Tea Tree Oil Benefits for Your Skin: Say Yes to Radiant Beauty!

Photo by kevin laminto on Unsplash

Tea tree oil is a miracle oil that has been used for centuries by the Aboriginal people. But there was a time when tea tree oil benefits for the skin were not widely accepted by the Western world. This, fortunately, changed with the help of one man’s grit and determination.

After noticing how effective tea tree oil was at treating a toe infection, which was deemed incurable by medical professionals, Christopher Dean, Thursday Plantation’s founder, knew he had to share the wonders of this special oil with the rest of the world. After he sold just 7 bottles of homemade oil to a few friends, it was not long until the magic of tea tree oil began to spread, and the creation of his tea tree oil plantation came into being. Thanks to the Dean family’s endless efforts, along with proof of tea tree oil’s effectiveness from the scientific community, the plant soon become revered for its healing and skin-related benefits, causing a growing demand for it around the world.

Using it for your skin is now so common that celebrities such as Meghan Markle have praised it as a ‘cure all’ for issues like pimples, mosquito bites and minor cuts.

Some refer to it as a power plant and others call it an essential oil, but whatever you choose to name it, the fact that it’s extracted from the leaves of the Melaleuca Alternifolia plant remains the same. Native to Australian areas such as Northern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, the tea tree plant is not likely to disappear anytime soon. Melaleuca oil or tea tree oil has been relatively immune to skincare fads, as it has never fallen out of fashion due to its usefulness. It is, therefore, not surprising that it is a popular ingredient in beauty products across the globe.

Tea Tree Oil Benefits: Why is it So Good for Your Skin?

Tea tree oil not only has a wonderfully strong and refreshing smell, but the list of tea tree oil skin benefits seems endless. Many report that it improves the overall appearance of their skin, clearing it up, making it feel soft, supple and smooth, and giving it a radiant glow.

Why is it so effective? To understand this, let’s look at the requirements for healthy skin.

Healthy skin is clean — free from dead skin cells, excess oil, and pollutants. Washing your face should be an essential part of your daily routine. You could make use of Tea Tree Face Wash Foam, a cleanser ideal for normal to acne-prone skin, to gently remove sebum excess, dirt and makeup without stripping the skin of its natural oils.

After washing and cleansing your skin, it helps to use a skin toner to remove any last traces of dirt, grime or impurities that may be stuck in your pores. We suggest trying the Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Toner because it is alcohol-free and contains witch hazel. The antibacterial power of tea tree oil and the toning benefits of witch hazel will purify your skin, tighten the pores, and prepare your skin to take in moisture.

To keep your skin healthy, it’s also important to keep it hydrated — restoring the skin’s natural moisture balance after cleansing and toning. Moisture is essential to prevent your skin from drying out, keep your skin supple and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Tea tree oil is effective at relieving dry skin and works with the skin’s natural PH balance. Our Tea Tree Face Cream with Rosehip and Vitamin E is an ideal moisturiser for acne-prone skin.

Another benefit of tea tree oil is that it helps with the removal of blemishes on the skin. Often, our skin succumbs to irritation that leaves it uneven and patchy. From blackheads and pimples to acne, tea tree oil can help you get clear skin. We recommend the Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Blemish Gel for all kinds of skin blemishes. Tea tree oil helps keep your skin looking uniform thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties which soothe and calm the skin.

For clear and healthy skin, explore any one of our Thursday Plantation face care products from our Acne range, since they all contain tea tree oil.

Ticking all the boxes for attaining healthy-looking skin and being beneficial for both dry and oily skin types, it’s no wonder tea tree oil is so sought-after in skincare products.

Which Skin Conditions Can Tea Tree Oil Be Used For?

With tea tree oil being so versatile, it can be added to most skincare products and is a great over-the-counter option for common skin conditions.We’ve drawn up a list of the skin issues and ailments that tea tree oil is most often recommended for, as well as some general uses.

• Acne. One of the hardest things to control with acne is the overproduction of oil on the skin, which clogs up pores and leads to infection. Tea tree oil helps balance this and reduces oil production without drying out the skin too much, making it ideal to use on your face. Tea tree oil’s healing properties also assist with speeding up the healing of acne scars. Tea tree oil is not only effective at treating acne but is also great for preventing it since its anti-bacterial benefits help to eliminate the bacteria responsible for causing acne.  Acne treatment with tea tree oil is as simple as adding 3 drops of it to 2 cups of water, dipping your cotton wool ball into this mixture and wiping your face with it.  To enhance its effectiveness, you can combine tea tree oil with aloe vera for an all-natural, anti-acne skincare regime or you can use products from the Thursday Plantation Acne Range, which are carefully formulated with tea tree oil to fight acne.

Hot tip: If you’re prone to breakouts after applying sunscreen, try mix some drops of tea tree oil into your sunblock to help prevent them.

