Friday, September 2, 2011

My New All Around Cure-All

Oops. I forgot it was Friday.
See what happens when you take too long of a blogging break? :-)

Anyhew, I just wanted to share with you my recent medical discovery:

TEA TREE OIL
According to wikipedia:Tea tree oil, or melaleuca oil, is a pale yellow colour to nearly clear essential oil with a fresh camphoraceous odor. It is taken from the leaves of the Melaleuca alternifolia, which is native to the northeast coast of New South Wales, Australia.

Camphoraceous odor? Well, I think it smells like a combination of mint, eucalyptus, and...maybe shoe polish.

So yeah, I doubt Yankee Candle will have a hot seller with that scent.

But when you see what this stuff does, you'll appreciate it's unique aroma. :)

When the kiddo got lice--ugh, don't want to go there again--I treated her with Nix. Not something I wanted to do because it is so toxic, but that's what my doctor recommended. Well, two days later I saw live lice on her head and because it was too soon to treat again, I figured I would just have to do it the old fashioned way: with a nit comb and my bare little hands.

Then a friend told me to get tea tree oil, rub it all over her scalp, wrap her head in a towel and wait an hour. She told me you'll never see them again. So...I did a small test area on her head to make sure she wasn't allergic to it and when I saw she was fine, that's what I did.

Well, I never saw them again.

ALL HAIL THE POWER OF TEA TREE OIL!

After that, I put a few drops in the laundry, in the shampoo, behind my ears (lol)---you get the idea. :)

Then the other day, my hubby says, "Hey, check out that beetle on our screen."

I look and I see it's no mere beetle. It's a stink bug.

How do I know about stink bugs? When I had ants in the kitchen this spring, I had a chatty exterminator.

Well, there are three things you may or may not know about me. 1) I'm a germaphobe. 2) I'm a chemicalphobe. And 3) I'm a bugaphobe.

Yeah. I have "issues".

Anyhew, I knew (from my chatty exterminator) that stink bugs are hard to get rid of so I did not want a problem with that. So I Googled some all natural ways to prevent them. One of the ways was the use of my good friend Tea Tree Oil.

So I put a capfull in a spray bottle, filled it with water and shook it up. Then I sprayed all around the window where the little stinker of a stink bug was. He started crawling away immediately. I assume they don't like the odor. Then less than 60 seconds later it took off.

ALL HAIL THE POWER OF TEA TREE OIL.

Love this stuff! And love that it is all natural.

Just thought I'd share my discovery with you all. Carry on.
Oh, and you're welcome. :)

25 comments:

Carolyn V said...

Wow! I didn't know Tea tree oil got rid of BUGS! That is sweet! Thanks for the advice!

Maria Zannini said...

My husband used this on toenail fungus. It works!

Debora said...

This is awesome and natural - I love it. Guess where I'm headed today? Thanks for the tip!

Jennifer Hoffine said...

I went through the lice mess years ago...my daughter's whole grade was spreading it around, so many students were getting them multiple times. I got Tea Tree Oil shampoo from Sally's Beauty Supply, and they never haunted our house again. (I now have gallons in reserve in my linen closet;)

All Hail Tea Tree Oil! I agree.

Jennifer Shirk said...

Maria: YES! I heard it's awesome for fungus too!

Anonymous said...

I put a drop on my toothbrush every night when I brush my teeth! I also have TT shampoo, face wash, lotion, ect. That stuff is my Windex (you know, from My Big Fat Greek Wedding).

It's good for ANYTHING skin related, just don't swallow it (tried that once, pukey pukey pukey). Lavender is good for skin issues too, especially oily skin and inflammation. Peppermint is good for hangovers and any other nausea-type things, as well as relaxing muscles :) Clary sage is good for... well, you get the idea ;) I'm a walking homeopathic encyclopedia!

Spread the Tea Tree Oil LOVE! :D

Wendy Paine Miller said...

I like the smell. I'm all crazy like that. Every time I find a hair product w/ tea tree oil in it I snatch it up quick.
~ Wendy

Jessica R. Patch said...

An English woman used to do my hair, well, we got to talking one day while she was washing it and she said that (not it wasn't lice) Tea Tree oil was great for migraines. Rub it along the temples of the head and massage it in.

She went and got it, might be the best head massage I've ever had, and it does work.

Laura S. said...

I'll have to share this with my mom. She HATES stink bugs! She's a chemicalphobe, too, and purchases organic and all-natural things. So thanks for this recommendation!

BK Mattingly said...

Fun post. I didn't know you could use tree oil in so many different ways.

Unknown said...

When my girls were small, the dreaded head lice was a major thorn in my side. My last resort was tea tree oil and I too am now advocating on its' behalf. I went as far as to buy spray leave in conditioner and added a few drops of tea tree oil to the bottle.
Works like a charm.
Another trick, is when the hats and coats come out, it's time to take some preventative measures. Put a few drops on a dryer sheet and throw your hats in the dryer for a
few minutes. Between the heat and the drops I doubt you'll have another problem. Good luck!

Nancy said...

Don't you just love it when something odd like that works? I'm so glad you found a natural alternative to toxic stuff.

I like bugs, but I wouldn't want a lot of them at once. They are cute if you just see a new one on a walk around the park.

I took note of the Tea Tree Oil in case I see any bugs I don't like. Thanks a lot for the info.

Susan R. Mills said...

Okay, I'm convinced. Where might I buy some of this amazing stuff?

Unknown said...

You can buy it at any drugstore. At least you can here in Ontario.

Sarah Forgrave said...

From a fellow bugaphobe, THANK YOU! :)

Diane said...

Yeah haw!!!! I've used this before and it is powerful. Also, Arnica is great for bruises and sore muscles just in case ya got any. I would put in on my kids when they bumped themselves and almost no bruise or pain. :O)

PatriciaW said...

Don't laugh about behind the ears. Great for dry skin and for itchy scalps. Can add to shampoo (or purchase a brand that already has it in there). Good stuff.

Karen Baldwin said...

Thanks for the tip. I love natural solutions vs chemical. Hmm? What about wrinkles?

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the rec! I'll definitely have to invest in some tea tree oil. :)

Linda G. said...

Tea tree oil is good stuff. It's great for skin irritations on cats, too.

Elana Johnson said...

I'm a germaphobe too! I'm glad the tea tree oil worked on the lice. I'm making a note of that, because my niece has had them a lot, and I live in fear of my daughter getting them.

Sarah Tokeley said...

Oh yes, I remember the tea tree shampoo on my kids heads when they were little - first the cure, and then the prevention!

And the smell is wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Interesting post. Thanks for the great information. Lots of great information in the comments section too!

Glynis Peters said...

I am a Tea Tree fan. It is supposed to be stronger than carbolic acid. I pop it on a damp cloth and damp-dust around the home.

I used to wipe the insides of the kids trainers when they lived at home. Kills the bacteria from the sweat.

Glad it got your bugs!

Admin said...

Nice Post