Tea tree oil is an essential oil obtained by steam distillation of the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia, a plant native to Australia.
Pure, undiluted tea tree oil is found in health food stores and online. Tea tree oil is also an ingredient in a number of commercial products, such as gels, lotions, creams, toothpaste, mouthwashes, and shampoos.
Tea tree oil contains a constituent called terpinen-4-ol that is thought to be responsible for most of tea tree oil’s antimicrobial activity. Because tea tree oil can kill bacteria, applying topical tea tree oil to acne lesions has been thought to kill Propionibacterium acnes, the skin-dwelling bacteria that is involved in causing acne.
In a study comparing tea tree oil gel to benzoyl peroxide, tea tree oil had fewer side effects than the benzoyl peroxide, which was associated with itching, burning, stinging, and dryness.
Although tea tree oil is a popular remedy for acne, there has only been one older study on tea tree oil and acne.
A single-blind randomized trial by the Department of Dermatology at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia compared the effectiveness and tolerance of 5% tea tree oil gel with 5% benzoyl peroxide lotion in 124 people with mild to moderate acne. People in both groups had a significant reduction in inflamed and non-inflammed acne lesions (open and closed comedones) over the three month period, although tea tree oil was less effective than benzoyl peroxide.
Although the tea tree oil took longer to work initially, there were fewer side effects with tea tree oil. In the benzoyl peroxide group, 79% of people had side effects including itching, stinging, burning, and dryness. Researchers noted that there were far fewer side effects in the tea tree oil group.
Double-blind, randomized controlled trials are needed before we can determine whether tea tree oil can help acne.
Undiluted tea tree oil may cause skin irritation, redness, blistering, overdrying, and itching when applied directly to the skin.
The concentration used in the only study to date was a 5% tea tree oil gel, which was applied to acne prone areas.
A 5% tea tree oil solution can be made by mixing 5 parts tea tree oil to 95 parts water (e.g. 5 mL tea tree oil and 95 mL water).
There are a number of new topical acne products that contain tea tree oil. Have a look at the skin care aisle of the health food store. The company Kiss My Face just introduced a new topical tea tree oil gel that also has other herbal antiseptics, such as witch hazel.
Another place to look would be the drug store or a cosmetics store such as Sephora. DDF has a benzoyl peroxide gel with tea tree oil.
To learn about the safety concerns of tea tree oil, please read the Tea Tree Oil Fact Sheet.
Sources
Bassett IB, Pannowitz DL, Barnetson RS. A comparative study of tea-tree oil versus benzoylperoxide in the treatment of acne. Med J Aust. (1990) 153 (8): 455-458.
Tagged with: acne lesions • Acne vulgaris • Acneiform eruptions • antimicrobial activity • benzoyl peroxide
Filed under: Health • Holistic / Natural Medicine • Skin Care
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A recent edition of WEM details a great case report on a jellyfish sting. This got me to reading more on them in general. One such article I read was from WikiPedia (1) which suggests the Man-of-War (psuedo-jellyfish) should be treated differently than other true jellyfish. Is there are credence to this? There is a single study cited (2), but I wonder what your comments are.1.) Fenner P, Williamson J, Burnett J, Rifkin J (1993). “First aid treatment of jellyfish stings in Australia. Response to a newly differentiated species”. Med J Aust 158 (7): 498-501
Tea Tree Oil Mouthwash contains an infusion of spearmint essential oil, cleans and tones gums, provides antiseptic protection, and leaves mouth and breath refreshed. Naturally refreshing. Certified organically grown Tea Tree Oil. Recommended by many dentists, Dessert Essence Tea Tree Oil Mouthwash naturally cleans and refreshes gums. Tea Tree Oil is a completely natural plant extract with natural antiseptic properties. It is distilled from the leaves of Australian Melaleuca Alternifolia tree. Desert Essence clear Tea Tree Oil Mouthwash contains no alcohol, artificial colors or sweeteners and is flavored with natural essential oil of Spearmint. Desert Essence Tea Tree Oil Mouthwash, the perfect companion for part of your oral hygiene routine, leaves the breath minty fresh.
