Tea Tree Oil Acne

There is some talk of using Melaleuca oil to treat acne on the face and other parts of the body.
But this talk needs to be tempered with the knowledge that tea tree oil is actually harsh on the skin at high concentrations. It can cause blisters and irritation. Especially for people with sensitive skin, washing blithely with tea tree oil for acne may be a mistake. The key to harness tea tree oil is to use a very dilute concentration either by purchasing mild formulations or to make your own mixtures for a facial wash.

Acne is caused by keratinization and bacteria growths underneath the skin which irritate the skin causing it to redden and become inflamed. When the bacteria die, they form pockets of dead cells which stay beneath the acne. Popping the acne leads to breaks in the skin which can unfortunately become scarred when they heal over. The statistic is that almost everyone gets acne at some point in his or her life and most likely during the adolescent time. The etiology of the condition is not known exactly, but the progression likely starts with keratinization (hardening of the skin) at the acne site, accumulation of sebum (oil), and growth of bacteria that are natural to the local cell environment. Interestingly enough, even though everyone gets acne and a few don't, we have very little understanding of why certain people get it and others don't. Because its such a common condition, there's ironically a lot of research into it that looks at common associations between acne severity and things like diet. Scientists have looked at how milk, chocolate, or carbohydrates influence or moderate the severity of the acne. In each, there is a weak association or no association found, but such diet studies are usually not well controlled due to the heterogeneity of the population.

The clinical way to treat acne depends on the severity of the acne. For very light acne, a face wash coupled with OTC benzoyl peroxide may be sufficient for a full-course treatment. Benzoyl peroxide is a chemical that comes in either gel or liquid form which when applied to the skin has two fold effects. One of them is a direct antimicrobial effect by killing bacteria at or near the surface of the skin. The other is to dry out and promote peeling of the skin which helps smooth out mild scarring caused by the acne bacteria. For moderate acne, a topical antimicrobial (stronger benzoyl peroxide), or oral antibiotics may be indicated. Here, tea tree oil fits into the profile as a topical antimicrobial. Those with very severe acne should consult a dermatologist. Because even benzoyl peroxide can irritate the skin (as all topical acne medication likely would do), it's not surprising that tea tree oil for acne can also irritate the skin. And since tea tree oil is not an FDA approved treatment for acne, its usage is really up to the individual who must be aware of averse side effects that come from its irritating properties.