Tea Tree Oil
By Jenn (TinyChoices.com) | December 10, 2009
I just realized that I’ve never waxed poetic about my love for Tea Tree Oil
I first learned about it back in my hippy days, when I was living in a camper van and had everything we needed contained within that small space. Tea Tree is fantastic because it’s so incredibly multipurpose– it works as a mouthwash, antiseptic, surface cleaner, pimple curer, disinfectant and air freshener, for starters. You can put it in homemade cleaners, shampoo, pet care products, baby wipes. It’s like 20 products in one, all contained within one small bottle!
Tea Tree Oil (or melaleuca oil) comes from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia, which is native to Australia.
You can read about the many uses here and here. Please do take care to keep it away from children, as I’ve heard conflicting reports of it being kid-unsafe– and it just seems best to err on the side of caution, of course.
Do you use tea tree oil? What’re your favorite uses for the stuff?
[Image via Wikipedia]
Topics: Health, Home | 7 Comments »
i use it when i make scrubs for cleaning, especially the bathroom.
i also use it when i start to get a sore throat. i put some on a q-tip and rub it on the back of my throat.
i made a triple-antibiotic-esque ointment using unpetroleum and tea tree oil
one note–some people can use it straight on their skin. i am not one of those people. i get a terrible allergic rash. however, i think i can use it diluted with other oils.
one more note…there has been some research that suggests the tea tree oil (and lavendar and various synthetics) can be an endocrine disruptor.
I LOVE tea tree oil! I’ve got a big bottle of it in the bathroom that I use to make cleansers for all over the house. My favorite/most frequent use for it is as an anti-fungal agent. Our bedroom has some minor mold issues – we’re on the concrete slab, with wood flooring on top (no insulation between), so we get condensation on the floors, which turns into mold. I spray the affected areas weekly with some tea tree oil & water that I keep in a spray bottle, and wipe it off with a towel, and it keeps the mold down enough that I don’t have allergy problems.
I love love love tea tree oil too. I put it right on my skin if there is an “eruption.” I mix it into some shea butter to apply onto scrapes and day-old burns and splinters and things that look like they may become infected. I haven’t used it yet in housecleaning, but would really like to!
I love tea tree oil too and recently considered using it on my cats’ ears when an ear mite infestation broke out. There were quite a few websites that recommended this use but then I found a number of sites that cautioned against using it around cats as they will lick it off their fur and they can’t digest it.
So, I’m not sure what the truth is, but like you, I prefer to err on the side of caution and so I found something else to use on the ear mites!
I also use it for pimples. Sometimes I dampen a cotton ball and put the tea tree oil on it and then use it as a extra face cleaner after I wash my face. I also cured a mild case of toenail fungus with it a while back. It’s a miracle cure!
It’s on my list of things I need to get next month–I’ve been meaning to buy some for ages. I plan on using it for anything I can. I did just buy some toothpaste that has it and wow! I love how it makes my mouth feel.
Main use: A few drops of tea tree oil and lavender oil in 2 cups of baking soda, sprinkle over the carpet, sweep in; vacuum. Makes the house smell good (don’t know if it does anything else). If you like to do this, buy your baking soda from a pool supply store — very cheap!
New use (to eradicate head lice on children after they share brushes at school): 3T shampoo, 3T olive oil; 1t tea tree oil, 1/2t lavender oil: mix together, put on scalp; put on close fitting shower cap for 30 minutes. Rinse and repeat several times until all the little suckers are dead (the lice, not the children). Comb out nits. Repeat process in one week. Ugh.