Tea Tree Oil

A lot of people stray away from herbal/aromatherapy treatments and opt for what their doctor had prescribed. In a lot of cases, I would totally say go along with what your doctor has said - after all they have done years of training and do know what they are talking about! However, there are times when those treatments don't work or maybe you don't like what is in it and you want to try something natural and this is exactly what I did when I had problems with my skin. I did go to a doctor first, but the different things I was prescribed only made a very small difference, so in came tea tree oil!

I was in a position where I already knew quite a bit about tea tree oil, as I had been using it for my horse. Tea tree oil has so many uses but the most popular are acne, skin infections, psoriasis and sores just to name a couple. It can help with these skin ailments as the oil has antibacterial, antivirus and antifunal properties which are the three main causes of the ailments. Another name for it is melaleuca  oil and it is made from the leaves of the tea tree plant which is native to Australia and the oil has been used for years, even in the 1920's by surgeons to help clean wounds and prevent infections.

As I said, I was using it on my skin, as I had red, dry patches, similar to that of psoriasis and after being prescribed a number of different things from my doctor and then not really knowing what it was, I did a bit more research into tea tree oil, as I already knew it was similar to an antiseptic and found that it can also be used on skin. A lot of the time the oil has to be diluted with water or mixed with other things before you can use it as the pure oil is so strong. You can buy both the pure oil and a diluted version in shops - Superdrug and Holland & Barrett are the two best place I found to buy from. To start with I bought both versions and did a patch test to make sure there would be no adverse reactions to it and I also only used the diluted version for about a week. Luckily, there was no reaction so I could go over to using the pure oil and this is where I actually starting seeing a difference! Slowly but surely, the marks started to feel less dry and started to fade - can't tell you how happy I was about this as my skin was something I was becoming quite self concious about. It did take quite a while for the patches to completely clear up, but they did and while I do have a few that pop up every now and again, I know exactly what to put on them.

 It is quite strong smelling and, as it is an oil, it can make you skin feel a little greasy at first but does dry in pretty quickly. It is seriously a small price to pay if it actually helps, as it has done to me! As with anything, some people can have a reaction to it so it has to be used with care and there is a lot on the internet about how it should be used and what the oil can be mixed with depending on the area you want to apply it to. A quick search rings up so much and I find it all so interesting to learn about.

Have you ever used Tea Tree oil to help your skin?
Love Laura x