The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Herpes
Posted by Claudia (Los Angeles, CA) on 02/17/2008
★★★★★
Tea tree oil really helps me to prevent herpes outbreaks. When i feel the infected area starting to become itchy, which is a symptom for me that i'll be having an outbreak, i apply tea tree oil 2 to 3 times during the day. This prevents any sores from appearing.
Rosacea
Posted by McFly (Tennessee) on 06/05/2024
★★★★★
My face has always been a little pinkish and I never thought anything about it until it got really red this year. Even my chin was getting red and hot. I started reading about rosacea and found out about the link to demodex. I used to use olive oil or coconut oil as a moisturizer but stopped using that and started using only raw chunks of frozen aloe every night along with tea tree oil dabbed on my cheeks, chin and nose. it has really helped so much. I had no idea about the mites until this year, wow!! Its amazing the things we still learn about this world even at 49. If you have rosacea, maybe try what I did...stop the lotions or oils on your skin and start using aloe and tea tree oil only. If you have to use an oil for super dry skin, try castor oil...i love using just a little dab here and there if I need too. I use the tea tree oil now multiple times every day. I also wash my face with diluted ACV and water daily and even shave my face in order to really exfoliate it and now my skin is looking better than it has in years. cheers
Skin Tags
Posted by Barbara (Concord, California) on 10/23/2009
★★★★★
I had a skin tag right at the corner of my mouth. Not only was it ugly, it hurt and was impossible to ignore. I couldn't get my health care provider to pony up to pay to remove it (it is apparently considered a cosmetic procedure, even if it was causing me physical pain, that's a WHOLE OTHER topic) - after finding this website, I decided to be brave. I applied undiluted Tea Tree oil to the tag, and within 2 days the tag had turned to a blister, and after 2 weeks, the tag was COMPLETELY GONE. I am completely sold on this stuff, its a miracle. Note: I think straight tea tree oil was a bit harsh, because it made the area really sore. However, there is no scar or anything left of the tag.
Dermatitis
Posted by Taylor (Nashville, Tennessee) on 04/18/2011
★★★★★
I was recently diagnosed with perioral dermatitis by a dermatologist. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and was just around my mouth area next to my chin. My doctor gave me 1 month antibiotics, which has been tearing my stomach up. I had been on the antobiotics for about 10 days when I became angry that I hadnt seen any results, in fact, it looked worse.
A co-worker suggested I try tea tree oil as her daughter suffered from POD too. Four days later, my POD is about 85% gone!!!! No new bumps have formed since using the tea tree oil.
Since tea tree oil is VERY potent, it is recommended to dilute the oil. I diluted it with water by moistening a cotton pad with water, squeezing out the excess, placing about 2-3 drops of oil on the pad, and then adding a few more drops of water. I then pressed the pad on my affected areas 2-3 times a day. It started drying up immediately!
I even used a drop of straight tea tree oil on a huge pimple that I got (due to the stress of the POD), and the bump completely vanished within 12 hours!
I am now convinced that some of the best remedies are all natural!
Skin Tags
Posted by N.M.T. (Somewhere hot, Florida USA) on 07/12/2007
★★★★★
Just wanted to note that I had a skin tag in my armpit for about two years and decided to put tea tree oil on it. I moderated soaked a cotton ball and did it two days in a row. The second day it turned black and a bit later with some coaxing, it fell off. That same week another popped up on my abdomen and I repeated the procedure and got the same exact results. There are no marks left behind, nothing!
Jock Itch
Posted by Sally (Washington, USA) on 04/12/2007
★★★★★
Well, let's see if I can describe this without being too unladylike. I had some kind of terrible itching "down there" which I think first started out as the result of an abrasion that wasn't healing properly, and then got worse because of a reaction to the ultra cheap toilet paper at work. This was getting worse over the course of several weeks.
