A famous alternative to regular treatments, tea tree oil comes with many benefits, and not just for your skin, but for your hair and nails too. Extracted from the leaves of tea tree Melaleuca alternifolia, native to Australia, tea tree oil has been used medicinally for hundreds of years. The most considerable attention tea tree oil’ got is for its high antimicrobic and antifungal activities.
After many decades, when used only in Australia to treat bites, stings, cuts, or gazes, tea tree oil is now extensively utilized to make products that address oily skin, acne, dandruff, or bacteria-affected nails.
The commercial tea tree oil industry didn’t exist until 1920. Yet, today it takes a solid place in the whole market. According to Allied Market Research, “the global tea tree oil market size was valued at $38.8 million in 2017 and is projected to reach $59.5 million by 2025”.
Tea tree oil not only can be found in marketing products, but you can obtain it easily in its pure, organic form so that you can use it as you need and when you need it. And this because we’ve prepared a how-to-use list of tea tree oil for each of your concerns.
Tea tree oil for nails
It’s clearly essential to have your nails clean when you apply tea tree oil to them. Remove nail polish, then trim the bacteria-affected areas as much and safely as you can. The idea is to remove as much of your nail infection before applying tea tree oil for maximum effect.
After cutting and removing infected parts, wash away any debris with a skin-friendly shower gel. Once you’ve cleaned the area, dry it; because bacteria grow in damp conditions, this is very important. Only then you may apply tea tree oil to your nails.
Tea tree oil for scalp conditioning
One of the most common scalp problems, dandruff, can be managed with tea tree oil due to its antifungal properties. Actually, the ability of tea tree oil to treat dandruff is proven by scientific studies. In 2002, a study investigated the efficacity of 5% tea tree oil shampoo in people with mild to moderate dandruff. One hundred twenty-six volunteers received either 5% tea tree oil or a placebo product, which they had to use for four weeks. As expected, the tea tree oil group showed a 41% improvement, compared with 11% in the placebo group.
In addition to your regular shampoo, you can apply pure tea tree oil to your scalp. But never apply without diluting it first. You can mix it with a carrier oil, such as coconut or jojoba oil — 5mL of tea tree oil per 100 mL of the carrier substance. Adding tea tree oil to your shampoo will do too.
Tea tree oil for acne-prone skin
In traditional medicine, tea tree oil is used as a topical medication for acne because it’s able to eliminate micro-organisms and bacteria and because it has an excellent solvent and penetrating power. Even if there’s not much research regarding this topic, this study confirmed the bacterial action of tea tree oil against acne and oiliness.
For sebum control, mix a few drops of tea tree oil into your moisturizer, toner, or face mask. In case you want to use it as an acne treatment is necessary to have your face clean and dry when applying tea tree oil. Gently dab it on your blemishes with a cotton pad. After drying, follow up with your usual moisturizer.
Side Effects
Even if most people can use pure tea tree oil topically with no problems, in some situations, it can cause skin irritation, rash, burning, itching, or drying. So, if you have eczema, dermatitis, or your skin can’t just tolerate it, please stop using it. Also, tea tree oil is toxic if swallowed.
Conclusion
Tea tree oil is widely used to help improve and treat various conditions. Even though there are several potential side effects of using it, like skin irritation, as long as you use it properly and test it on a patch of your skin before, everything should be just fine. Still, if you have health-related questions or concerns, ask a specialist before using tea tree oil.
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