I’m beginning to think my face is sick of the acne treatments I subject it to. I spent years using prescription-strength topical treatments and now, regular, over-the-counter products do nothing to relieve breakouts whatsoever. My skin has built a strong tolerance to many products; and there are so many inactive ingredients in OTC products that it’s hard to know if the active ingredient actually has a chance to work at all. I know, to people who see me every day, my skin doesn’t look that bad. But I’m still very emotionally sensitive to breakouts, despite the fact that I don’t suffer from true acne anymore.    

So. Rather than spend more money on OTC treatments that I have little faith will work, I started scouring the Internet for homemade and/or organic acne-treatment recipes. I found the site Skin Care Recipes and Remedies, which isn’t necessarily chock full of organic recipes, but you can always use organic ingredients even if the recipe doesn’t call for them. And let me tell you, if my dermatologist – the one who prescribed the chemical-laden topical prescriptions I used as a teenager — had just told me that tea tree oil would do the trick, I would’ve never had to deal with the humiliation of constantly covering my forehead with bangs and refusing to wear scoop-neck shirts in public. But alas, the past is the past, and I’m relieved to have found such a simple remedy, even if I uncovered it in my 30s.

On the Tea Tree Acne Home Remedies page of the SCRR site, there’s a short list of very simple tea-tree-oil infused treatments. Tea tree oil has strong antibacterial properties that fight the acne infection beneath the skin, and it’s gentle enough that it minimizes acne scarring. I’ve already noticed that it greatly reduces redness and inflammation while the problem areas are healing.

Since I already had a bottle of Aura Cacia tea tree essential oil at home, I tried the simplest treatment to target a few pimples at a time — just dab a small amount of pure tea tree oil right on the spot (a Q-tip works great as an applicator). Pure tea tree oil has a strong antiseptic smell when you apply it, so I would recommend only using the pure form if you can  handle the scent lingering on your face. The site also recommends that you use this remedy sparingly. But I will say that it works wonderfully. I applied it at night, after cleansing and before moisturizing, and the few spots I’d been monitoring cleared up nicely by morning. Plus, I really love the cool, tingling feeling it leaves on my skin — it lasts a few minutes and is quite refreshing.

I didn’t want to overdo it with the pure tea tree oil (in case my skin decides it’s too much to use it every day), so I also tried a tea tree facial cleanser, coupled with tea tree oil-jojoba oil leave-on treatment. The tea tree cleanser is super simple to make: just mix 1 drop of tea tree oil to every 10 ml of filtered water, and shake in a clean container to mix it up. (I used a plain glass bottle with a cap.) The tea tree-jojoba recipe is 10 ml of tea tree oil to every 100 ml of jojoba oil. I opted for the Aura Cacia organic jojoba oil over a lower-priced non-organic version.

I poured some cleanser in my hand, then splashed it on my face — it’s mostly water so it doesn’t stay put the way most OTC cleansers do. I left it on for a few minutes, then rinsed; and afterward applied the tea tree-jojoba mixture, leaving that on for a few minutes then rinsing with warm water. Jojoba is a carrier oil — which means that it’s used simply to dilute a pure essential oil — with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and hydrating properties. After rinsing the treatment and patting my face dry, my skin felt quite soft and smooth. (Note: You won’t be able to completely rinse the oil off, since water alone won’t remove oil. Don’t be concerned if you can still feel the oil; just pat your face dry to remove any excess oil after rinsing.)

The SCRR site recommends that you use the tea tree cleanser only a few times a week; and the tea tree-jojoba treatment can be used more often than pure tea tree oil — but use only one or the other, not a combination in the same application.

I would also recommend — although the site doesn’t specify this — using a toner or liquid exfoliant right after cleansing, before you apply the treatment. It will remove any leftover cleanser and/or impurities that could prevent the treatment from penetrating the skin effectively. I have yet to try a facial steam, but I plan to once I can find the time to prepare it and sit with my covered head over a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes.

I’m still in trial mode with this skin cleansing program, but I’m happy with the results so far. Not only will it save me some money, but I know exactly what I’m putting on my skin and I’m not using any nonessential ingredients that counteract the essential ones. And that is a beautiful thing.