I got some relief from colloidal silver applied topically. I did that for a couple of days and it was helping. Then I mixed some colloidal silver and some tea tree oil with some aloe vera gel, and applied that, it was way too strong, but even though it had a warm sensation and I wanted to rinse most of it off right away it gave immediate and lasting relief from the itching. The next day I took some of the too-strong mixture and diluted it in some unscented lotion (Nature's Gate brand, very mild). I have been using that for a couple of days after showering and it is amazing how effective it is. No more itching and everything is healing nicely. Worked great. Hope this helps someone, I sure love this web site, trying to tell others about it too. Thanks!
Tea Tree Oil Feedback
Posted by Anna Maria (Guilford, CT) on 04/08/2007
★★★★★
Tea Tree Oil has helped me time and time again! I first tried it when I got my ear pierced and developed an infection that just wouldn't go away - nothing worked until someone suggested tea tree oil. It worked over night! I also use it for acne (just dab on with cotton swab) and any cuts, scraps or abrasions. It cuts healing time in half! My latest use was for an abcessed tooth that was opened by my dentist to drain the infection...a few days went by and it wasn't draining so I soaked a cotton swab in tea tree oil and held it on the infect tooth and gum. Woke up this morning and the swelling and pain is nearly gone. Just amazing stuff that has some many uses - I love it.
Toxic to Cats and Dogs
Posted by Lisa (San Francisco Ca) on 03/22/2016 11 posts
★☆☆☆☆WARNING!
My dog had a terrible reaction from tea tree oil. I used 50-50 tea tree mixed with castor oil and applied it to my dog's paws to help them heal, and my dog almost immediately turned red all over his body and developed a fever of 104.2. I washed the stuff off of him immediately, but it really gave me a scare. It took an hour for me to get his fever back down and he was really suffering. So, I would say, you might not want to use this stuff on your pets!
Warts
Posted by Kimberly From Florida (Pensacola, Fl) on 07/17/2013
★★★★★
Tea tree oil WILL get rid of warts. I did have luck using a drop on a bandaid and placing over wart at night. Gone in a week!
Tea Tree Oil Feedback
Posted by Khulthum (Chicago, IL) on 03/30/2009
★★★★★
Tea Tree Oil to Prevent Burns
My girlfriends and I, along with all our children, meet weekly in the evenings, at our community center. One evening, when tea was being served, one of the young children ran by and knocked the entire pot of tea all over one of the older girl's legs. She is 12 years old. The sight of that steaming tea all over that poor girl's legs was like a nightmare. It looked like her legs were going to be ruined.
She was rushed to the restroom, by her mother [my friend], and placed in the shower. My friend kept running cold water on her legs to relieve the pain. But she wouldn't stop wailing and her mother didn't know what to do.
I knew that tea tree oil was good for burns, and since I had some in my bag, I offered to apply some to her legs. I had to assure my friend, and especially her daughter, that it would definately be of some help. They did not even know what tea tree oil was, so they were hesitant. But clearly ANYTHING that could help would be welcome, because the girl was screaming uncontrolably at this point.
We took her out of the shower and dried her legs as best we could. Then, I put some oil in the palm of my hand, rubbed my hands together, and rubbed the oil on her legs. For a brief moment, everything was okay. But then she started screaming like you wouldn't believe, saying it was hurting her even more.
Admittedly, I was a little surprised myself, because I had not experienced a reaction like that before [neither from myself, nor from any of my children]. My friend was alarmed, and asked me if that was normal. I told her I had never seen that type of reaction, but that I thought it was because her legs were wet and her pores were open.
I asked her daughter to be patient and wait, and that it would soon get better. She tried her best to wait in out, but she was unable to bear the pain. At this point she was jumping up and down begging us to take it off of her.
I felt really bad because she was clearly in a lot of pain because of ME, but I didn't really know what to do because I thought that water would only push the oil deeper into her her skin. After briefly discussing it, my friend decided to try washing it off, because doing something was better than doing nothing.
After washing her legs off with soap, like a much welcome blessing from God, she stopped crying. 23 loooooooonng minutes, and she finally stopped crying! She said it still hurt a little, but that it felt much better.
My friend took her daughter home, and the next morning she called me to let me know that there was not a single mark on her daughter's legs. It was as if nothing had happened!
