Tea Tree Oil Benefits

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Tea tree’s leaves once were used to make tea, which is how the plant received its name. iStockphoto.com/Andrew Simpson

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A young mother was at her wits’ end about her 4-year-old son’s nagging case of nail psoriasis. A potentially disfiguring, lifelong skin disease, nail psoriasis can leave the ends of fingers misshapen from silvery-white mounds of dead skin covering the nails. (Psoriasis also can attack the knees, scalp and other areas.)

As you might imagine, the mother was eager to rescue her child from the embarrassment of his condition. She rushed him to a doctor, who prescribed various topical medications. Not one of them proved effective. Next, she tried tar treatments, also to no avail. After a year of fruitless doctor visits, the young mother decided to step out of the bounds of traditional therapies.

With no other options at hand, she visited a local herbalist. The herbalist recommended the mother apply pure tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) essential oil drops to the nail area at night and to cover her child’s hands with mittens to allow the oil to penetrate. After two weeks, the psoriasis vanished. Fourteen years later, her son has not suffered a single outbreak of the disease. Suffice it to say, the mother, who happens to be the author of this article, was convinced of tea tree oil’s amazing powers.

Meet Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil comes from the leaves of the Melaleuca tree, which is native to New South Wales, Australia, and also grows in Asia. With strong antifungal and antiseptic properties, tea tree is a common ingredient in many natural skin- and body-care products and can help alleviate an array of skin conditions, such as dandruff, athlete’s foot and acne.

According to noted herbalist Steven Foster, interest in tea tree oil emerged in the 1920s, when Australian researchers discovered the oil was a more effective antiseptic than carbolic acid, a well-known germicide of the time. Anitra C. Carr, Ph.D., a research associate at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, says the leaves once were used for tea, which is how the plant received its name. Carr says the great explorer Captain Cook used the leaves to brew a strong tea for his sailors.

Tea tree’s healing ingredients also are antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. No wonder tea tree is prized for its medicinal abilities. Studies suggest tea tree oil is effective in fighting dandruff and alleviating many other skin and fungal infections, including head lice, acne, warts, inflammations, ringworm, thrush and athlete’s foot. The list might seem unbelievable, but experts and first-time users alike have reported many success stories.

Tea Tree: Backed By Research

Researcher Carr, in her article “Tea Trees and their Therapeutic Properties,” cites several promising studies that compared tea tree oil with conventional medications for the following conditions:

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