Beautiful skin on a budget: tea tree oil!

Welcome readers! It's been too long.

I have another blog that has been sitting in mothballs. I will bring it out of hibernation eventually. It's not that I haven't wanted to write, but life gets in the way sometimes.

I want to write something more personal. Something useful.

To survive in Southern California, you have to be a little lucky and resourceful. That's why I'm starting this blog - to share survival tips to live a fun, glamorous and fulfilling life without breaking the bank.

L.A. is expensive and, being around Hollywood, the pressure to have flawless skin is extremely high. As much as I would love to use products that celebrities use such as GlamGlow, it's simply not in my budget. But that doesn't mean that my skin has to suffer, and neither does yours!

Tea tree oil is extremely reliable in fighting acne. A large percentage of products claiming to banish those awful blemishes on the market use tea tree oil as a main ingredient - The Body Shop even has a line based off of it! I highly recommend this line, but the tiny oil bottle they sell isn't worth it when you can get so much more paying so much less!

Tea tree oil isn't difficult to find - just pop in to your local drug store. I like to pick mine up at Target, as their bottles are fairly large (2 oz) and are fairly reasonable. However, if you're prepared, you can always save by searching online. This bottle from NOW essential oils is on sale for $16.49, and it's 4 oz!

Now, a fair warning: the scent is strong, and a little bit goes a long way. A few drops on a cotton ball and strategically applying topically to your affected areas is all it takes. To be safe, you should always do a patch test first (everyone reacts to things differently, and it's better to be safe than sorry). Do not massage directly on or below a varicose vein.

I like to use this for nighttime routine - I feel that the oil and skin get better use out of each other this way. To not dry myself out, I apply (very lightly) some vitamin e oil to my skin afterwards as well. The oils will not fight each other, and your skin will be glowing in the morning!

By the way, tea tree oil helps combat more than just acne. It can also act as an antiseptic, germicide and, of course, for aromatherapy.




So, what do you think of tea tree oil? Anyone out there experiment with oils for their own DIY treatments? And are there any requests out there for my next post? (It's not only going to be about beauty products, promise!)