Now, everyone out there has different skin: oily, mixed, dry, sensitive–there’s no way I can possibly generalize what I think works for everyone. When I first started using tea tree oil, it was after googling “what’s in makeup”–which was a stupid decision because now I read the labels of everything and it scares me–I learned that I want to keep the toxic goop on my face to a minimum.
I have combination skin, my face is oily in some parts and dry in others, which means strategy. When I first started using tea tree oil, I used it, undiluted allover my face, then went on with my day. Besides smelling like some hippie’s living room, I also started feeling like my face was shriveling up into a leather bag. Don’t let the “oil” fool you, this stuff is not going to leave your skin moist.
My favorite way to use tea tree oil on my face is to dilute it with rose water in a spritz bottle, about 1 part tea tree oil and 9 parts rosewater, then I either spray it on a cotton pad or directly on my face. I let it soak in for a few minutes then apply jojoba oil or another moisturizer on top. If I have a zit, I just dab a higher concentration of tea tree oil on it as a spot treatment.
What else can you use tea tree oil for? Well if you find your skin sensitive to it, or worse, tea tree oil is a great natural antiseptic, anti-fungal and antibacterial product. When I clean my yoga mat, I use another spray bottle with tea tree oil in it, then wipe it down. I’ve heard good things about people using it topically to ward off bacterial infections, lice, and other ickies.