Tea Tree Oil Feedback
Posted by Sandie (Choctaw, Oklahoma) on 07/15/2008
★★★★★
I find that Tea Tree Oil is great for melting away WARTS ! I tried every cure from freezing to duct tape to cut it off with clippers. It always returned. I then tried Tea Tree oil. Would apply with qtip several times a day. I tried to put a bandaid on with the oil, but the oil would just melt the adheshive. In two weeks my wart was gone and never came back. Since then I have tried it on several relatives with the same great result. I am now trying on my sons acne and it seems to be working with no side effects or scaring.
Rosacea
Posted by Julie (Los Angeles, CA) on 11/27/2007
★★★★★
Tea tree oil can help rosacea. Not sure if it can erradicate it completely, but it does help kill off the adult mites. You need to use it religiously, every day. (I use it several times a day!) Since the demodex mites keep reproducing you need to keep applying TTO to keep the next generation from growing into adults. For example, if you only apply it one time, say, you may kill some for that day but the lifecycle of these stubborn mites is about 15-20 days. Also, try not to wear foundation makeup during this time, you need to get this out of your skin! Also, don't "feed" the mites by applying any nutritional things such as coconut oil, and other vitamin-rich lotions. I'm still doing research but this is the best natural way I have found so far. Try it!
Skin Tags
Posted by Gsabrae (Springfield, Mo) on 12/07/2010
★★★★★
I read the review for skin tags and Tea Tree oil, I bougt 100% Tea Tree oil. My intention was to apply the oil to a skin tag that had developed underneath my right eye. I applied the oil 3 times a day for 7 days. Day 1, I see the skin tage is shrinking! Day 2, it is even smaller, Day 3, the tag is itching, growing smaller darkening, Day 4, same thing even more! Day 5, I was absent mindly scratching and itch on my face the skin tag fell off! I was awed, rush to a mirror and it was gone! Tree Tea oil, pure for me does take away skin tags. This tag had been on my face for two years and no matter what I used, it was still there. I. Then began to use it on skin tags that were developing (3) and they are almost gone.
So I began to use it on dark spots on my nose from wearing glasses for 40 years and they are diminishing also! I am absolutely blown away! It gets better... I have adult acne, and yes, you guessed it! They are going away also! Some of the pimples have been on my face for almost a year! Is Tea Tree oil a component of the fountain of youth? I do not know, what I DO know is that skin problems that I have spent hundreds of dollars in during my lifetime disappear and leave me looking less aged, with almost flawless skin and I love it! Pure Tea Tree oil is volatile, do not apply it to your face without adequate ventalation. Do not apply it and go to bed, it will irritate your eyes and nose, apply it at least 20 minutes prior to bedtime. This stuff work amazingly well.
Rosacea
Posted by Jessie (Houma, Louisiana) on 08/15/2007
★★★★★
I read a suggestion about using tea tree oil to help with rosacea, so I tried it. I'd used it occasionally for pimples, but I had never tried putting it all over my face. It worked like a charm! I still have a little redness which can't be helped because of the summer heat, but I haven't had any break-outs and my face looks much better than it did using the expensive creams.
Tea Tree Oil Feedback
Posted by Terry (San Antonio, Texas) on 04/24/2007
★★★★★
I find tea tree oil to be extremely effective in all skin conditions, including pre-cancerous spots.
Tea Tree Oil Feedback
Posted by Jade.elephant (Montclair, Va) on 03/27/2012
Tea tree oil also kills nail fungus and probably kills plantar warts on the bottom of feet. I was using it on toenails and it would run under my foot when I applied it. The plantar wart went away along with the nail fungus. Use the oil regularly on the nails until they grow out. You will see the nails gradually thin as the fungus dies and once it grows out, it's perfect.
