A Home Remedy For Acne - Tea Tree Oil
The strong antibacterial properties of tea tree oil make it ideal as a home remedy for acne and indeed for everyday spots, pimples and blackheads.
How Is Tea Tree Oil Effective as a Home Remedy For Acne?
Tea Tree Oil is also knows as melaleuca oil and comes from the Melaleuca Alternafolia tree. The active ingredient in the oil is called terpenes. It has also been used for many other conditions such as athletes foot, cold sores, bad breath and even body odour.
When topically applied (it should never be ingested - even a small dose can be fatal when consumed!), the antibacterial properties are effective at killing the acne bacteria which can lessen the inflammation of acne pimples in particular.
Tea Tree Oil is an essential oil and as such it can also be combined with other oils to provide a remedy for other types of skin conditions but this article will only cover its use as an acne remedy.
How To Use Tea Tree Oil as a Home Remedy For Acne
There are several points to consider when using tea tree oil as a home remedy for acne. Firstly we need to look at the concentration of the tea tree oil and how to make your own mixture.
The Concentration of Your Tea Tree Oil Treatment
One of the problems of using tea tree oil as a home remedy for acne is that there is no standard for measuring the concentration of the actual essential oil and this can vary greatly from one brand to another.
No essential oil should ever be used directly on the skin as it is far too strong. It has to be diluted in some way. Perhaps one of the easiest ways of getting started with tea tree oil is to simply purchase any of the many skin care products such as creams, lotions, and facial washes. However, the downside to this approach is that these products may contain other ingredients that you might be sensitive to.
Making Your Own Tea Tree Oil Mixture
Another alternative is to purchase the tea tree oil in its pure form and then control the concentration yourself by mixing a few drops of the essential oil with a carrier (sometimes known as a base oil) oil such as almond oil. This diluted oil can then be applied directly to the affected area.
Start with one tablespoon if your carrier oil and just 5 drops of the tea tree oil and then work your way up to a maximum of 25 drops of essential oil to your tablespoon of carrier oil.
To apply the mixture simply massage the oil gently into the affected area and leave for a few minutes before washing off. You might also want to experiment with different carrier oils - you want to keep the skin moisturized without adding to the greasiness.
Other Ways Of Using Tea Tree Oil
Of course acne does not only affect the face. In many cases it can affect other parts of the body. Using the oil mixture as mentioned above is great if you have a partner who can massage other affected areas of your body but if you are having to use this home remedy for acne on your own then another method is to simply add 10-25 drops of the tea tree oil into a warm bath and then soak for 30-60 minutes.