How to use Tree Tree Oil: Reports, Books and Reviews

	Tea Tree Oil: A Medicine Kit in a Bottle by Susan Drury
	Tea Tree: The Genus Melaleuca (Medicinal & Aromatic Plants, Industrial Profiles) by Ian Southwell and Robert Lowe
	Australian Tea Tree Oil Handbook: 101 Plus Ways To Use Tea Tree by Cynthia Olsen
	Australian Tea Tree Oil Guide by Cynthia Olsen
	Tea Tree Oil For Health & Well-Being by Susanne Poth
	Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals by Robert Tisserand and Tony Blacas
	Importing into the United States: A Guide for Commercial Importers by United States Customs Service
	375 Essential Oils and Hydrosols by Jeanne Rose

The Tea Tree Oil Bible. Ali, Dr. Elivs, Dr. George Grant, and Ken Vegotsky. AGES Publications, Inc. 1999

Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. Rocklin. Murray MT and Pizorno JE. CA: Prima Publishing,1991, pp. 532.

The Complete Medicinal Herbal. Ody, P. New York, NY: DK Publishing, Inc.,1993, pp.142-143,144-145, 176-177.

The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Huxley. A. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

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Tea Tree Cultivation

(Melaleuca Alternifolia) is native to the swampy, low lying wetlands of North-Eastern New South Wales, Australia

Has been cultivated in other part of Australia successfully including Queensland and Western Australia. Other species of Melaleuca grow across Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

More than fifty members of Melaleuca genus, Melaleuca altemifolia most researched. Essential oil containing a range of terpenes and sesquiterpenes.

Requires a fertile, well-drained moisture retentive lime-free soil in full sun. Prefers a soil that does not contain much nitrogen. Plants are shade tolerant and succeed in most soils and aspects except dry conditions when they are grown in Australian gardens.

This species is not very cold hardy and is only likely to succeed outdoors in the very mildest parts of Britain. It tolerates temperatures down to at least -7°c in Australian gardens but this cannot be translated directly to British gardens because of our cooler summers and longer colder and wetter winters.

Seed takes about 12 months to develop on the plant, the woody seed capsules persist for 3 or more years.

Any pruning is best done after the plants have flowered with the intention of maintaining a compact habit.

Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus.

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Propagation of Melaluca Trees

Seed - surface sow in spring or autumn onto a pot of permanently moist soil in a warm greenhouse. Emmerse in 5cm of water and do not water from overhead. Grow on until the seedlings are 0.5cm tall then remove from the water and pot up a week later. Seedlings are liable to damp off when grown this way, sowing the seed thinly, good ventilation and hygiene are essential for success. Grow the plants on for at least their first winter in a greenhouse and then plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Consider giving the plants some protection from the cold for their first few winters outdoors.

Cuttings of half-ripe lateral shoots with a heel, July/August in a frame.

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Tea Tree Oil Uses and Treatments

Tea tree, and in particular its essential oil, is one of the most important natural antiseptics and it merits a place in every medicine chest. It is useful for treating stings, burns, wounds and skin infections of all kinds.

An essential oil obtained from the leaves and twigs is strongly antiseptic, diaphoretic and expectorant. It stimulates the immune system and is effective against a broad range of bacterial and fungal infections. Internally, it is used in the treatment of chronic and some acute infections, notably cystitis, glandular fever and chronic fatigue syndrome. It is used externally in the treatment of thrush, vaginal infections, acne, athlete's foot, verrucae, warts, insect bites, cold sores and nits. It is applied neat to verrucae, warts and nits, but is diluted with a carrier oil such as almond for other uses.

The oil is non-irritant. Another report says that high quality oils contain about 40% terpinen-4-ol, which is well tolerated by the skin and 5% cineol which is an irritant. However, in poor quality oils the levels of cineol can exceed 10% and in some cases up to 65%.

Tea Tree Oil vs. Skin Infections:

Broad-spectrum antiseptic
Mixes with sebaceous secretions and penetrates epidermis
Apply oil two to three times per day

Tea Tree Oil vs. Acne:

Alliterative to benzoyl peroxide
less side effects (dryness, redness, pruritus, stinging, burning)
5% tea tree oil gel applied daily

Tea Tree Oil vs. Common Foot Problems:

Tinea pedis (athlete's foot) foot irritation
Promhidrosis (severely foul-smelling feet)
8% tea tree oil emollient massaged into feet daily

Tea Tree Oil vs. Fungal Nail Infection

100% tea tree oil twice daily
Improvement in nail appearance and symptoms (with long-term use)

Tea Tree Oil vs. Vaginal Infections:

Germicidal activity versus Candida albicans and Trichomonas vaginalis
40% tea tree oil solution emulsified with isopropyl alcohol and water
Used tampon saturated with this tea tree oil solution (once wkly for 4 to 6 wks)
For treatment of cervicitis and chronic endocervicitis
Daily vaginal douches (1 quart water with 0.4% tea tree oil) prescribed
For treatment of trichomonas and candidiasis
No irritation, burning, or other side effects noted

Tea Tree Oil vs. Cold Sores:

Mix essential oil with 10 times its volume of carrier oil
Dab on affected area as soon as developing cold sore starts to tingle

Tea Tree Oil vs. Head lice (Nits):

Eggs of head lice on the hair
Put a few drops of oil on a fine comb and comb hair well
OR...add 5-10 drops of oil to shampoo or hair rinse and repeat daily

Treament and Uses Articles and Reports>

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