My uncle works for Kiss My Face
ARAMCO
According to an April 29, 2002 report in Britain's Guardian, ARAMCO constitutes 12% of the world's total oil production; a figure which has certainly increased as other countries have progressed deeper into irreversible decline.
ARAMCO is the largest oil group in the world, a state-owned Saudi company in partnership with four major US oil companies. Another one of Aramco's partners is Chevron-Texaco which gave up one of its board members, Condoleezza Rice, when she became the National Security Advisor to George Bush. All of ARAMCO's key decisions are made by the Saudi royal family while US oil expertise, personnel and technology keeps the cash coming in and the oil going out. ARAMCO operates, manages, and maintains virtually all Saudi oil fields – 25% of all the oil on the planet.
According to a New York Times report on March 8th of this year, [2005] ARAMCO is planning to make a 25% investment in a new and badly needed refinery to produce gasoline. The remaining 75% ownership of the refinery will go to the only nation that is quickly becoming America's major world competitor for ever-diminishing supplies of oil: China.
Almost the entire Bush administration has an interest in ARAMCO.
The Boston Globe reported that in 2001 ARAMCO had signed a $140 million multi-year contract with Halliburton, then chaired by Dick Cheney, to develop a new oil field. Halliburton does a lot of business in Saudi Arabia. Current estimates of Halliburton contracts or joint ventures in the country run into the tens of billions of dollars.
So do the fortunes of some shady figures from the Bush family's past.
As recently as 1991 ARAMCO had Khalid bin Mahfouz sitting on its Supreme Council or board of directors. Mahfouz, Saudi Arabia's former treasurer and the nation's largest banker, has been reported in several places to be Osama bin Laden's brother in law. However, he has denied this and brought intense legal pressure to bear demanding retractions of these allegations. He has major partnership investments with the multi-billion dollar Binladin Group of companies and he is a former director of BCCI, the infamous criminal drug-money laundering bank which performed a number of very useful services for the CIA before its 1991 collapse under criminal investigation by a whole lot of countries.
As Saudi Arabia's largest banker he handles the accounts of the royal family and – no doubt – ARAMCO, while at the same time he is a named defendant in a $1 trillion lawsuit filed by 9/11 victim families against the Saudi government and prominent Saudi officials who, the suit alleges, were complicit in the 9/11 attacks.
Both BCCI and Mahfouz have historical connections to the Bush family dating back to the 1980s. Another bank (one of many) connected to Mahfouz – the InterMaritime Bank – bailed out a cash-starved Harken Energy in 1987 with $25 million. After the rejuvenated Harken got a no-bid oil lease in 1991, CEO George W. Bush promptly sold his shares in a pump-and-dump scheme and made a whole lot of money.
And on…and on…
There are many more references like this, including one in Wikipedia. This was just the first I ran across with pertinent info.
Driving to Norwich. Kiss my face!
can you do a skin care routine video…u have such beautiful skin
there's a health food store and a little asian store across from woolies you need to go to!
AH-MAZING. seriously go to a health food store. get some. from the machines not the ones in the jar on the shelf. but if there is nothing else there i guess go for it…JUST DO IT
The effects of environmental contaminants in humans are serious. PCBs can cause neurotoxicity (nerve damage), reproductive and developmental disorders, immune system suppression, liver damage, skin irritation, and endocrine disruption. DDT exposure is associated with certain cancer risks and neurological and reproductive disorders. Dioxins, among the most toxic substances known, can cause cancer, metabolic dysfunction, and immune system disorders.
i used benzoyl peroxide once it turned out that i am allergic to it and i got a huge red flaky rash in the middle of my face and if i had not gone to the doctor it would have spread to my eyes and i would have gone blind
im sorry to hear that. im 11 years old. and r probably saying woow 12 years old trying to help me. but i get bad acne bcuz i always touch my face mostly on my forehead.you may be using skin care that dries out your skin. Now i use a tree oil thing from trader joes and it really make a difference. and i works fast to unclog pores and get rid of all acne. it comes in a bclear bottle and the liquid is yellow, it also has a green despencer. hope i helped!!
Benzoyl Peroxide Effects And Alternatives
Wow, ive got to say, today is my first day on accutane and now that ive seen what a TITAN you are, i feel like such a sissy-Wuss for complaining about my moderate acne. i WISH i had your positive attitude!! GOOD LUCK TO YOU BRO!!!! YOU WILLL GET BETTER!!!
