Tea Tree and Lavender make an amazing combination of essential oils. They’re especially effective on itchy bug bites, but their benefits go far beyond that.
Tea tree oil is a fantastic essential oil, which actually began to come into more popular use in World War II, when Australian soldiers carried tea tree oil in their first aid kits as treatment for skin injuries. Tea tree oil has natural antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, which can help with a variety of skin problems, but can also help with reducing the itching of insect bites.
The only trouble with tea tree oil is that it has a bit of a medicinal smell. Lavender oil is another wonderful therapeutic essential oil which when combined with tea tree oil, helps to mask the scent as well as increase the blend’s effectiveness.
Lavender is best known as a relaxing oil that can help with sleep, but it has many other benefits, including being very beneficial for skin issues. It is very soothing to the skin, and can also speed healing as well as having pain relieving properties.
Interestingly, both tea tree oil and lavender oil are two of the very few essential oils that can be used directly on the skin without diluting (though we would still recommend mixing with a carrier oil for use on the face or on people with sensitive skin).
NOW Foods has a nice combination of tea tree and lavender oil that we would recommend since it’s so easy to use, being a premixed blend of the two oils. Give it a try on insect bites to help relieve the itching and help them to heal faster (however, it’s not recommended to use the oils on broken skin or open wounds).
The combination of lavender and tea tree oil is also great for cleaning around the house. Both have antibacterial properties, so a few drops on a damp washcloth works great for cleaning around kitchens and bathrooms.
