Does anyone use tea tree oil in their shampoo or conditioner?

[Olivia23]

Here lately on the Internet I've been reading about all the benefits of tee trea oil. It's used for many different things and one of them is for treating dandruff.

I recently discovered I have dandruff and an itchy scalp. I stopped using shampoos with sls in it and it has helped a little. Today I went to a local health store and found a small bottle of tee trea oil. I am wanting to put some in my shampoo and conditioner to help my scalp. I'm just not sure how much to put in it.

I have been searching the net and been reading that tea tree oil helps scalp fungus, helps acne, etc. One site suggested to put ten drops of oil in a 10oz shampoo bottle. Also they suggested put a few drops in your bath water and in your facial mosturizer to help clear up your face. I'm just wondering what you guys use tea tree oil for?

[OhMyCurlz]

It's WONDERFUL stuff and yes it does work better than anything else I've ever tried. I use it on my face and it has cleared up my acne faster than Proactiv ever could (a week). Cleared up my bf's athlete's feet, cleared up my neice's ring worm. It's great for everything. It's the best essential oil in my book. :cheese:

[Yeesha]

Jep, for me too.
I use it on my face and really really like it there. I'm using it for 5 days now and my acne got A LOT better... I'm curious, if that stays that well... *g*

I even use a little bit in my shampoo, but haven't seen much difference there so far... So I wash my hair weekly with a little bit of shampoo, 1 drop of tea tree oil and a bit of water added to the shampoo.

Btw: I really like the smell of it. :)

[motormuffin]

I would start out small and see what you can deal with. Maybe get a small 1 oz bottle to put some of your shampoo in, then if it's not right you haven't ruined all of you shampoo. Maybe do 2-3 drops per 1 oz to start and see how it feels. That's probably about .5%. 1% would be about 5 drops...might be strong.

[clairenewcastle]

For me teatree oil has a wonderful deordorising effect, I use it in my bathwater
and shoes as well as adding it to homemade talc. I couldn't do without it.
However, the only downside for me is that it is very drying on my skin so I've always assumed it would be drying on my hair as well.

[Flynn]

My brother uses a tea tree oil shampoo, facewash, and antibacterial/antifungal cream. He is a staph carrier, and tends to get nasty acne (to the point he can't shave, but he has to shave for school...) and horrible scalp irritations because of it. Tea tree alone keeps it under control. It's a potent antibacterial agent, and an even better antifungal.

For your shampoo, I'd use a few drops in the bottle, and see how it goes. Ten might be a little much; too strong and it is drying. Then again, I'm not sure how large 10 oz is. (Australia. Metric country.) I'd just put in enough so you can just smell it, but so it's not strong or overpowering.

[papillion]

I use tea tree oil in my shampoo. I dilute my shampoo in a 100ml bottle, then add a few drops of tea tree oil. I'm still trying to find the optimum amount of tea tree, so a vary the number of drops each time.

[Asta]

I've never used it in shampoo, but it's excellent for problem skin. I like the smell too.

[OhMyCurlz]

I hope it does for you what it's done for me. I've always had terrible skin. Add a little tea tree to some witch hazel and your skin should STAY clear. I also add a few drops as well as cedarwood to my kaolin face masks and that helps reduce swelling like you wouldn't believe.

I also like the way it smells..lol


Jep, for me too.
I use it on my face and really really like it there. I'm using it for 5 days now and my acne got A LOT better... I'm curious, if that stays that well... *g*

I even use a little bit in my shampoo, but haven't seen much difference there so far... So I wash my hair weekly with a little bit of shampoo, 1 drop of tea tree oil and a bit of water added to the shampoo.

Btw: I really like the smell of it. :)

[above_rubies]

Wow, I just realized how old my bottle of tea tree oil that I just recently used up is...I originally bought it to make my own baby wipes. My youngest is 10 now. The wipes were great though I don't remember exactly how I made them. It only called for a drop or two of tea tree oil.

In recent years the main reason I have used it for is chiggers. Just a little drop where the chigger bite is and it goes away overnight.

I also used it in a hair rinse for my dd when we had a bad outbreak of lice at our school. The main thing that helped with that though was diligent removal of the nits. It was very painstaking work but worth it not to have to use the chemical shampoo. Sorry, got off track.

I am currently using a shampoo bar that has mint and tea tree oil in it and I love it. It hasn't completely cured the dandruff but it is much better.

[Yeesha]

I hope it does for you what it's done for me. I've always had terrible skin. Add a little tea tree to some witch hazel and your skin should STAY clear. I also add a few drops as well as cedarwood to my kaolin face masks and that helps reduce swelling like you wouldn't believe.

I also like the way it smells..lol

Thank you for this suggestion!
I'm gonna give it a try. :)

[Aer]

I don't use it regularly, but I have used it time to time, and basically, the things tea tree oil is said to do, it does. I've had it clear up dandruff and acne. It's a great remedy from nature.

[burns_erin]

My shampoo already has it in, Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat, but yes, Tea Tree is fabulous stuff, if you and those around you can stand the smell. DH hates it though.

[halo_tightens]

Everyone has had such great results with their acne... I bought some specifically for that purpose, and it isn't helping at all!

I've tried adding a touch to my moisturizer, mixing a few drops with aloe vera gel and applying that, and even applying it straight/neat with a cotton ball (each of these for a couple of weeks to see what would happen). None of these methods have cleared my face completely, and there isn't even a whole lot of improvement.

