Discover 16 amazing beauty benefits of tea tree essential oil for skin, hair & more in this article!
Tea tree essential oil is a beauty essential in many skin and hair care products. You can find it in almost everything – shampoo, cleanser, deodorant, and more!
It’s only recently when the tea tree essential oil hype started but it has actually been used since long ago by the Native Australian Aboriginals. These native people used it as an antiseptic for treating cuts, burns, boils and other skin conditions.
Before we look at the beauty benefits of tea tree essential oil, take a look at its ingredient profile!
Ingredient Profile of Tea Tree Essential Oil
♥ Scientific Name:
Melaleuca alternifolia
♥ Other Names:
Melaleuca oil, melaleuca essential oil
♥ Origin:
Tea tree is native to Australia.
♥ Color and Smell:
It is clear in color. Tea tree essential oil has a strong fresh herbal scent.
♥ Texture:
It has a thin watery consistency.
♥ Shelf Life:
2years
♥ Potential for Irritation:
Tea tree essential oil is safe, non-toxic, non-irritant and non-sensitizing. But please do a patch test with it before use (see precautions & tips).
♥ Precautions & Tips
- Please first do a patch test with tea tree essential oil before use. To do a patch test, mix 1 drop of tea tree essential oil in 1 tsp of carrier oil and apply it on your inner wrist. If there’s no negative reaction within 60 minutes, then go ahead and use this oil!
- A little goes a long way. As with any essential oil, use very small amounts of tea tree essential oil to see perfect results. Do NOT use large amounts as this will irritate your skin and hair!
- Always dilute tea tree essential oil before application. Use a carrier oil or any other base ingredient like shampoo, aloe vera gel, unscented lotion, etc for dilution. The dilution rate is 2 drops of tea tree oil in 1 tsp of carrier oil like olive oil, coconut oil, etc. For more info, read How to Dilute Essential Oils
- Never drop tea tree oil into your eyes, ears or mucous membranes.
- Do not ingest.
- Keep away from children and pets.
- Avoid during pregnancy.
- If having any severe or chronic health problems, consult a doctor before using tea tree essential oil.
16 Beauty Benefits of Tea Tree Essential Oil
1. Great for Acne
Tea tree essential oil is prized for its powerful anti-acne properties. It’s even said to be better than benzoyl peroxide because unlike benzoyl peroxide, tea tree essential oil comes with no side effects (itching, dryness)!
It has antibacterial, antiseptic and antimicrobial properties. The main compound in tea tree oil, terpinen-4-ol, is said to have strong antimicrobial effect on acne.
- Try this DIY Acne Gel to cool, soothe and heal your acne naturally!
2. Cleanses Skin
Tea tree essential oil remove excess oils from your skin without over-drying it like most store-bought facial cleansers. Tea tree essential oil cleanses skin by pushing out stale sebum stuck deep within skin pores. These ‘stale’ oils must be driven out of skin pores to prevent blackheads and acne from forming!
To make your own tea tree essential oil facial cleanser, follow the instructions below:
- Tea Tree Face Wash: In a foaming soap dispenser, add ¼ cup liquid castile soap, ¾ cup distilled water, 1 tsp vegetable glycerin and 10 drops tea tree essential oil. You can add oil from 1 vitamin E capsule as well. Cap the bottle tightly and shake gently to combine. Use in place of your usual face wash.
3. Treats Skin Infections
Tea tree essential oil fights off yeast, bacterial and fungal skin infections with its natural antimicrobial, anti-fungal and antibacterial properties. Add 15 drops of tea tree essential oil mixed with 2 tbsp coconut oil to your daily bath to treat skin infections and itches.
4. Heals Acne Scars and Blemishes
Cystic acne can damage collagen mostly through acne inflammation. This leads to deep scarring and depressions on skin. Though tea tree essential oil might not heal your acne scars and blemishes super fast, it gradually helps fade them if used daily. It also helps prevent deep gorges and depressions left by acne and leave your skin blemish-free.
5. Treats Ingrown Hair
If you see ingrown hairs on any part of your body, don’t try squeezing them out. Picking at ingrown hairs, tweezing and shaving over them can actually make matters worse and even spread bacteria and cause infection.
Simply dab a q-tip soaked with pure pure aloe vera gel onto the area consistently over a period of time. If you have very sensitive skin, don’t apply the tea tree alone but dilute it with witch hazel before application. This method might be a bit slow, but it comes without any side effects. It also wards off any infection that can turn the ingrown hair into a boil.
6. Soothes Razor Bumps
One of the other benefits of tea tree essential oil is that it is a natural astringent and contains antiseptic properties. These help soothe and protect razor bumps from irritation and contamination. You might want to dab on tea tree essential oil immediately on your razor bumps so keep a jar of this aftershave cream in your bathroom cabinet:
- DIY Aftershave Gel: In a clean container, preferably an amber glass jar, add ¼ cup of pure aloe vera gel, 5 drops tea tree essential oil and 5 drops lavender essential oil. Mix well with a spoon. After shaving, smooth a suitable amount of this gel on your skin to treat and prevent razor bumps.
