Why and how to use tea tree oil for health, skin and hair – DIY

Tea tree oil has many benefits and you can use it in almost every aspect of your life from skin and hair care, to eliminating foot odour and cleaning your kitchen, bath tub and sinks.

I wrote an extended article where I listed most benefits of tea tree oil; please, follow THIS LINK to learn more how tea tree oil helps our skin and hair.  You can also find a good choice of products with the oil in them that you can buy online or from local stores.

In this post we will talk about homemade skin care and hair care products with an oil and will pay a lot of attention how to get rid of acne and acne scars. 

Tea tree oil for acne

At one point many people ask themselves a question: is tea tree oil good for acne?

And the answer is a big YES!

Tea tree essential oil is one of the most common ingredients that people use to fight acne. 

It has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.  That means that tea tree oil is able to kill acne causing bacteria and reduce redness and swelling caused by that bacteria.

Studies showed that you need 5% concentration of the oil to see good results.   So be mindful of that when buying your product.

Most skin care products contain very little amount of tea tree oil.  So the most products are more like for maintenance of clear skin, not for treating serious complications.

How to use tea tree oil for acne

So, if you decided to give pure tea tree oil a try (and you should), there is a very important thing to consider:

DO NOT rub concentrated oil onto your face – it might cause irritation, redness and even minor burn. 

You should use oil as a spot treatment: just dub the q-tip in oil and apply it to the desired spot.

I would like to stress it once again – do not bathe your face in pure oil, you do not want to cause more trouble to your skin.

So, spot treatment is excellent for acne.  However, tea tree oil has many benefits for the skin (not just acne): it whitens skin, mildly exfoliates it, improves skin tone, regulates skin oil production (super important for people with oily and combination skin type).   It can also help minimize appearance of pores and even out acne scars.

Let’s not forget about our body: some of us also have body acne as well as some inflammation and irritation.   That means that it is a good practice to have a body wash that has tea tree oil in it.

As a result of all the benefits mentioned above, let’s discuss some DIY masks and other products that will help our skin to clear out from impurities and stay bright and healthy.

(This post contains affiliate links.  That means that if you make a purchase, I might receive a small commission at no extra cost to you)

DIY Tea Tree Oil Face Masks

Face masks are a perfect addition to your skin care routine.  There are many types of face masks (you can read about all of the masks and their benefits, follow the link HERE). 

Masks with tea tree oil will not only nourish and moisturize your skin, but also will dry out pimples and acne. 

Essentially you can pick any DIY mask and just add 2-3 drops of tea tree essential oil to it.   I have few posts about a variety of homemade face masks that address different skin issues.  You can check out for recipes by following the link HERE and HERE.

In addition, here is a wonderful mask that will leave your skin smooth, refreshed and pampered.

Moisturizing Anti-Bacterial Mask

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of raw honey

3-5 drops of tea tree oil

1 table spoon of plain yogurt

Method:

1. Mix honey and yogurt together.
2. Place honey-yogurt mixture in a microwave and heat for 5 seconds
3. Add tea tree oil to the mixture
4. Apply mask to clean face and leave for 15 min
5. Wash off with lukewarm water
6. You can use this mask 2 times a week
7. Anti-wrinkle mask with tea tree oil

 

These 2 anti-aging masks will infuse your skin with necessary vitamins and micro-elements.  They will also help to regulate oil production, fight skin impurities and keep skin tone bright and glowing.

 

 

1.      Anti-wrinkle mask #1

 

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk

1 tea spoon of honey

3-5 drops of tea tree oil

Method:

• Mix all ingredients
• Apply to face for 15 minutes
• Wash off with lukewarm water
• You can do this mask 2 times a week

 

2.  Anti-wrinkle mask #2

 

Ingredients:

½ of shredded cucumber

½ of small shredded raw potato

1 tablespoon of olive oil

3-5 drops of tea tree oil

Method:

• Mix all ingredients
• Apply to face for 15 minutes
• Wash off with lukewarm water
• You can do this mask 2 times a week

 

Tea Tree Clay Mask

This homemade mask contains benefits from 2 very powerful ingredients: clay and tea tree oil.   I would suggest to use pink clay in this mask, because pink clay is suitable even for the most sensitive skin.  You would want to use the least aggressive clay in this mask, because, as we discussed earlier, tea tree oil might be a bit irritating to sensitive skin.