Am I missing something vital here? I may have to start a thread about this at some point... hmm....

[ChloeDharma]

As a general rule of thumb when using essential oils to treat physical problems then a 3% dilution is used. 100 drops gives 5ml of oil, so hopefully that helps you work out how much to add to your products.
One thing to be aware of though, if the bottle of tea tree has been opened for longer than 6 months it can cause dermatitis......that doesn't mean it definately will but if your skin is reacting or tends to be sensitive then it's worth bearing that in mind.
Halo_tightens i'm sorry to hear your acne isn't clearing up, it may be you need to use the oil longer to see results, but maybe you have other factors to address as well? Diet, hormones etc. Personally i found lavender better for my spots years ago but if there is an underlying cause not being addressed then the cycle is likely to continue.

[Milui Elenath]

As I'm also metric I've done my best to convert.

1 drop for every 2ml or 15 drops for 1 ounce but ONLY on the body

on the face and head /scalp you should use half that amount, that is

1 drop for every 4mls or 7 drops for every ounce.

But I would not use it long term and these doses would be quite strong ie. medicinal.

For daily use I'd half the above amounts for the respective body parts.

Tea tree oil is wonderful however it can trigger asthma, I generally don't use it on myself for this reason.

Its always always better to err on the side of caution when using oils - they are concentrated.

Use the above ratios at your own risk - don't sue me! :D

[OhMyCurlz]

Wow...really? Do you add it to witch hazel? It's an astringent and is cheap and is good at cleansing. I take a melt and pour base and add tea tree, salycic (sp) acid, kelp , and fullers earth to my soap as well as cedarwood. I wash my face with this and then add tea tree to witch hazel and aloe juice (NOT aloe gel). I use this as a toner and oil-free moisturizer. For spot treatments I use fullers earth or kaolin with tea tree and do a mask or I will let it set on my face over night. It takes a while to see dramatic results, but I can say without a doubt that forming a complete regimen is the best way to get faster results. I use absolutely no skin care products from stores. I make everything and my skin has thanked me for it.

For exfoliation I use those little scrubbie gloves on my face with my soap.

I use to add lavender but found it to not help at all so I completely omitted that from my regimen.


Everyone has had such great results with their acne... I bought some specifically for that purpose, and it isn't helping at all!

I've tried adding a touch to my moisturizer, mixing a few drops with aloe vera gel and applying that, and even applying it straight/neat with a cotton ball (each of these for a couple of weeks to see what would happen). None of these methods have cleared my face completely, and there isn't even a whole lot of improvement.

Am I missing something vital here? I may have to start a thread about this at some point... hmm....

[OhMyCurlz]

Your welcome, hun. If your face is super oily you may have better success with fuller's earth. Dead sea mud is GREAT though if you can get your hands on that.
Thank you for this suggestion!
I'm gonna give it a try. :)

[Gypsy]

Love Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat shampoo and I also put tea tree drops in regular shampoo.
Very effective.

[Flynn]

Everyone has had such great results with their acne... I bought some specifically for that purpose, and it isn't helping at all!

I've tried adding a touch to my moisturizer, mixing a few drops with aloe vera gel and applying that, and even applying it straight/neat with a cotton ball (each of these for a couple of weeks to see what would happen). None of these methods have cleared my face completely, and there isn't even a whole lot of improvement.

Am I missing something vital here? I may have to start a thread about this at some point... hmm....

How do you cleanse? My brother has had amazing results with a commercial tea tree facewash (Thursday Plantation); using a decent amount of itt in your cleanser, rather than just using it in your moisturiser, might give better results...?

Also, you should NEVER put neat tea tree oil onto your skin! It is very likely to cause irritation, potentially burns, and is likely to make everything worse.

Actually, considering you were able to use it neat... are you sure you have 100% pure tea tree oil, rather than an aromatherapy blend of tea tree oil in a carrier? The pure stuff should go "whouf!" up your sinuses and make your eyes water as soon as you open the bottle. Putting it on your face should probably cause you pain in your eyes and sinuses, aside from any skin reaction...

[halo_tightens]

Actually, considering you were able to use it neat... are you sure you have 100% pure tea tree oil, rather than an aromatherapy blend of tea tree oil in a carrier? The pure stuff should go "whouf!" up your sinuses and make your eyes water as soon as you open the bottle. Putting it on your face should probably cause you pain in your eyes and sinuses, aside from any skin reaction...

Oh yes, I think it must be pure-- it's quite strong. When I have tried it neat, my skin doesn't mind it a bit, but I have to close my eyes because the "fumes" burn! It does also go up my nose and tingle in the sinuses, but I kinda liked that effect, lol. It tingles the skin in a pleasant way and feels like it's doing something but I still break out.

It never burned my face or caused any sort of bad reaction, it just didn't stop me breaking out, and was just a bit drying to the skin, though not horribly so. I think I've tried so many odd things on my face by this point that it can handle anything... :rolleyes:

I'll start a dedicated thread at some point, though-- don't want to hijack this one any more than already since it's more about scalp and hair uses for TTO.

[pinchbeck]

I use tea tree oil in my shampoo in the summer months when I sweat more and on occasion when my scalp is feeling itchy. You'll have to experiment to find out how many drops you need (2-5 drops). If you're concerned about it drying your hair out, pre-oil the length and perhaps add a few drops of jojoba oil to your concoction. Rosemary oil is also a good oil to use for scalp conditions such as dandruff and it smells so flippin' good.