Herbaceous essential oil
Tea tree
Melaleuca alternifolia
Tea tree oil comes from the leaves and twigs of an Australian paperbark, Melaleuca alternifolia, and has a fresh, medicinal smell that most people recognise from skin-care products. Its main compound, terpinen-4-ol, has been studied widely in the laboratory, and the oil is traditionally used in skin and cleaning blends. At home it often goes into surface sprays and diffuser blends with lemon or eucalyptus. Buy small bottles and finish them within a year or two, because tea tree that has been open to air for a long time is far more likely to irritate skin. It is also the oil most often involved in pet poisonings.
Safety at a glance
- Pregnancy Generally well tolerated
- Children From age 2
- Dogs Avoid
- Cats Avoid
- Sunlight Not phototoxic
- On skin Up to 15%
Reference
| Botanical name | Melaleuca alternifolia |
|---|---|
| Plant family | Myrtaceae |
| Plant part | Leaves and twigs |
| Extraction | steam distillation |
| Main origins | Australia, China and South Africa |
| Aroma family | Herbaceous |
| Note | Top note |
| Aroma | Fresh, medicinal and slightly spicy-green |
| Main constituents | terpinen-4-ol, gamma-terpinene, alpha-terpinene, 1,8-cineole and alpha-terpineol |
| Common uses | cleaning, skin and fresh air |
| Suggested maximum on skin | 15% of the blend |
| Phototoxic | No |
| Shelf life once opened | 1 to 2 years |
| Pregnancy | Generally well tolerated |
| Children | From age 2 |
| Dogs | Avoid |
| Cats | Avoid |
| Safety notes | Use fresh oil: oxidised tea tree is a known skin sensitiser. It is the oil most often reported in pet poisonings, and the ASPCA notes problems from as little as seven or eight drops of concentrated oil, so never apply it to a pet and keep bottles out of reach. It is on the IFPA list of oils used in pregnancy, which also warns that skin can be more reactive then. |
Blends well with
Sources
- Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals, 2nd edition (Tisserand & Young), Churchill Livingstone / Elsevier
- Tea tree oil, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH)
- Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil: a review of antimicrobial and other medicinal properties (Carson et al., 2006), PubMed Central (NIH)
- Is the latest home trend harmful to your pets? What you need to know, ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center