Jock Itch
Posted by Mikem (Vancouver, Washington) on 12/11/2009
★★★★★
My gf and me use full strength tea tree oil and i have used it on my jock itch that i have had for the last 15yrs and nothing has worked and believe you me i have tried everything on the shelf and this is the only stuff that works, i apply about 2 drops on both sides twice and day and it's allmost gone for real. We also use it to just strengthen our immune system and rub it on our necks and face because it is absorbs quick into the bloodstream. I used it on this boil i had behind my ear and within a week of applying it 3 times a day it's gone and it was about 2 inches in diameter. I have used it on skin tags and had a few get dark and fall off so it does work very well.We love this stuff
Jock Itch
Posted by Steve (Roanoke, Virginia, Usa) on 07/19/2011
★★★★★
Just wanted to add to this thread, I too had a troublesome spot "down there" about the size of a quarter that simply would not go away. After applying slightly diluted (olive oil) TTO the itching stopped. Three days later a very thin layer of skin peeled away from the spot itself (the surrounding skin was unaffected) revealing fresh new skin underneath. The itch has not returned. Thank you Earth Clinic!
How to Apply Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Mike b (maryland) on 06/09/2024
Like many essential oils, tea tree oil is very strong. You often don't want to apply undiluted TTO to skin, at least not at first. You should also try a test spot first before slathering an entire area. Some people have reactions to it.
How to Apply Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Ashley (Albuquerque) on 09/03/2013
How to apply tea tree oil: I take a q tip and dip it in the oil then apply directly on the area needed. Always use a new or clean q tip befor dipping in the oil to prevent contaminating the tea tree oil with any germs. You can wet the q tip with water first if you have sensitive skin.
Cellulitis
Posted by Dana (Atlanta, Ga) on 08/08/2009
★★★★★
My 9 year old son experienced cellulitis for the second time in less than a year as the result of a bug bite (spiders we think). At any rate, unable to get the prescription for an antibiotic filled until the morning, I went to this website. I placed a few drops of tea tree oil onto a cotton swab. I applied it to his very swollen and inflammed leg, along with a water soaked cotton ball (so the tea tree would not burn). I then applied an ice pack and gave him an over the counter anti-flammatory. By morning, the inflammation was gone, he was able to move his leg with less diffulty and the redness also subsided.
The Tea Tree worked awesome. Because of the severity of his cellulitis I still gave him the antibiotic, but cut the treatment time in half. Going forward, on any bites I will immediately treat with tea tree oil.
Thanks Earth Clinic
Cellulitis
Posted by Carly (Seattle, Wa - Usa) on 05/19/2011
Hi Deesone... That cellulitis is some scary stuff. Absoulutely keep taking whatever the doctor prescribes, but also look into vitamin C mega dosing.
Look up "Linus Pauling / vitamin C" on a search engine. I would take 4-6 grams of C a day if I were in your shoes. (Cutting back if you get diaharea so as to not wash the antibiotics out of your system too fast).
Just a thought. Good luck to you.
Cellulitis
Posted by Ginger (Manistique, Michigan, Usa) on 07/17/2011
We have had several cases of cellulitis in our household over the last year, presumably from
spider bites. The first one was on my teenager's wrist. I took her to the doctor and she was given an antibiotic. Although it went away, I would have preferred she not be on antibiotics.
Next case was on my husband's cheek near his nose. We first noticed it at 4 pm on a Friday and didn't want to go the emergency room, so I looked to EC. The bite was so angry looking so I hit it with a 3-fold process of polysporin, tea tree oil, and a little sprinkle of turmeric on a bandaid. We kept it bandaged with the mixture at night; during the day, I just applied the mixture and kept it open to the air. By Monday, it was gone, but his face was a bit burned from the turmeric. Next time, I knew not to apply the turmeric as it was too strong.
This past week, both teenagers had cellulitis, again possibly from bites, so this time I only used the polysporin and tea tree oil. Having ointment on at all times, covering with bandaid whenever possible.
Cellulitis was entirely cleared up in four days in all cases.
Tea Tree Oil Feedback
Posted by Lucky (Somewhere, United States) on 04/01/2010
It is great for dandruff. Put a teaspoon in a bottle of 100ml of shampoo and after a few weeks your dandruff will be gone. Didn't see the warnings on here about not using it on cats and dogs, so I even put a dropperful in my dogs shampoo and her coat looked great. She had no side effects but read some comments stating that their pets did. Works great on humans tho.
