If you’ve looked into tea tree oil as an acne remedy then you have probably read that tea tree oil has been clinically tested along side benzoyl peroxide. Tea tree oil was found to have similar effects on acne as benzoyl peroxide, but the results also show that tea tree oil did not work as fast on acne as benzoyl
peroxide. Because tea tree oil does not work as fast as benzoyl peroxide is the main reason why tea tree oil is not as efficient at treating acne as benzoyl peroxide. This does not make tea tree oil any less effective at treating acne than benzoyl peroxide. Tea tree oil is widely available in acne treatment products, but from what we have found there aren’t any creams or gels specially formulated to treat acne symptoms that are as effective as benzoyl peroxide treatments on the market. So, another reason why tea tree oil is not as efficient as benzoyl peroxide is because there are not effective tea tree oil acne treatments widely available.
This is another big downside to using tea tree oil for acne because you have to dilute it yourself in aloe vera gel or carrier oil to make tea tree oil safe to use. At the same time you have to make a batch of tea tree oil that wont cause irritation, allergic reactions, or damaged skin. You have to make sure it is mixed up well so that you are getting an even amount of tea tree oil applied onto your skin. If it does not go on evenly then in some spots you may as well be putting on straight tea tree oil. Just in case it has not been made clear undiluted tea tree oil is extremely concentrated and can have serious side effects if applied undiluted to the skin.
All of that aside, we love tea tree oil. It is the best home remedy for acne. It really is the only remedy for acne you need. You can use it to replace benzoyl peroxide in an acne routine because tea tree oil may be just as effective at treating acne as benzoyl peroxide. While tea tree oil maybe slower at treating acne symptoms it is all natural and has fewer side effects than benzoyl peroxide. You wont notice any flakiness from using tea tree oil, along with less redness and irritation than benzoyl peroxide. Fewer side effects give tea tree oil some points in efficiency when compared to benzoyl peroxide because you will not need to reapply a moisturizer in the middle of the day or have to deal with scaly skin from getting used to benzoyl peroxide. You also will not have to worry about bleaching your colored fabrics or hair with diluted tea tree oil. Benzoyl peroxide may be less effective than tea tree oil because it does nothing for dark spots caused by acne. There is no clinical evidence that we have found that proves that tea tree oil does anything to quicken the fading of dark spots, but many consider it to be a home remedy for dark spots. Plus, diluting tea tree oil in aloe vera gel means you have two home remedies that have been considered by many to help with dark spots. Once again there is no clinical evidence that shows tea tree oil or aloe vera gel will help to more quickly fade dark spots. We have not found any evidence that supports this, but benzoyl peroxide may cause dark spots from the irritating effects it has on the skin. Especially when you first start to use benzoyl peroxide for the first three to sometimes five weeks it can be a grueling process dealing with scaly skin, redness, and irritation. It is well worth the wait for your skin to get used to benzoyl peroxide, but in the process you will have caused a lot of irritation to pimples possibly making them turn into dark spots. Even after the first few weeks of getting used to benzoyl peroxide the harsh effects of benzoyl peroxide are still there, your skin has just gotten used to them, but what about a fresh new tender pimple? Benzoyl peroxide may aggravate pimples causing more dark spots to form. The reason we believe this is because a prominent reason that dark spots are formed in the first place is because of picking, poking, scratching, or aggravating pimples.
A downside to using benzoyl peroxide instead of tea tree oil is that there are not large bottles of 2.5% benzoyl peroxide acne gel or creams sold in stores. So instead you have to buy Neutrogena On-The Spot which we recommend, but it only comes in .75 oz tubes. Thankfully you can go with the Acne.org treatment that is less expensive but you have to purchase it online. The Acne.org treatment is a gel benzoyl peroxide treatment and comes in huge bottles for a great price. Even with shipping you unless you find a really good sell won’t find a better deal on a 2.5% benzoyl peroxide treatment than the Acne.org treatment for the price per ounce.
A good thing about tea tree oil is that it can be found at the supermarket. Walmart sells tea tree oil and aloe vera gel. It appears that Walmart only sells 100% pure tea tree oil, but whatever you do, do not use anything less than 100% pure tea tree oil. Therapeutic or pharmaceutical grade does not matter. What does matter is that you get 100% pure tea tree oil. The same goes for aloe vera gel. Get 100% pure aloe vera gel when using it to dilute tea tree oil. Since you are putting the diluted tea tree oil on your face it is really important to make sure there is not anything extra that may cause irritation. So check every bottle of tea tree oil and aloe vera gel to make sure they are 100% pure.
Wear protective goggles and gloves when handling any type of essential oil. If you are under the age of eighteen you must have adult supervision to dilute essential oils. Keep essential oils out of reach of children. If you are not experienced with diluting essential oils an find someone who is so that they can show you how. If you are under eighteen get your parents permission to go to the chemistry lab at your school before class to dilute an essential oil while a chemistry teacher supervises. It may not be worth the risk of using diluted tea tree oil. However, if you are looking for a natural remedy to treat moderate to severe acne then tea tree oil is definitely worth a try. For a full guide on how to make and apply diluted tea tree oil click here.
With tea tree oil you can control the amount you are putting into your mixture. However, another downside to using tea tree oil instead of benzoyl peroxide is that you cannot make large batches that are safe to use (unless you have a degree in chemistry). We do not have the tools at home or the know how to make large batches of diluted tea tree oil that are safe to use. The tools that are widely available to dilute tea tree oil are not 100% accurate so you have to make small batches to lessen the margin of error. Making small batches using droplets of tea tree oil in aloe vera gel or carrier oil is the only way we know of to make 2.5% diluted tea tree oil. The amount that is in a drop varies from dropper to dropper so we only have an average per drop to go by. The mixture that you make in a small amount is 
There have been no studies that show that tea tree oil or aloe vera gel fade dark spots. The only information that we have found about the study made testing diluted tea tree oil and benzoyl peroxide is that tea tree oil did not work as fast at treating acne symptoms as benzoyl peroxide but tea tree oil had fewer side effects. In the information we have found there is no list of the specific side effects benzoyl peroxide had that tea tree oil did not. The information we have like with most home acne remedies is from claims made by people who have tried the remedy, but there is very little scientific evidence (that we have come across) that shows tea tree oil or aloe vera gel has any effect on dark spots. Considering that strong bleaching ingredients such as hydroquinone and other powerful treatments like retinoids are used to treat dark spots it is very unlikely that the tea tree oil and aloe vera will have any kind of substantial effect on dark spots. When you have acne the most important thing is to get clear asap so that in the long run fewer dark spots and scars will have formed. Once you get clear then treat the dark spots. While tea tree oil may be as effective as benzoyl peroxide at treating acne symptoms, we know from both scientific evidence and experience that benzoyl peroxide works faster than diluted tea tree oil on acne. In order to get effective results from benzoyl peroxide it needs to be applied daily and nightly in an acne routine. To learn how to effectively use benzoyl peroxide in an acne routine click here.
To read about the information available on the study that compared tea tree oil versus bezoyl peroxide click here.
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