Tea tree oil is my go-to cure for most things skin related. (I feel like the dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding that tells everyone to put Windex on any and all ailments... except for me, its "Put some tea tree oil on it!")
My first exposure to tea tree oil as a cure was when I was living in Mexico. The mosquitoes where I lived were like mosquitoes on steroids. The bites would itch for days, sometimes they would be there longer than a week. Someone I lived with dabbed some tea tree oil on the bites, and within minutes they stopped itching. I continued to apply it once or twice a day until they had gone away completely. It was like a miracle!
CUT TO: Many years later, I am having a really bad eczema flair up. Nothing is working. (Trust me, I have tried everything; cortisone, prescription creams, oatmeal lotions, any kind of lotion really, body oils... you name it.) Most things work for a little while, or offer a bit of temporary relief, but in short order the itching comes back.
Then, it dawned on me... tea tree oil made nasty bug bites stop itching, so why wouldn't it work on eczema? I grabbed my handy bottle, and went to work. Sure enough, within ten minutes or so, I felt the first wave of relief that I had felt in days. I continued to do this a few times over the next day, but quickly learned that because I had to cover such a large area (whole arms, and sides of legs) this was becoming rather inefficient. Tea tree oil, while yes it is an oil, absorbs very quickly into the skin making it hard to spread over a large area. It also has a rather unpleasant medicinal type smell that stays with you for a long time if you use a lot of it.
I did a lot of research and decided that the best course of action was to mix the tea tree oil with a carrier oil (a carrier oil is a base oil or vegetable oil used to dilute essential oils.) I went with Sweet Almond Oil, which I purchased in bulk a health food store. You could also use Jojoba Oil, or even Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a pinch. (EVOO has the same pH as the oil our bodies produce, making it a really good moisturizer. ) Then I wanted something to mask the smell of the tea tree oil at least a little bit. I picked Lavender essential oil because it not only smells nice, but it has a calming effect as well.
Here is the mix I made:
8oz. Sweet Almond Oil
50 drops Tea Tree Oil
30 drops Lavender Oil
Mix it all together, and keep it in a dark bottle, or in a dark place. (Light will cause the potency of the mix to decrease over time.)
I usually apply it at night before I go to bed because it does take a while for it to soak into the skin. But when I have a particularly itchy day, I will do it once in the morning and once at night.
I hope that this helps anyone who suffers from eczema!
*Please be sure to test this on a small patch of skin before you spread it all over the place. Some people are very sensitive to tea tree oil. Keep it out of reach of children and pets, because it can be toxic if ingested. And for heavens sake don't use it on small children without consulting a doctor first!
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