7. Enhances Hair Growth
To energize your scalp and stimulate hair growth, use tea tree oil. It helps increase blood circulation to the scalp which ensures each and every hair follicle receives nutrient rich blood to foster growth of healthy hairs. Tea tree essential oil also protects the hair follicles from follicular inflammation, stimulate blood flow and act as a solvent which will dissolve stale oils. All these will ensure a clean, healthy scalp and enhance hair growth. Do this hot oil treatment weekly for hair growth:
- Hot Oil Treatment: Lightly warm 1 tbsp castor oil and 1 tbsp jojoba oil in a small glass bowl. Make sure it’s a comfortable temperature! Don’t get it too hot to hurt your skin! Now add 6 drops of tea tree essential oil to the warm oil and mix well. Apply this all over your scalp. Then massage your head for a minute. Tie your hair up and throw on a shower cap. Wash your hair as usual after 1-2 hours. Use a natural non-sulfate shampoo.
8. Eliminates Dandruff
As an anti-fungal agent, tea tree oil fights off dandruff and other scalp fungal and bacterial infections. To eliminate dandruff from your scalp, fully saturate it with a mixture of coconut oil and tea tree oil as follows:
- Anti-Dandruff Shampoo: In an applicator bottle, pour in ½ cup distilled water, 1 tsp vegetable glycerin, 1 tsp jojoba oil, ¼ cup of liquid castile soap and 15 drops of tea tree essential oil. Cap tightly and shake gently to combine. Use in place of your regular shampoo.
9. Natural Toner
You may have come across the many tea tree essential oil toners out there but why not make your own chemical free one?! Yes it’s possible! Tea tree essential oil is a natural astringent which diminishes large pores and bloat out oily skin.
- Facial Toner: Simply add 1 tsp witch hazel and 5 drops of tea tree essential oil to ½ cup of distilled water. Store this in a 4 oz spray bottle. Spritz on your face to firm skin, shrink large pores, keep contaminants and irritants away, and of course, keep your face acne-free!
10. Gets Rid of Lice
Prevent and get rid of lice and nits using the amazing tea tree essential oil. The anti-microbial properties of tea tree oil were noted in 1920 and that’s when people started widely using it to prevent and treat lice. Saturate your scalp with a mixture of tea tree oil & olive oil as follows:
- Lice Treatment: In an applicator bottle, add ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil and 20 drops of tea tree essential oil. Squeeze a suitable amount all over your scalp to saturate it completely. Wait for at least one hour for it to suffocate lice and nits before washing off 2-3 times with shampoo. Then do a lice removal routine by applying conditioner to your hair then combing it with a lice comb to remove dead lice. Repeat every 3 days until lice clear off.
11. Nail Fungus Treatment
Apply a drop of tea tree oil directly onto the affected nail and cover with a band-aid overnight. Tea tree’s anti-fungal properties are miraculous in fighting off nail fungus.
12. Get Rid of Skin Tags & Warts
Skin tags, warts and even moles can shrivel up and fall off when tea tree oil is used directly on them. Simply get a Q-tip, add a drop of tea tree oil on it and dab onto your skin growth. Do this about 3 times a day for its to dry up and fall off. You can expect to see results within 1-2 weeks. You can protect the area surrounding the growth from tea tree oil by applying Vaseline or lotion.
13. Makes Hair Shiny
Using tea tree oil can make your hair shiny too! Open your shampoo or conditioner bottle, add about 10 drops of tea tree essential oil, close the bottle and shake well. You’ll notice your hair is glossy and shiny!
14. Unblocks Clogged Pores
If you have bumpy skin with clogged pores, do facial steaming with tea tree oil! Simply boil about 2 cups of water in a pot then remove from heat and place on a table. Now add 2 drops of tea tree essential oil. Sit with your face right above the steam from the pot and cover your head & the pot with a towel to trap steam. Let the steam hit your face with your eyes closed for about 7 minutes. At the end of the steaming session, wash your face very well and gently scrub it with a tsp of baking soda mixed with a little water. Follow up with moisturizer.
15. Antibacterial Mouthwash
Bad breath is caused by bacteria in the mouth. Using tea tree oil kills off the bacteria so make a mouthwash with it! Fill a bottle with a cup of warm water then add 3 drops of tea tree essential oil, 3 drops of peppermint essential oil and 1 tsp sea salt. Shake well and use twice a day.
15. Natural Deodorant
Tea tree oil fights bacteria that causes bad odor. It also neutralizes B.O! Check out my favorite Homemade Tea Tree Deodorant Spray!
Where to Get Tea Tree Essential Oil
There are many fake versions of tea tree essential oil out there in the market. Don’t make a mistake of buying ‘tea tree oil’. Only purchase ‘tea tree essential oil’ because ‘tea tree oil’ is just a little tea tree essential oil mixed with other oils/ingredients so it’s not the pure and potent one I’m talking about in this post. Make sure to buy 100% pure and high quality tea tree essential oil.
I recommend Plant Therapy’s Pure Tea Tree Essential Oil. It comes in a 10ml dark amber essential oil bottle. You can also buy essential oils from Mountain Rose Herbs and Eden’s Garden:
Edens Garden Tea Tree Essential Oil, 100% Pure Therapeutic Grade (Allergies & Inflammation) 10 ml
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