Wonders of Tea

It’s a common misconception that tea tree oil – which is often found in skin preparations for shaving, acne, healing etc – is any relation to Camellia sinensis.

It is in fact a completely different plant: Melaleuca alternifolia.

If you can pronounce that, then your Latin is far better than mine! The tea tree is a native plant of Australia and the oil has been used as an antiseptic and anti fungal medicine for thousands of years. In fact its only recently been hugely popular as an acne cleanser and before that was often used on wound dressings.

It’s effectiveness against bacteria is indisputable and is now used in a huge range of products to help people keep their skin clean and healthy. One problem can occur though in the concentrations used by many products. It’s been found that if a tea tree product has a concentration lower than 4% it loses its anti bacterial effectiveness and will actually aid bacteria by improving their resistance to tea tree oil and antibiotics in general.

A great resource on the uses of tea tree oil is the Australian Tea Tree Oil Handbook. It offers 101 ways to use tea tree oil on yourself and around the home. A great little find that I got a few years ago now but still find useful to this day!

[Green tea has also been used as an anti-bacterial skin treatment skin treatment - for more information see this page]

If you had any questions regarding tea tree oil then don’t hestiate to leave a comment or get in touch!