Australian Tea Tree Oil is one of the most exciting essential oils in the world. It is extracted from the Melaleuca alternifolia tree which is indigenous to Australia and only grows in a relatively small area on the Northern Rivers region of N.S.W., Australia.

For several hundred years the Australian Aboriginal peoples have used Tea Tree Oil primarily for its exceptional antiseptic properties. Tea Tree was given its English (common) name by Captain James Cook when he first visited Australia in the 18th century. He named it Tea Tree because his crew brewed the tree's leaves to make a pleasant tea.

In the 1920s researchers proved that 100% pure Tea Tree Oil was significantly stronger than the traditionally used antiseptic of the time called carbolic acid (also known as phenol). Additionally, Tea Tree didn't burn skin, unlike phenol. It therefore quickly became the preferred antiseptic in Australia. Tea Tree's healing and antiseptic properties became legendary during World War II, when all supplies of Tea Tree Oil went to the Australian army for use in the soldiers first aid kits.

Tea Tree is now regarded as the premier antiseptic used to combat and soothe a wide range of minor skin irritations such as cuts, burns and insect bites. Top-rated spas, esteticians and health retreats across the world use Tea Tree products extensively to reduce swelling and redness associated with blemishes, and irritation after tweezing and waxing.

Pure-Li Natural was among the first to bring Tea Tree to North America from Australia more than twenty years ago, and today manufactures its Tea Tree product line in-house using only the finest 100% pure Australian Tea Tree Oil.

Our tea tree oil products generally exceed industry standards: our terpinen-4-ol levels are typically higher than the 36% level attributed to other brands, and our cineole levels are generally less than 3%. Pure-Li Natural's policy of purchasing only Australia's best Tea Tree Oil insures delivery of the highest quality Tea Tree products in the world.

Why Tea Tree Oil

The antiseptic and cleansing benefits of tea tree oil are used in shampoos and conditioners, bath powders, skin care lotions, oral care products, moisturizers and deodorants. In fact, tea tree oil has become so popular, The Tea Tree Encyclopedia lists its uses as wide-ranging as an effective acne, chronic dandruff or head lice treatment, as a skin irritant antiseptic and as a powerful anti-fungal.

Most skin problems can very often be related to the same cause, namely an uncontrolled growth of bacteria, fungi or virus. By reducing and limiting this uncontrolled growth, it is possible to reduce the symptoms of the disease and in many cases to treat the problem in a fast and effective way. Tea Tree oil is unique in that it is able to combat bacteria, fungi and viruses while soothing the skin.

There are five main reasons to why Pure-Li Natural Tea Tree Oil products should be the your preferred antiseptics.

	Rapid Broad Spectrum Bactericidal Activity
	Easy Absorption
	Non Irritating
	Slightly Pain Relieving
	Effective

Rapid Bactericidal Action

Tea Tree Oil is one of the strongest broad-spectrum natural antiseptic known. The minimum concentration in a solution needed to inhibit and kill growth of pathogenic bacteria, fungus and virus generally lies in an area between 0.5 to 2%.

One of the main reasons why Tea Tree Oil is so effective is that it contains more than 100 different organic components. All with individual activity and together they work synergistically to fight a wide range of micro-organisms.

Pure Tea Tree Oil will be effective in very small amounts and that is why most treatments are described in drops per application.

Easy Absorption

Tea Tree Oil is lipophilic and has a high degree of absorption into the skin. This increases the efficacy considerably compared to the chemical based antiseptics, which are water-based and only able to work on the surface of the skin. When you use a product that can penetrate the skin, it is possible to cleanse deeper and more quickly. By removing the transient bacteria more quickly, you promote healing. This is especially useful when treating infections such as athletes foot, nail fungus, dandruff, pimples, wounds etc.

Non Irritating

Tea Tree Oil has been used in various treatments for centuries and in clinical studies has been proven not to hamper the rate of wound closure.

It has also been found in lab trial tests that Tea Tree Oil applied to skin cells constantly over a 24 hour period does not exhibit a cytotoxic activity which was proportional to the concentration and time of exposure up to the 24 hours i.e., higher concentrations and longer time of exposure caused increased cell death in all other compounds investigated, except for Tea Tree Oil.

Pain Relieving

Tea Tree Oil is able to reduce irritation and inflammation. Studies suggest that Tea Tree Oil is able to suppress inflammation. If applied direct to open wounds, insect bites, inflammation etc. the irritation is immediately reduced.

The pain relieving effect is proportional to the concentration of Tea Tree Oil used in the product. The fact that Tea Tree Oil does not sting or burn when used, but in fact relieves the pain makes this one of the most useful antiseptics for kids as well as for the treatment of gingivitis and blisters.

Effective

Tea Tree Oil has been proven effective in the treatment of septic wounds. In 1933 British medical journal reported that Tea Tree Oil "has good solvent and penetrating powers, is non irritating and has a pleasant smell."

In 1974 it was reported in a paper from the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney that Tea Tree Oil was "notable effective even in the presence of organic detritus".

Most commonly used antiseptics are inactivated as soon as there is a presence of organic matter (pus, dirt, protein or blood). As Tea Tree Oil is not affected by pus it again makes Tea Tree Oil the obvious choice for the optimal antiseptic.

Although Tea Tree Oil has been known as a very powerful bactericide and fungicide for more than 70 years, the research and documentation on the efficacy and method of action has not been very comprehensive or detailed. One of the reasons for this is most probably the limited supply of quality oil, which has prevented major research into this amazing product of nature.

The most complete research has been done by a team at the Department of Microbiology, University of Western Australia. In 1993, they proved that Tea Tree Oil was effective in killing the Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that has become resistant to any other treatment.

The University of Western Australia team has produced a number of interested findings in the past couple of years, including the proof that Tea Tree Oil kills the yeasts responsible for certain types of dandruff, dermatitis and vaginal infections. Another interesting finding was that Tea Tree Oil actually does not kill the healthy bacteria on the skin but only the bacteria that are pathogenic, if Tea Tree Oil is used daily in the right concentration.