However, if you use gentle ingredients (pink clay in this case), your product will be safe for use.   You can read the whole article about pink clay and its benefits HERE.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of clay

1 – 1 1/2 tablespoon of warm water

3 drops of tea tree oil

Method:

• Mix all ingredients together
• Apply quickly to the face
• Let dry
• Wash off with lukewarm water
• You can use this mask 2 times a week

Homemade Tea Tree Oil Toner

This toner will be very beneficial for those who have oily and acne prone skin type.  It is very mild and gentle (I am personally very against harsh ingredients in homemade cosmetics).  This toner will help you to regulate oil production and will control acne causing bacteria.

And this toner is super easy to make.

Ingredients:

Filtered water to fill up a bottle

Tea tree oil

Method:

1. The most important thing here is adding the right amount for oil to the water
2. So, for every 25 ml of water (or around 1 ounce) add 10 drops of tea tree oil
3. Shake very well before each use

Because there are no preservatives, I would estimate that the shelf live of this toner should be 1 week.  If you refrigerate it, you can extend toner’s life to 2 weeks. 

Apply toner to your face twice a day (morning and evening) after cleansing your face thoroughly.

Tea tree oil for feet

If you have sweaty feet that have unpleasant odor, tea tree oil can help.  Tea tree oil can help regulate sweating and kill odor causing bacteria.   However, check with your doctor in case your feet problem is due to something else.

Tea Tree Oil for Hair

Tea tree oil can help with different hair problems like dry scalp, overproduction of hair oil, dandruff and weak, brittle hair.

1. Enhance your shampoo and conditioner by adding tea tree oil to the products.  Use 1 to 10 ratio to get the right concentration: that means take 1 tablespoon of shampoo/conditioner and add 10 drops of oil.

2. Make a hair toner with rose water and tea tree oil to deliver benefits of both to your hair.  You can read about rose water, its benefits and how to make it at home by following this link HERE. 

How to make Tea Tree Hair Toner: 

Ingredients:

25 ml of distilled water (or rose water)

10 drops of tea tree oil

spray bottle

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Apply to wet or dry hair
3. Shake toner well before using it
4. You can use this toner daily

3.  You  can also make hair masks with tea tree oil.  Just add few drops to oil to any of store bought or homemade mask.  You can find recipes of homemade hair masks by following links HERE and HERE.

 

Body wash with tea tree oil

 

You do not really have to make a body wash from scratch.  Just add the oil to your existing product.  As with a toner, add 15 drops for every 25 ml of the product and shake well.   Such body wash will help you to clear back acne and pimples.  It will also reduce redness and any inflammation.

 

Tea tree oil in dental treatment

 

As you remember, the oil has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.  So it can treat minor infections.

If you suffer from tooth pain or have bleeding gums, rinse your mouth with the following solution:

 Ingredients:

1 cup of lukewarm water

1 teaspoon of baking soda

10 drops of tea tree essential oil

If your tooth pain is strong and you cannot get to the doctor right away, hold this solution in your mouth for 5-10 minutes.  It will help to minimize the pain.

If you use this solution on a regular basis (instead of Listerine, for example), then you will be able to prevent gum diseases and bacteria growth.

It will also help to eliminate bad breath caused by bacteria.

As you can see tea tree oil has many uses including household ones.  Keep in mind that, as with any ingredient, some people may experience individual intolerance and even allergies.  Always perform a patch skin test to make sure that an ingredient won’t cause you irritate and redness.   And never every ingest tea tree oil.

Please, leave us any questions or comments; or share your experiences with tea tree oil.

Stay beautiful!!!

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