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soapmaker here. While lavender oil is nice to have, its also rather cost prohibitive in what i believe would be a compelling dose to elicit this type of respon

soapmaker here. While lavender oil is nice to have, its also rather cost prohibitive in what i believe would be a compelling dose to elicit this type of response. as for tea tree oil, im in favor of phasing this out entirely as it seems to serve no real purpose in cosmetics and is actually somewhat toxic to humans. Its had a number of folk remedies, such as a cure for syphilis and a tincture to reduce boils, but none of these have succeeded in scientific testing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_tree_oil#Safety https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_tree_oil#Safety most cold process soaps will fragrance at 3-5% the weight of the actual oil. I can speak from experience that 5% tea tree oil soap is vile. The final product emerges with an acrid fragrance not unlike pine floor cleaner, and each bar is brittle enough to crack if dropped. many crack during the curing process, and the final product has a texture similar to the gear shift on a cheap car.

acranox 9y ago
The Dr Bronner Tea Tree soap definitely has a hint of pine floor cleaner to it’s smell. :)
reedx8 9y ago
Tea tree oil is used widely in the African American community as an effective aftershave, and is used in general as a powerful antiseptic and face wash. Wikipedia has never been and never will be an authoritative source.
- tammer 9y ago
  My experience has been that confirmation bias is very strong with EO's. What else is in the solution you're using? Its very easy to convince oneself that the EO is the active ingredient when there's so much misinformation on the 'net. One of my hobbies is herbalism & over a long period of time I've begun to recognize all of the purported benefits of EO's come from other ingredients in whatever is being produced. That doesn't mean that various herbs don't have active properties however. I've moved on to recognize how useful infused oils can be. (Note: these are of course easy to make yourself, not as easy to produce en mass & keep fresh for regular sale, and don't cost much depending on the oil.)
  - pugio 9y ago
    Can you recommend a way to get started with effective herbalism? Books, resources, etc. I've been fascinated by it for a while but am at a loss on where to begin, or how to separate effective recipes from age old placebos.
    - chepaslaaa 9y ago
      www.erowid.org has a lot of information about psychoactive plants if that's a part of herbalism that could interest you
    - freehunter 9y ago
      I’ve been astounded here today by the number of otherwise scientifically minded people who are seriously interested in homeopathic remedies. At the risk of running afoul of dang again, can I ask what is so attractive about trying to find medical purposes for scented oils when medical science has yet to prove any effect beyond pure placebo? I lost all interest in the subject when Steve Jobs tried to use herbal remedies to cure cancer and, despite running the most profitable company in the world, died of an easily curable form of cancer. What is it that makes people so hesitant to believe medical science and so willing to believe an article on the Internet saying that lavender oil applied to the humors can cure diseases? I know so many people who forget that “essential” means “the essence/scent of” and not “required for life” and I’ve never been able to figure out why without them getting offended and shutting down.
      - ianai 9y ago
        You’ve confused homeopathy with herbalism/home remedies/supplementation. Homeopathy is basically “if weakened virii inoculate people against infection then surely weakened versions of toxins should do the same.” Herbs and supplements are, at best, whole plant medications. St Johns Wort is prescription only in other countries because it’s very effective against major depression and other things. Some people go down this route for financial reasons. It is much cheaper for someone without insurance to treat things with OTC things than actually getting insurance while tackling a disease, disorder, or etc. TLDR: Steve Jobs made a poor life choice. But that doesn’t make everyone not taking chemo or other cancer treatments an idiot. Those are typically prohibitively expensive treatments.
- memonkey 9y ago
  source?
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- nostrademons 9y ago
  The Wikipedia article at least lists its sources, which for the article linked to included the American Cancer Society, National Institutes of Health, and European Commission Scientific Committee on Consumer Products. Those are authoritative enough for me.
toomanybeersies 9y ago
I thought it was well known that tea tree oil is toxic. I've been using it for a while do deodorise my shoes. It seems to be effective at killing whatever makes them smell. Anecdotally it also works for killing fungal infections of the feet too, although I've switched to using iodine, which is actually proven to be effective and tends to clear fungal infections within a couple of days.
- mythrwy 9y ago
  The best thing I've found for fungal infections on feet (more effective and faster acting than commercial products) is simple vinegar and garlic. Crush up a few cloves, (maybe microwave in small amount of water for a few seconds), pour a cup or three of vinegar in a container with maybe 3-4 times that amount of water, put the crushed cloves in, let it seep for a bit and soak feet for awhile. I'm sure there is a more exact specification, but it all seems to work. Problem gone in a day or so.
  - com2kid 9y ago
    I can beat that. Get some bleach, mix in a basin with some water. No good exact amounts, it should smell bleachy and be diluted a fair bit past the point of burning. Do this, then a couple days later, do it again. Whatever has taken residence on your feet will have moved out.
- jiggunjer 9y ago
  In China it isn't uncommon for newborn babies to be bathed with tea tree oil (and other plant/herb products) for the first few weeks. I'm not sure what the strength is though.
- zappo2938 9y ago
  Tea tree oil kills MRSA on the skin. All the low dose natural products are causing the bacteria to become resistant. Otherwise, for fungal infections soaking feet in vinegar once a day for a week should work just fine. Smells a little.
  - 9y ago
Alex3917 9y ago
> Its had a number of folk remedies, [...] but none of these have succeeded in scientific testing. All the scientific studies that show up in Google show that it has antifungal activity.
nickpsecurity 9y ago
"Its had a number of folk remedies, such as a cure for syphilis and a tincture to reduce boils, but none of these have succeeded in scientific testing." There's scientific testing for tea tree oil that's not hard to find. I'll add my experience to what others are saying which supports it's both useful and probably toxic for same reason. I got athletes foot a while back. Severe stuff with swelling and bleeding of the feet. They even glowed under a UV light. Trippy. I tried natural solutions like vinegar or baking soda first since that stuff solves lots of my problems. Didn't work. Then, the OTC medicines didn't work. If anything, it's like it went down slightly, then flamed up with more damage in response. It got a holy crap response from lots of people, even some with a version of it before. Like it was a living thing that wanted to pay back torture with torture. Got doctors to prescribe the standard stuff with it not working either. They also prescribed antibiotics in case of infections from the bleeding. Had to bleach and throw away lots of socks. A friend told me some "folk" story about tea tree oil. Skepticism up. He handed me a study comparing it to a common treatment for my condition with it working in the study. Studies get BS'd a lot I thought. Told me several people he knew had skin conditions treated that way. Placebos or something else not that product? Said I wouldn't figure out what he was giving me. Anyone knowing me or my posts here probably guessed I figured it out before that day was over: a furniture cleaner with tea tree oil as a main ingredient. Lol. So, big container of water for my feet, a few capfuls in it, soak 30 min, and repeat for certain amount of time (can't recall). What to loose...? Unlike the other treatments, my feet soaking in this stuff felt fairly good. After the time period, it was... gone. Recall I tried acids, alkaline solutions, OTC medicines, and prescription medicines. Then, this furniture cleaner based on tea tree oil killed it in a shorter time than the meds were supposed to with no negative effects. Hell, my feet were even shiny. :) I mean, it did worry me where I wanted to wash it off but they said leave it on. I also kept it up a week or so after the symptoms disappeared just in case. No long term effects that I can see. "No real purpose." "Folk remedies." "Toxic to humans." These are good replies to all the shit the drug companies and doctors told me to use. None of it worked. It was all damaging in some small or big way. The big being enough that it took more drugs to prevent major problems. The tea tree oil handled the job well fast and with no effects. I'm not saying I trust it in general, think it's a miracle drug past killing the fungi kingdom on my feet, etc. I'm just saying it provably did it's job on living organisms that resisted 8+ months of doctor-prescribed treatments with no sign of weakness until the tea tree oil. I recommend more research be done on applying blends to stuff like that.

