skin irritation from it. Therefore, it is wise to put a few drops on the skin before using it. Then wait 24 hours to be sure there is no reaction.

The bottom line is that tea tree oil does have antibacterial properties. Most of the uses of it take advantage of this fact. The fact that only a few drops at a time are used, makes the overall price not as bad. For individuals looking for something natural as an antibacterial, tea tree oil might be worth exploring.

The Aborigines in Australia have been using it for thousands of years. Some of their uses are not listed here. That is because it is more of a placebo for those than an actual treatment. And in the end, even my treadmill provides topics for articles.