• Fungal Skin Infections.If you’re prone to fungal infections like ringworm or athlete’s foot, you can use tea tree oil to help fight these, since it has powerful anti-fungal properties and inhibits a broad spectrum of fungi. Apply diluted tea tree oil (2 drops of oil in one cup of water) to the affected area twice a day until the fungus is completely gone.
• Insect Bites and Stings.Insect bites and stings usually lead to raised red marks and skin discomfort. You can put the anti-inflammatory benefits of tea tree oil to work to soothe the affected area and reduce redness. Apply 1 drop of Thursday Plantation tea tree oil directly to the bite or sting.
• Minor Cuts. Adding to the list of skincare benefits of tea tree oil is the benefit of using it as a disinfectant. Tea tree oil contains terpinene-4-ol, a compound which increases white blood cell activity and fights against germs and foreign invaders. After cleaning your wound, we recommend applying diluted Thursday Plantation tea tree oil on a cotton bud and dabbing the affected area to keep it clean and infection free.
• Dark Spots. Dark spots can be a result of poorly healed scars that cause discolouration or hyperpigmentation. Since tea tree oil is known to speed up healing, it can help keep your skin tone more even. You can use Thursday Plantation Blemish Gel to help with dark spots. Apply only a very small amount of the gel to the affected areas.
• Cold Sores. Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus and can be embarrassing due to their red, pus-filled appearance. In cases where the virus has become resistant to typical treatment, tea tree oil can help fight the virus since it is inherently antiviral, and can reduce the severity and duration of inflammation, working to improve the appearance of cold sores. Immediately apply 1 drop of diluted Thursday Planation tea tree oil to a cotton bud and dab the affected area as soon as you feel a cold sore coming on. You should do this 3-5 times a day for best results.
• Warts. Warts are caused by the HPV virus. Use tea tree oil’s antiviral properties to get rid of your warts and peel them, so that they eventually fall off. If you’re using Thursday Plantation’s tea tree oil, you just need to apply 1 drop of it directly to the wart and repeat this 2-3 times a day for around several weeks. HPV can spread easily, so you may want to keep a spray bottle with a mixture of tea tree oil and water to disinfect surfaces like gym lockers, where HPV is known to spread.
• Make Up Remover. Tea tree oil can be used as a makeup remover. You can apply some diluted tea tree oil (2 drops of oil in a cup of water) to a cotton ball to remove your make up in order to prevent it from clogging your pores. Just be sure to keep it away from your eyes as it may irritate them. You can also use the Thursday Plantation Foam Wash – it works brilliantly to remove make up.

Note: You should also avoid using tea tree oil if you are pregnant (due to hormonal influences) and should avoid using it on children younger than 2 years old.

How to Use Tea Tree Oil on Your Face and Body

Many ask whether you can put tea tree oil directly on your skin. The answer is no. 100% pure tea tree oil is rarely found unmixed or undiluted in skincare products fortunately enough. However, if you are using an essential oil product, you need to be careful as these are pretty strong and can cause irritation if applied directly.

So, how do you apply tea tree essential oil on your face and other bodily areas? It needs to be diluted first. You can dilute it by adding 3 drops to 500 ml (two cups) of warm water – a mixture which you can dip a cotton ball into and wipe your face with. Otherwise, diluting tea tree essential oil with a carrier oil works just as well. Use a ratio of 2:12 to dilute it with oils like rapeseed, coconut and olive oil.

Diluted essential tea tree oil is good to use for your face and other areas of your body, but you should avoid ingesting it or applying it to genital regions.

If it’s your first time using it, be sure to do an allergy test/skin patch test – allergies are not common but are possible. Place 1 drop of tea tree oil on your wrist and monitor this area for 24-48 hours to see how your skin reacts.

If you notice the following symptoms after your allergy testing, please discontinue immediately:

• A Rash
• Signs of redness
• Extreme Itching
• Burning
• Stinging 
• Redness

Note: For children, we recommend testing with 1 drop further up the arm, to ensure they don’t lick and ingest the product.

How Long it Takes to Work

For best results, regular use of tea tree oil is advised. It generally takes a few days to weeks to start working, depending on your unique skin condition and how often you apply it on your face and other areas.

Summary

The benefits of tea tree oil are pretty impressive. Acting as an anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal treatment for the skin, it really does it all and helps with skin conditions like acne, ringworm, athlete’s foot, dark spots, cold sores, and warts.

Tea tree’s benefits are particularly pronounced when using it on the face, as part of a regular skincare regime that includes the three-step process of using a face wash, toner, and face cream.

If you’re looking for natural tea tree oil products that don’t contain synthetic parabens, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), sodium lauryl ether sulphate (SLES), harsh detergents, and that have not been tested on animals, we recommend trying out the Thursday Plantation range which is suitable for normal, oily, and acne-prone skin types.