acranox 9y ago

The Dr Bronner Tea Tree soap definitely has a hint of pine floor cleaner to it’s smell. :)

reedx8 9y ago

Tea tree oil is used widely in the African American community as an effective aftershave, and is used in general as a powerful antiseptic and face wash. Wikipedia has never been and never will be an authoritative source.

tammer 9y ago
My experience has been that confirmation bias is very strong with EO's. What else is in the solution you're using? Its very easy to convince oneself that the EO is the active ingredient when there's so much misinformation on the 'net. One of my hobbies is herbalism & over a long period of time I've begun to recognize all of the purported benefits of EO's come from other ingredients in whatever is being produced. That doesn't mean that various herbs don't have active properties however. I've moved on to recognize how useful infused oils can be. (Note: these are of course easy to make yourself, not as easy to produce en mass & keep fresh for regular sale, and don't cost much depending on the oil.)
- pugio 9y ago
  Can you recommend a way to get started with effective herbalism? Books, resources, etc. I've been fascinated by it for a while but am at a loss on where to begin, or how to separate effective recipes from age old placebos.
  - chepaslaaa 9y ago
    www.erowid.org has a lot of information about psychoactive plants if that's a part of herbalism that could interest you
  - freehunter 9y ago
    I’ve been astounded here today by the number of otherwise scientifically minded people who are seriously interested in homeopathic remedies. At the risk of running afoul of dang again, can I ask what is so attractive about trying to find medical purposes for scented oils when medical science has yet to prove any effect beyond pure placebo? I lost all interest in the subject when Steve Jobs tried to use herbal remedies to cure cancer and, despite running the most profitable company in the world, died of an easily curable form of cancer. What is it that makes people so hesitant to believe medical science and so willing to believe an article on the Internet saying that lavender oil applied to the humors can cure diseases? I know so many people who forget that “essential” means “the essence/scent of” and not “required for life” and I’ve never been able to figure out why without them getting offended and shutting down.
    - ianai 9y ago
      You’ve confused homeopathy with herbalism/home remedies/supplementation. Homeopathy is basically “if weakened virii inoculate people against infection then surely weakened versions of toxins should do the same.” Herbs and supplements are, at best, whole plant medications. St Johns Wort is prescription only in other countries because it’s very effective against major depression and other things. Some people go down this route for financial reasons. It is much cheaper for someone without insurance to treat things with OTC things than actually getting insurance while tackling a disease, disorder, or etc. TLDR: Steve Jobs made a poor life choice. But that doesn’t make everyone not taking chemo or other cancer treatments an idiot. Those are typically prohibitively expensive treatments.
memonkey 9y ago
source?
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
nostrademons 9y ago
The Wikipedia article at least lists its sources, which for the article linked to included the American Cancer Society, National Institutes of Health, and European Commission Scientific Committee on Consumer Products. Those are authoritative enough for me.

