My friend has been preaching to me about tea tree oil from the first day we met. I decided to finally write about tea tree oil to really see why this essential oil loved by so many holistic users.
First off, tea tree oil is made by steam distillation process of the Melaleuca alternifolia leaves which is a plant native to Australia.
The indigenous Bundjlung natives first used the leaves as a substitute for tea, which is how tea tree oil got its name. The oil from the leaves were used medicinally.
In 1923 a chemist named Arthur Penfold tested the Melaleuca alternifolia leaves and determined its antiseptic action was about 12 times stronger than the popular carbolic acid used for homeopathic remedies.
In the 1930’s and 1940’s people saw tea tree oil as a near perfect antiseptic, to the degree that in World War II Australian soldiers had tea tree oil in their first aid kits. Troops also used tea tree oil’s as insect repellent and for anti-fungal properties.
As the years pasted tea tree oil was referred to as cheap and useless for almost 30 years. The tea tree industry collapsed by the 1960’s and the oil became a rare commodity.
Tea tree oil had it’s come back in 1976 when Eric White became the latter-day pioneer of the Australian tea tree industry.
My friend swears by tea tree oil and tomorrow we will see why tea tree oil is so amazing.