Botanical Name: Melalauca Alternifolia

Origin: Australia - Bungawalbin

Saftey data: People with sensitive skins should use less than 3% in dilutions and might benefit from blending the oil with Sweet Almond before adding it to the bathwater.

Valuable for treating colds, if used in the bath at the first signs of a cold or flu, one of the effects of Tea Tree is to stimulate profuse sweating, and this has long been recognised in naturopathy and other forms of natural healing as a valuable response to infection. Quite often this is enough to stop a cold or flu developing. This is not suppressing the infection but very efficiently fighting it.

Use Tea Tree Essential Oil neat is as an effective treatment for cold sores. Dab it on at the first burning sensation that precedes the blisters. Blisters of shingles and chickenpox can be treated in the same way. Veruccae and warts can be eradicated by placing a single drop of neat Tea Tree Essential Oil on the centre every day and covering with a plaster. It may take a week to see any result, but is effective in the long run.

It is also very good for the large, inflamed and often painful spots which some women tend to get around the nose and chin in the days preceding menstruation. A single drop of Tea Tree dabbed on each spot rapidly reduces the heat and pain and clears the spots up quite quickly. There are, of course, a good number of essential oils which are active against bacteria and viruses, but anti-fungal oils are relatively few, and Tea Tree is a welcome addition to their number. It is an effective treatment for fungal infections such as ringworm and athlete's foot.

Tea Tree Essential Oil is extracted through the steam distillation of the leaves and branchlets. The active principles of Tea Tree Essential Oil include large amounts of terpineol with various alcohols and monoterpenes. When Captain Cook’s expedition arrived in Australia, evidently suffering withdrawal symptoms from the cup that cheers, the crew are said to have used the fragrant leaves of melaleuca species as a substitute – hence the name Tea Tree.