Tea Tree oil? Good, bad, overhyped, or ...

[ChEtah]

Cures ringworm on show heifers.

 

[geneaut]

This might be a little 'yuck' but I'll share it.

My daughter brought lice home from her daycare when she was small. Everyone in the family ended up with it except me, who uses Tea Tree Oil shampoo daily. The fancy shampoos we got to treat her hair didn't seem to be working very well on her so we put Tea Tree Oil in baby shampoo and went to town on her. It cleared up soon after that process started.

Proof? Probably not scientific, but it was good enough for me to say, 'hmmmmm'. I still suspect most insects don't appreciate it. 10 years later I still see Tea Tree Oil conditioner in her shower.

** don't take medical advice from me

 

[bjm]

Thanks for sharing, @geneaut

I find some of the "best" advice and/or information offered in these forums to be anecdotal evidence. Something along the lines of "I had this situation, I used this process, and I had this result" which is then often followed by "YMMV" or some other disclaimer.


And I'd be willing to wager an unused boar brush that the next time someone who read this has a problem with lice, they'll refer to your post.

 

[SalS]

Just keep in mind tea tree oil is a neurotoxin. In commercially available products and used topically it should be ok. But mixing your own has risks. Pure tea tree oil even topically can kill dogs and cats.

 

[geneaut]

Just keep in mind tea tree oil is a neurotoxin. In commercially available products and used topically it should be ok. But mixing your own has risks. Pure tea tree oil even topically can kill dogs and cats.

Good point. I never use it undiluted, but it's probably good to look into documentation on safe levels to mix for safe usage.

When I briefly got interested in soap making, that hobby opened my eyes to make sure you used oils and fragrances safely.

 

[dotKomo]

I mix it with witch hazel that is then used as an after-shave splash. I add 6 drops per fluid ounce (approximately 30 mL) of witch hazel.

I based my ratio on recommendations and warnings found when researching the use and benefits. I didn't know who or what to believe, so I referenced several different sources and came up with what I considered to be a safe amount for my use. I actually started with a lower ratio and increased it gradually until I approached the recommended max.

Does it help? I hope so. The only way for me to find out is to stop using it, but I suspect the 1 ounce bottle will last for quite some time. I found it on a shelf in the closet in 2020 and there's still more than half remaining.

Good luck.

I also mix with Witch Hazel and some other essential oils. My face really seems to like it and it seems to have reduced irritation and ingrown hairs.

 

[sidpost]

Concentrated essential oils and herbs can really have some seriously hazardous effects on people when used inappropriately.

In the West, when a little is good, most will try a lot more. This is pretty risky with things like this so, please do a little research from reputable sources if you are making your own products to treat things like those discussed in this thread.

 

[coops]

Stirling have Witch hazel & Tea Tree oil with Aloe - good stuff

Tea Tree Witch Hazel & Aloe - 200ml

Scent Description: Made with 100% pure AAA Australian Tea Tree Oil, this splash offers a pleasant medicinal aroma with the skin healing properties that Tea Tree Oil is famous for. Ingredients: Witch Hazel, Aloe, Distilled Water, Polysorbate 20, Essential Oil Bottle Size: ~200ml

www.stirlingsoap.com

I use Thayer's and add drops of Body Shop Tea Tree oil

https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-gb/face/serums-essences/tea-tree-oil/p/p000326

Give it a shake before use - it'll be a bit milky looking compared to regular Witch Hazel, really good after shave lotion/splash as well as...

it is indeed good for prevention of fungal infections on feet or groin... living in Thailand this is quite a common hazard year round ;-) and splashing this on your feet & bits keeps things itch free...

14 Benefits and Uses for Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil is an essential oil that may have benefits for skin, hair, and nails. Here are 14 practical ways to use tea tree oil safely and effectively.

www.healthline.com

 

[Swank]

Essential oils and various wax emulsions seem super trendy today. Like you, I'm not a huge advocate but, I find it hard to believe there aren't some "good" essential oils and herbs being drowned out by shouting voices hawking modern "snake oil".

Lavender and Camomile are two that I find are beneficial to myself. Tea Tree oil is the new one I'm trying to learn about.

For a significant portion of my life, I was all about the pharmaceutical solutions hawked by big commercial concerns and then I found myself really sick in Germany. While healthcare there wasn't like India or Asia with local cures, it really opened my eyes to different ways to treat me. Turns out I had a really bad case of Campylobacter Jujuni from the dairy room floor that nearly killed me. I was super healthy at the time so, that combined with heavy electrolyte use (prescription level not, Gatorade style drinks), and some relatively minor antibiotics, I recovered and few weeks later I regained the 40% of my body weight I lost though, my stamina was still a bit weak for a couple of months.

For anyone with serious medical health issues like this, SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP! I could easily have died without the awesome "food prescription" and electrolytes I was given! It also was a clear demonstration, that a hospital ICU with medical flogging was not the only option that would work for me. Don't self-treat with something like this because I ain't kidding, it can kill you.

