All About Tea Tree Oil

All About Tea Tree Oil 

The aborigines of Australia were the first to discover the healing properties of tea tree oil thousands of years ago. They treated cuts, burns, and skin infections by crushing the leaves of the tree and applying them to cuts and injuries. In the 1770s, the British explorer Captain Cook observed the native Australians brewing tea from the leaves. He then brewed tea of his own to give to his crew to prevent scurvy. He coined the name tea tree.

Our beautiful certified organic Tea Tree essential oil comes to us from Australia. Tea Tree is a part of the Melaleuca family, which means it has great antibacterial, antiviral, anti fungal, and antiparacitic properties. Historically it has been used for disinfecting and wound healing, it is also a powerful immune stimulant.

In the 1920s, Australian physicians began to use the oil to clean wounds and prevent infections after surgery. In 1923 an Australian government scientist, Dr. A. R. Penfold, conducted a study of Tea Tree essential oil and found it to be 12 times stronger as an antiseptic bactericide than carbolic acid (the current standard). Average Australians then began to use the oil as a household remedy for skin conditions and fungus infections. During World War II, tea tree oil was included in the first-aid kits given to all Australian soldiers and sailors.

According to the British Medical Journal in 1933 Tea Tree essential oil is a "powerful disinfectant, non-poisonous, and non-irritating". Tea Tree is treasured as having unrivaled anti-infectious properties. After the discovery of penicillin and other antibiotics in the late 1940s, tea tree oil went out of favor as an antiseptic until the 1980s, when it was discovered that some bacteria were resistant to certain antibiotics, such as methicillin and vancomycin.