toomanybeersies 9y ago

I thought it was well known that tea tree oil is toxic. I've been using it for a while do deodorise my shoes. It seems to be effective at killing whatever makes them smell. Anecdotally it also works for killing fungal infections of the feet too, although I've switched to using iodine, which is actually proven to be effective and tends to clear fungal infections within a couple of days.

mythrwy 9y ago
The best thing I've found for fungal infections on feet (more effective and faster acting than commercial products) is simple vinegar and garlic. Crush up a few cloves, (maybe microwave in small amount of water for a few seconds), pour a cup or three of vinegar in a container with maybe 3-4 times that amount of water, put the crushed cloves in, let it seep for a bit and soak feet for awhile. I'm sure there is a more exact specification, but it all seems to work. Problem gone in a day or so.
- com2kid 9y ago
  I can beat that. Get some bleach, mix in a basin with some water. No good exact amounts, it should smell bleachy and be diluted a fair bit past the point of burning. Do this, then a couple days later, do it again. Whatever has taken residence on your feet will have moved out.
jiggunjer 9y ago
In China it isn't uncommon for newborn babies to be bathed with tea tree oil (and other plant/herb products) for the first few weeks. I'm not sure what the strength is though.
zappo2938 9y ago
Tea tree oil kills MRSA on the skin. All the low dose natural products are causing the bacteria to become resistant. Otherwise, for fungal infections soaking feet in vinegar once a day for a week should work just fine. Smells a little.
- 9y ago

Alex3917 9y ago

> Its had a number of folk remedies, [...] but none of these have succeeded in scientific testing. All the scientific studies that show up in Google show that it has antifungal activity.

nickpsecurity 9y ago

"Its had a number of folk remedies, such as a cure for syphilis and a tincture to reduce boils, but none of these have succeeded in scientific testing." There's scientific testing for tea tree oil that's not hard to find. I'll add my experience to what others are saying which supports it's both useful and probably toxic for same reason. I got athletes foot a while back. Severe stuff with swelling and bleeding of the feet. They even glowed under a UV light. Trippy. I tried natural solutions like vinegar or baking soda first since that stuff solves lots of my problems. Didn't work. Then, the OTC medicines didn't work. If anything, it's like it went down slightly, then flamed up with more damage in response. It got a holy crap response from lots of people, even some with a version of it before. Like it was a living thing that wanted to pay back torture with torture. Got doctors to prescribe the standard stuff with it not working either. They also prescribed antibiotics in case of infections from the bleeding. Had to bleach and throw away lots of socks. A friend told me some "folk" story about tea tree oil. Skepticism up. He handed me a study comparing it to a common treatment for my condition with it working in the study. Studies get BS'd a lot I thought. Told me several people he knew had skin conditions treated that way. Placebos or something else not that product? Said I wouldn't figure out what he was giving me. Anyone knowing me or my posts here probably guessed I figured it out before that day was over: a furniture cleaner with tea tree oil as a main ingredient. Lol. So, big container of water for my feet, a few capfuls in it, soak 30 min, and repeat for certain amount of time (can't recall). What to loose...? Unlike the other treatments, my feet soaking in this stuff felt fairly good. After the time period, it was... gone. Recall I tried acids, alkaline solutions, OTC medicines, and prescription medicines. Then, this furniture cleaner based on tea tree oil killed it in a shorter time than the meds were supposed to with no negative effects. Hell, my feet were even shiny. :) I mean, it did worry me where I wanted to wash it off but they said leave it on. I also kept it up a week or so after the symptoms disappeared just in case. No long term effects that I can see. "No real purpose." "Folk remedies." "Toxic to humans." These are good replies to all the shit the drug companies and doctors told me to use. None of it worked. It was all damaging in some small or big way. The big being enough that it took more drugs to prevent major problems. The tea tree oil handled the job well fast and with no effects. I'm not saying I trust it in general, think it's a miracle drug past killing the fungi kingdom on my feet, etc. I'm just saying it provably did it's job on living organisms that resisted 8+ months of doctor-prescribed treatments with no sign of weakness until the tea tree oil. I recommend more research be done on applying blends to stuff like that.