Ever wonder what those bottles of serums and potions are that sit on your significant other’s bathroom shelf? One of them is probably tea tree oil. It’s the OG of oil-busting, bacteria-fighting, skin care ingredients. Unless you’re a skin care aficionado, you probably don’t know what it is.
Tea tree oil has been used for trillions of years (you can Google fact check us on that) to treat superficial skin conditions like minor cuts, scrapes, and even burns. It’s now used in everything from cleansers to moisturizers to even deodorants. Its ability to naturally drive out germs, support healing, and regulate oil production makes it a powerful and popular ingredient.
What Is Tea Tree Oil?
Tea tree oil comes from the steamed and pressed leaves of the Australian tea tree. It’s also known as melaleuca oil. It has a strong, clean scent, and is highly concentrated, so you’ll never want to put it directly on your skin.
Tea tree essential oil is used in skin care products and also in natural first aid products. It’s effective in helping wounds heal quickly and alleviating discomfort from irritated skin, burns and itching. It’s also sometimes added to products solely for its fragrance properties.
Skin Benefits of Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil has numerous skin benefits, which is why you’ll find it in so many different skin care products. From fighting excess oil to helping get breakouts under control, tea tree oil goes to work when it gets on your skin.
Dry Skin
Most people love tea tree oil because it’s a good, natural ingredient for oily skin, but it works exceptionally well for dry skin, too. Tea tree oil’s ability to soothe irritation and calm aggravated skin can help alleviate dry, uncomfortable areas on your skin that regular moisturizer doesn’t seem to help.
It’s best to use tea tree oil in a diluted state, so if you have pure tea tree oil, you’ll want to add a drop to your regular moisturizer before applying it directly to your skin, and it is best to try a patch test first.
Don’t have a daily face moisturizer? We’ve got you, bro.
Disco’s Hydrating Face Moisturizer works for both dry and oily skin types and is packed with natural, plant-based ingredients like vitamin E to smooth and condition the skin, macadamia nut oil to deeply hydrate, and vitamin C to brighten your skin tone and help encourage collagen production.
Oily Skin
Like Santa during the holidays, tea tree oil works hard on oily skin. It’s one of the best natural, plant-based ingredients that really work to combat excess oil production.
If you have oily skin, there’s a good chance it’s genetics, but it could also result from the products you use. Unfortunately, many products that are made to deal with oil strip the skin of natural moisture and leave it dehydrated, causing dryness. Acne-fighting products, especially, can contain really drying ingredients that can lead to rashes or skin peeling.
Your sebaceous glands produce more sebum (your skin’s natural oil) as a response to being overly dry. It’s a vicious cycle you can get stuck in if you use the wrong products.
Tea tree oil has astringent-like properties, which means it can get into your pores and help balance oil production in affected areas. It tightens pores and gives your skin a more clarified feel and look, and may even support healing of acne lesions and acne scars. Less oil can mean less breakouts.
While you're tackling oily skin, Disco’s Charcoal Face Cleanser Stick can help you detox your skin and get the gunk out, so you don’t break out as much. Our face cleanser stick is formulated with coconut oil to soothe and cleanse your skin, phytic acid to help exfoliate, and charcoal to dig out dirt and dead skin cells. Our face cleanser stick helps keep your pores clean and free of excess oil that can lead to whiteheads and blackheads.
Sensitive Skin
Irritated, itchy skin is often red, rashy, and flaky. It often feels incredibly uncomfortable, and it can be hard to find anything to give you relief. If you use a new product, it could cause it to become even more irritated.
Tea tree oil has soothing properties that help calm skin that is irritated. Using just a drop in your moisturizer can help you have more comfortable skin. Consider it your skin’s way of working through its issues.
Normal Skin
Tea tree oil’s ability to keep bacteria off your skin is unique, because it doesn’t interfere with the healthy bacteria on your skin.
Your skin’s microbiome, the colony of bacteria that protects your skin and keeps it working properly, can be harmed by-products that contain antibacterial ingredients. When your skin’s microbiome becomes unbalanced, you can develop oily skin, and blemishes.
What Else Can Tea Tree Oil Do?
Tea tree oil is so effective it can even be used on fungal infections like athlete’s foot. It’s antifungal properties make it a go-to choice for natural fungal remedies. Because it’s so good at battling bacteria and fungus, it makes easy work of keeping your pits protected against bacteria that could cause body odor.
Body odor doesn’t come out of your pits with sweat, it happens when the sweat you excrete mixes with bacteria on your skin. Essentially, the mixture of sweat and bacteria off-gasses and produces body odor. Pretty gnarly.
Sweating is natural and necessary, and most antiperspirants work by plugging your pits with heavy metal (aka aluminum) to stop you from sweating.
Disco’s Natural Deodorant works differently. We use drops of tea tree oil to help eliminate odor-causing bacteria on your skin, so your natural sweat doesn’t stink.
We also amp up the formula with eucalyptus, a natural, plant-based ingredient that deodorizes and aloe, to make sure that often forgotten part of your body doesn’t get irritated or dry.
Amp Up Your Skin Care
All this tea tree oil info is excellent and will definitely make you look like the studious chap that you are the next time tea tree oil comes up in conversation, but it’s useless if you aren’t taking good care of your skin from the start.
Good skin care is good self-care, and it’s so important to start now. Disco makes it easy with products that aren’t complicated or filled with harsh chemicals. Our products are formulated to work specifically for the pH balance of a man’s skin.
It’s okay if you’re new to skin care. You only need a few basic products to get started. You’ll find everything you need on our storefront. We also offer a ton of information about grooming, skin care, and shaving on our blog.
Let’s Disco
Tea tree oil is an essential oil that can be used to treat skin infections and conditions naturally. It’s generally well-tolerated and works for even sensitive skin types. The next time your significant other reaches for their favorite skin care oil, be ready.
Don’t worry, we won’t give away your secret.
Sources:
Tea tree oil attenuates experimental contact dermatitis | PubMed
