According to the Committee for Herbal Medicines Products (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency, traditional use suggests tea tree oil is a reasonable treatment for small superficial wounds, insect bites, and small boils, that it can help to alleviate itching in small cases of athletes foot, and helps to alleviate minor inflammation in the lining of the mouth. Although tea tree oil is frequently used together with other drugs in treating bacterial or fungal skin conditions, no evidence shows a drug-drug interaction at this time. There is one reported case of breast enlargement in a young boy using products that contained both lavender and tea tree oil; laboratory studies on tea tree oil alone suggest tea tree oil can have hormonal effects.
The paper notes that Tea tree oil is a proven antiseptic, and recommends prospective manufacturers to produce products with concentrations of 5% or higher, which are helpful in therapeutic applications, such as for antiseptic, antifungal, and acne treatments, while at lower concentrations (1-5%) the oil may be included in a wider variety of cosmetic products. To begin adding tea tree oil to a skincare routine, Dr. Holman says, you either buy skincare products containing tea tree oil, or you use the essential oil on its own.
Tea tree oil has been used to treat wounds and other skin conditions for centuries. The oil has been used as a healing treatment for nearly 100 years in Australia, especially skin conditions. Some studies suggest that tea tree oil used with other essential oils such as lavender may offer relief to young women with a minor case of hirsutism, or the growing of coarse, dark hair in areas where women usually have little hair or none.
A study in The Medical Journal of Australia found that participants benefitted more from using a gel that contained 5% tea tree oil for mild to moderate acne than using a lotion that contained 5% benzoyl peroxide, a common ingredient used to combat acne in skincare products. The randomized, single-blind study, conducted in Australia at the Department of Dermatology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, compared the efficacy and tolerance of 5 % tea tree oil gel versus 5 % benzoyl peroxide lotion on 124 individuals with mild to moderate acne. People with dandruff using a daily 5 percent tea tree oil shampoo for 4 weeks showed a significant improvement in the overall severity, along with levels of itching and greasyness, compared to the placebo.
A randomized, controlled trial published in the Journal of Family Practice looked at twice-daily applications of 100 percent tea tree oil or a one-percent clotrimazole solution (a topical antifungal drug) for 177 people with fungal infections in their toenails. An ex vivo, blinded, randomized, parallel-group, comparative effectiveness trial of occlusional activities of three pediculicides following single application–melaleuca oil and lavender oil, eucalyptus oil and citronella, and the antisuffocation-causing Pediculicide–in comparison to the nonsuffocation-causing Pediculicide.
Hart, P. H., Brand, K., Carson, K. F., Riley, T. V., Prager, R. H., & Finlay-Jones, J. J. Terpinen-4-ol, a major constituent of the essential oil Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree oil), inhibits the production of inflammatory mediators via activation of human monoclone, & Finlay-Jones, & a. A 1992 study comparing tea tree oil, the antifungal medication tolnaftate, and a placebo showed tea tree oil was not better than placebo at treating fungus infections, although tea tree oil did indeed improve symptoms of patients just as much as tolnaftate. Another study found that while tea tree oil helped alleviate scales, inflammation, itching, and burning, just as much as the antifungal drugs, it was not nearly as effective in truly curing the nail fungus (26).
Hooper also points out that it can take several months before you notice any real improvements in your skin, so allow for a 12-week period of consistent use with tea tree oil before you evaluate its effects on acne.
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