In terms of smell, I like my PERSONAL SPACE so, this sounds like another solid reason for me to start using it!

I use cinnamon bark essential oil to flavor my olive oil. I use 6 drops per tablespoon of olive oil. The olive oil is good for you at 1 oz. a day or 3 tbsp. It's also, due to dietary restrictions, the closest thing I can come to something sweet like a piece of candy (I can't use any sugar, even fruit. And no carbs at all. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. Only meat and vegetables). Olive oil is hard to tolerate swallowing tablespoonfuls at a time. Cinnamon bark oil is a great flavor and is also antifungal or antibiotic or something I forget. Anyway it's good for the gut.

 

[OkieStubble]

Good point. I never use it undiluted, but it's probably good to look into documentation on safe levels to mix for safe usage.

When I briefly got interested in soap making, that hobby opened my eyes to make sure you used oils and fragrances safely.

+2. When my two daughters were young, they came home from school with head lice. The wife didn’t want to use the strong insecticides in the over the counter lice shampoos, so she cut pure Australian Tea Tree oil, with extra virgin olive oil as a carrier oil.

She would shampoo their hair, pick out what bugs and eggs she could and the coat their scalp with the oil mixture and comb it thru their hair and then had them wear plastic bonnet’s on their heads to keep them from soaking their pillow cases with oil.

After just one or two treatments of this and lots of drying bed sheets and pillow cases in the morning to kill anything leftover that wasn’t seen, they just disappeared never to return. So I am a first hand witness that tea tree oil works con head lice.

I also took the left over mixture my wife had and I started putting it on the toe nail of one of my small toes and it killed and cleared up the toe nail fungus I had and I put it on a small wart my oldest son had in his knee and his wart went away also.

Tea Tree oil is good stuff. Stinks, but it’s good stuff!

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

Along with lavender, is it also estrogenic. It has the bonus ability of making your hairs thinner, which makes it easier for you to shave:

These new data led European consumer safety officials to conclude that the purported link between gynecomastia and the topical use of tea tree oil is, therefore, considered implausible. In fact, if the anti-male hormone components of tea tree oil remain on the skin, well, how about using it to treat women who feel they are affected by excessive hairiness? Such women were instructed to spray themselves with a dilute lavender/tea tree oil spray versus placebo twice a day on “problem” areas (morning and evening) for three months. “Hairs were taken “before and after” from four different body areas: chin, chest, thigh, and upper arms.” After three months, no change in the hair diameter in the placebo group, as expected. But, in the lavender/tea tree oil group, all the hairs ended up thinner.

This showed that at least the combination of “lavender and tea tree oils applied locally on skin could be effective in reducing mild "excessive hairiness",” potentially representing “a safe, economic, and practical instrument in the cure of this "disease.”

End quote

Should people evaluate using it in shaving products they buy?

Does Tea Tree Oil Have Hormonal Side Effects? | NutritionFacts.org

Do the estrogenic effects of tea tree oil get absorbed through the skin?

nutritionfacts.org

 

[kingfisher]

Any particular brand that isn't super spendy?

Coal dust or coal tar shampoo is awesome for dandruff too!

A fairly high percentage of significant dandruff is really seborrhea, which has been associated with a fungus called Malassezia furfur. Personally, I don't believe it is causative; I think it is associative, although shampoos that contain tea tree oil (which is antifungal) and tar (same thing) seem to help a lot of people.

My personal theory is that a skin reaction to sodium lauryl sulfate is an inciting problem for many people and that switching from commercial shampoos to shampoo bars that lack harsh detergents is enough to fix dandruff in many people. Also decreasing the frequency of shampooing, in general, helps because seborrhea can be a response by your oil glands to overdrying of the scalp.

My two birds/one stone solution is a shampoo bar from Mystic Water soaps that also contains tea tree oil and Neem, which ls a popular ingredient in India rhat also has antifungal and antiseptic properties.

As a physician, I have recommended Mystic Water's Neem and Tea Tree oil shampoo bar to replace commercial liquid shampoos for many people with severe seborrhea of the scalp. It has worked wonders, even for people who have already failed tar shampoos, tea tree shampoos, and prescription strength antifungal shampoos from their dermatologists.

 

[sidpost]

When I had dandruff issues, I found coal dust shampoo to be much more effective than anything else I tried.

Seems like T/Gel was the brand with it that worked so well for me.

 

[ButterfaceX]

YMMV (what works for me > may not work for you)

Depends on the use. amount and the skin.

14 Benefits and Uses for Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil is an essential oil that may have benefits for skin, hair, and nails. Here are 14 practical ways to use tea tree oil safely and effectively.

www.healthline.com

I do use in also, yes...
After the shave, alum & rinse..
Then I apply a little post shave face hydrator:
(a mix of Dickinson's Witch Hazel Hydrating Toner w/ Rose Water (this one has no alcohol) with about 10 drops of Organic Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca) 100% Pure / USDA Certified Organic/ Undiluted)
Then other post shave face savers follow....in steps...allow each to absorb..

BFX