Tea tree oil has various uses, its triple antibiotic features: it's an antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal agent
Win $100 worth of products from She All Natural Skin Care at Cool Canucks
This is an excellent article!!! It's amazing how many beauty regimens are based on what advertisers want us to believe is right or wrong with our natural body. Our bodies are amazing! Releasing sweat helps cool our bodies down! That's so cool that our bodies can do that. Smell? Well, that's another thing. I've been using straight baking soda, which is working fine for me. My honey has experienced some skin irritation with it, so he has to add some moisturizer to his, and I've heard that cornstarch also helps with skin sensitivity. This recipe sounds very appealing though. I wonder if I can get coconut oil without plastic?
Top Five Skin Care Mistakes Women Make – TCW – Culture, Dining …: Using a variety of products that yield differe…
(cont) coconut butter too.
You'd think health food stores would have sales *sometime*? LOL
Once I told them, both my pharmacist and urologist said I should definitely not risk the Cipro. Thomas Hale's Medications and Mothers' Milkis a great resource if you ever want to check on a medication. If you don't want to buy it, a local leader of La Leche League should have it. Good luck with water and cranberry. I can't stand the sourness of the no-sugar cranberry juice so I take Cranactin capsules and they're great. You should be able to find them at a health food store.
“Sometimes, you need a small “push”(shot) to separate from your MACH3 razor, until you experience Gillette Fusion. 5 close together blades for less skin irritation. Gillette Fusion, switch now.”
An across-the-board review of the health effects of Qigong and Tai Chi finds these practices offer many physical and mental health advantages with benefits for the heart, immune system and overall quality of life. The review, which appears in the July/August issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, included 77 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on Qigong or Tai Chi interventions published in peer-reviewed journals between 1993 and 2007. Taken together, there were 6,410 participants in the studies…
Allergy Unit – Royal Prince Alfred Hospital > Home –
Leif said, “First, I think we have to remember–we’re blogs, not Fox news. We don’t need to maintain a “fair and balanced” stance on things”
Well of course not, this blog can be as biased as it wants, and if so I am quite happy in pointing that out for people who come here under the impression that the blog is not biased. It also brings into question the reason for running a biased blog.
Leif said, “absinth24 and other sites to stop listing mythical thujone levels on Hill’s and (now that these sites are more than suspect for me)”
While getting off topic, absinth24 is specifically quite suspect to me as in another forum Andy (the owner) outright lied to me claiming he no longer works for absinth24 (while he was still filling orders, and he still works there to this day) to get out of answering some hard questions.
absintheur said, ” [quoting] Absinthe can be made by direct distillation of herbs in alcohol. It can also be made by mixing distilled essences of herbs in alcohol. ”
Yes I agree, “Distilled essences” is steam distillation. Thus fitting well with “distillation whether alcohol or steam”
Don't go for Proactive though if you have severe acne, it only works for light skin problems. Benzoyl peroxide is the main acne killer you are looking for. Cheaper elsewhere anyway…
GGN- Police Raid Health Food Store for Raw Milk
Twenty-five years after publishing the mnemonic "ABCD" to facilitate the early diagnosis of melanoma, the group who came up with that moniker says early detection remains a key factor in lowering mortality from malignant melanoma. Darrell S. Rigel, M.D. and colleagues from the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at New York University School of Medicine say that, despite all of the advances in melanoma diagnosis, timely recognition, detection, and rapid treatment of melanoma remain critical…
you look tan and gorgeous!
ティーツリー／Melaleuca Alternifolia／フトモモ科／葉／水蒸気蒸留／モノテルペン炭化水素類、モノテルペンアルコール類、酸化物類／抗菌、抗ウイルス、免疫調整、神経強壮／花粉症にお勧め、マスクに1滴垂らすと楽
20:00, still Peter: "I really see no reason, personally, why we can’t adopt systems of
publishing which are more like that [i.e. wikis] than what we have in most medical
journals today, including most online medical journals." – also mentions PLoS: "I would certainly
include PLoS in that group who publishes things as fixed PDF forms"