Tea Tree Oil

So I was out today and along with stocking up on witch hazel, I bought a vial of tea tree oil.

I was thinking that I could add it to my witch hazel to make the after shave a little more exciting and a little more skin-clearing. I also have plans to add it to a melted puck of VDH.

Has anyone done this lately and could post the ratios? I found a couple of recipes for adding to after shaves but they tend to express the big ingredients in terms of "x parts" and then the oils in terms of "y drops" (they just don't strike me as compatible units). I'd just like to know, for those of you who have experience how many drops do YOU like in an ounce of after shave or in a puck of VDH?

synapticmisfires said:

So I was out today and along with stocking up on witch hazel, I bought a vial of tea tree oil.

I was thinking that I could add it to my witch hazel to make the after shave a little more exciting and a little more skin-clearing. I also have plans to add it to a melted puck of VDH.

Has anyone done this lately and could post the ratios? I found a couple of recipes for adding to after shaves but they tend to express the big ingredients in terms of "x parts" and then the oils in terms of "y drops" (they just don't strike me as compatible units). I'd just like to know, for those of you who have experience how many drops do YOU like in an ounce of after shave or in a puck of VDH?

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Well you need to be careful, as too much could burn or irritate your skin. My personal recommendation it to add two drops to the witch hazel and try it. Not strong enough? Add two more drops and repeat until you get something to your liking that won't burn/irritate you.

The soap is a little trickier because you will need to melt it in order to add the tea tree oil, so repeating will be a bit more of a pain. Although, after you figure out how much tea tree oil you liked in your AS you could probably use that much in the soap for starters.

For aftershaves I make about 2.5 to 3.0 oz at a time (use a TSA-approved container; they're 3 oz), and then add about 4-6 drops of essential oil to a mixture of witchhazel and aloe vera gel.

For the soap I haven't a clue.

Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic and i've used it directly onto cuts and scrapes. A few drops in your witch hazel sounds like a great idea.

It's been my experience that Witch Hazel desperately need something added to it. As is, Witch Hazel extract (the stuff that's only 14% alcohol) smells horrible (to me). I generally put a good squirt (.5oz.?) of Ivy Club Spice in 8oz. of Witch Hazel. YMMV, but put enough in it to suit your taste. Tea Tree Oil sounds like it would make a great additive to Witch Hazel.

kingfisher said:

For aftershaves I make about 2.5 to 3.0 oz at a time (use a TSA-approved container; they're 3 oz), and then add about 4-6 drops of essential oil to a mixture of witchhazel and aloe vera gel.

For the soap I haven't a clue.

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I'm actually using carry-on style 3 oz bottle too, so this sounds great. I'll probably experiment in that neighborhood. I'm very excited, I might mix up a batch tonight.

tea tree oil...interesting

I've never used tea tree oil, but you could probably add a single drop to your bowl or brush as you're lathering. I'd be wary adding any more than a single drop.

Sounds like a good idea, but I'm not sure of the ratio's to use.

I've found that for lots of things like this, a health food store is a good place to check. I've found that these stores are more in tune with such things. I have a great tea tree oil shampoo that I got at our local store, and it does a great job on my hair. If I get a new shaving brush I always shampoo it with the tea tree oil shampoo, it takes the animal smell right out.

Just an update. I made Tea Tree Witch Hazel and uh..."Van Der Tea Tree". Both were very successful. Although I have it on good authority that the the Tea Tree Hazel tastes bad when a certain somebody kisses me. Not shocking, the stuff smells rather medicinal but it works wonders for bad breakouts and irritation.

As far as the ratios, I think I went as high as 12-15 drops (probably closer to 15) in a melted puck of VDH Deluxe, stirred very, very well. This may be too much for you if you have fragile skin or if you are using VDH select, without the added shea and aloe. It gives the soap a very, very powerful tea tree type scent, easily overpowering the usual VDH smell. However, results-wise I love it. I can't say for sure if the Van Der Tea Tree is helping my skin, but I like to think that the combo of the moisturizers and the antiseptic eo is producing good results. I have used it often with great success, the only limiting factor being that I've been so busy lately that I've had to rely on non-soap options (barbasol and shave secret).

The witch hazel I measured more poorly. There was a lot of spillage and a lot of sloppy pouring. It must have been at least a giant capful to 3 ounces, but whatever it was proved to be a little too much. I used some and poured some off and added more generic witch hazel. Sorry I can't shed more lights on this measurement, however I highly recommend the concept. Just play with the cheap WH (1.50-something at Walmart) to get the ratio right.

12 drops per fluid ounce is roughly a 2% compound, and I figured out when I did it the VDH (and probably soap generally, I actually made mine a croap with Kiss My Face) is about as dense as water, so weight approximates volume in the calculation.
http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/dilutingessentialoils.asp

I love tea tree oil. As mentioned above I've used it as an antiseptic/first aid treatment. I also add tea tree to my shampoo. I'll add at least 10 - 15 drops to a shampoo bottle. I also used tea tree in the pre shave oil I make.

Its great stuff.

imcndn