How much tea tree oil do you need? 5%+

What tea tree oil percentage is effective?

Floor 5%: a 5% tea tree oil gel beat placebo gel on total lesion count and acne severity index in 60 patients with mild to moderate acne over 45 days, double-blind (Enshaieh 2007), and 5% gel matched 5% benzoyl peroxide lotion on inflamed and non-inflamed lesions in 124 patients, with a slower onset and fewer side effects (Bassett 1990, single-blind).

Is more than 5% tea tree oil better?

Nobody has measured it: no published dose comparison sets a ceiling for tea tree oil, so a percentage above 5% is above the trials' floor, not above a measured maximum. The highest dose tested in leave-on use was 50% on the feet, for athlete’s foot (Satchell 2002), and the paper reports more irritation there.

No published dose comparison sets a ceiling for tea tree oil. A declared percentage above 5% is above the trials' floor, not above a measured maximum: the trials say from 5% it works, and say nothing about whether more does more.

What does the tea tree oil percentage on a label tell you?

A name that states a percentage ("Tea Tree Oil 5%") is the only amount a cosmetic label ever declares, so it is the one number that can be read against the trials: at or above the 5% floor, or below it.

A name without a percentage leaves the position. The rules make a brand list ingredients in descending order of amount down to 1%, and in any order below it, so tea tree oil above the 1% line is at least 1% and tea tree oil below it can be any trace the brand likes. The floor the trials worked from is 5%, and a position alone cannot tell you whether a label reaches it.

The tea tree oil percentages in our catalogue

One label carries it without a number, so the position is all there is:

• COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel CleanserTea Tree Oil sits 15th of 25, above the 1% line; the label does not say how much, and the trials worked from 5%.

Read on

• Tea Tree Oil: the glossary page what it does, who it suits, where it fits
• Tea Tree Oil vs Niacinamide
• Tea Tree Oil vs Azelaic Acid
• Tea Tree Oil vs Succinic Acid
• Tea Tree Oil vs Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate
• Tea Tree Oil vs Benzoyl Peroxide
• Tea Tree Oil vs Sulfur

Other actives with a dose the trials pinned:

• Niacinamide 2%+
• Vitamin C (LAA) 5%+
• Retinol 0.075 to 0.3%
• Salicylic acid (BHA) 0.5%+
• Lactic acid 8%+
• Glycolic acid 5%+
• Retinal 0.05 to 0.1%
• Retinyl Retinoate 0.06%+
• Tretinoin 0.025%+
• Adapalene 0.1%+
• Tazarotene 0.045%+
• Azelaic Acid 15%+
• THD Ascorbate 1%+
• Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate 5%+
• Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 0.0003%+
• Caffeine 2%+
• Benzoyl Peroxide 2.5 to 5%
• Hydroquinone 4%+
• Bifida Ferment Lysate 10%+
• Thiamidol 0.2%+
• Cysteamine 5%+
• Menthol 0.1 to 5%
• Peppermint Oil 0.5%+
• N-Acetyl Glucosamine 2%+
• Alpha Lipoic Acid 5%+
• Ammonium lactate 12%+
• Acetylated Hyaluronic Acid 0.1%+
• 4-n-Butylresorcinol 0.1%+
• 4-t-Butylcyclohexanol 0.4%+
• Sphingomonas Ferment Extract 2%+