RS Recommends: The Best Tea Tree Oil Brands for Every Situation
From keeping your house clean to personal hygiene, tea tree oil has multiple uses, all while creating a really pleasant aroma in the process. There’s a benefit for everyone with this versatile oil, often in only a drop or two. Here, we dive into a few of its benefits, and selecting our favorite brands too.
Tea Tree Oil Buying Guide
A seriously strong, natural oil that cleans, deodorizes, and smells great too, tea tree oil has seemingly infinite different uses that range from fighting fungus to keeping a clean kitchen and house. Here’s just a few benefits of this versatile essential oil:
More from Rolling Stone
Moisturized to the Gods: Ariana Grande Unveils 'God Is a Woman' Line of Body Products
RS Recommends: The Best CBD Products for Pain Relief (That Might Actually Work)
Main Squeeze: I'm an Adult Woman Obsessed With Squishmallows and You Can Be Too
Aromatherapy: Tea tree oil has a pleasing scent that’s often described as spicy, peppermint-y and eucalyptus-like. When you’re sick with stuffy sinuses and having trouble breathing, a chest balm made from tea tree oil and something like almond oil can help alleviate symptoms when they get unbearable. Same goes for adding it to a diffuser and filling the room with sinus-cleansing cool air.
Cleaning: Having a mix of tea tree oil and lavender around the house in a spray bottle acts as a quick and natural freshener for both air and linens, and comes in handy for things like cleaning a yoga mat after practice or giving your pillows a relaxing aroma before bed. For the shower, or anywhere else that’s at risk of getting moldy and mildewy, a little tea tree oil and vinegar can knock out mold growth before it even starts. Since it’s a natural and strong deodorizer, it’s handy to keep near spots that can get smelly, like trash cans or a laundry hamper. Even your underarms can benefit by adding a few drops on first before your regular deodorant, or making your own with a little baking soda.
Pest Control: Adding lemon juice with tea tree oil is great for spraying down stainless steel appliances, and since pests such as ants and mice hate the smell, wiping your kitchen down will help keep them at bay. You can also spray cotton balls and put them around your kitchen in spots like the back of cabinets and behind the fridge to deter pests from even getting in.
It’s important to note that even though it smells nice and feels good, it should never be taken internally or mixed into a drink. The natural chemical composition also changes when it’s left out to oxidize, so always keep it sealed tight. Even though it’s been used for over a century in the modern era, the FDA hasn’t given full approval to these health treatments yet, so be sure to use it safely and as directed.
What Are the Best Tea Tree Oils to Buy?
We picked a few of our favorite brands that offer tea tree oils online.
1. Now Foods Tea Tree Oil
Now Foods’ tea tree oil is imported from Australia, and extracted through steam distillation of the tree’s leaves and twigs. It’s highly concentrated, lab-tested, purely vegan, and never tested on animals. Paired with lavender or grapefruit oil, this works well for aromatherapy, as well as a topical on minor cuts, cold sores, and toenail fungus.
2. Handcraft Blends Tea Tree Oil
Handcraft Blends’ tea tree oil is excellent for aromatherapy. It’s made without fillers or additives, and each batch is tested by an independent lab to ensure a pure product. The glass bottle protects against sunlight and damage from UV rays, and includes a glass eye-dropper inside to get your measurements exact.
Buy: Handcraft Blends Tea Tree Oil
3. Maple Holistics Pure Tea Tree Oil
For skin conditions like a dry scalp, Maple Holistics’ pure tea tree essential oil may help alleviate itching and uncomfortableness without irritation (if used sparingly). It works well for hair and nails too, as well as on scrapes, bumps, and bruises. The smell itself is calming and pleasant, perfect for bedtime or paired with peppermint oil in a diffuser. It’s also great for face-washing too, and for making a DIY soap or deodorant at home.
Buy: Maple Holistics Pure Tea Tree Oil
Best of Rolling Stone
