Friday, July 30, 2010

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Tea Tree Oil: A Natural Acne Fighter

Tea Tree Oil is a natural ingredient with known effectiveness against acne. As synthetic acne cures flood the market, many people are getting disillusioned with their limited usefulness and significant side effects. Often, treatments which yield noticeable results come with severe side effects, due to the strength of the chemicals used in the formula. Thus an increasing number of people are turning to all-natural cures.

All-natural acne treatments have fewer side-effects, but their effectiveness is also in question due to the variety of natural ingredients that have no proven effectiveness against acne. However, one product which is known to work against acne and at the same time cause almost no side-effects is Tea Tree Oil. It is not only more effective than other alternative treatments but also causes far fewer side-effects when compared to synthetic products.

Tea Tree Oil is extracted from Australian tea trees. The leaves of this tree are harvested and steamed in order to extract the natural leaf oil.  Tea Tree Oil has strong antiseptic and antifungal properties and was commonly used for a variety of skin ailments before World War II. It has known effectiveness against many problems besides acne, such as dandruff, sunburns, bee stings, insect bites, poison ivy and minor wounds.

Recent studies have revealed its acne-fighting properties and validated its traditional use as a cure for skin problems. Australia’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital conducted a famous study on the anti-acne properties of Tea Tree Oil by comparing it to benzoyl peroxide. Lotion treatments with 5% Tea Tree Oil and lotion treatments with 5% benzoyl peroxide were administered to two separate groups of people afflicted with acne over a period of three months. Both lotions showed significant results in curing open and closed acne lesions.

Of the people using benzoyl peroxide, 79% experienced side-effects such as dryness, burning, itching and stinging. The Tea Tree oil users, on the other hand, reported almost no side-effects at all.

Tea Tree Oil is proven to have antifungal, antimicrobial and antiseptic qualities that begin clearing the skin almost immediately after application. Those seeking acne treatment through the application of Tea Tree Oil are recommended the use of serums which contain a 5% concentration of this oil. Facial scrubs containing Tea Tree Oil are also effective against acne; scrubs need to be applied for a slightly longer period of time (a minute of so) in order to allow the oil to act.

Tea Tree Oil can be a highly effective cure for those who have found limited success with other alternative all-natural treatments or want to avoid the side-effects of strong synthetic acne cures.

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