What Tea Tree Oil Is For
Tea tree oil is used for diluted skin and hair preparations, baths, a room diffuser and homemade cleaning, and this bottle is 100% pure Melaleuca alternifolia.
Because it is used in drops rather than spoonfuls, 10 ml goes a very long way — a bath takes five to ten drops and a skin blend takes five. Aqua Oleum are a long-established British aromatherapy house, and this is 100% of one species rather than a blend sold under a generic name, which is the main thing worth paying for in an essential oil.
Never Swallowed. This Is the One Rule That Matters.
This comes second, before the uses, because it is the only thing here that could seriously hurt somebody.
Tea tree oil must never be taken internally. Not on a spoon, not in hot water, not in tea, not as a gargle you swallow. Swallowed tea tree oil causes confusion, unsteadiness, loss of the ability to walk, and in serious cases coma. There are published poisonings in a 17-month-old and in a four-year-old boy, and a reported death.
So keep the bottle where a child cannot reach it, and treat it like a medicine rather than a toiletry. Ten millilitres of a pleasant-smelling oil with a dropper is exactly the sort of bottle a small child will try, and the amount that causes harm is small.
And if somebody does swallow any, do not wait to see how they get on. Go to the nearest hospital or ring us, and take the bottle with you so whoever sees them knows exactly what it was.
Always Diluted on Skin
Five drops in 10 ml of a carrier oil — almond, coconut, olive, whatever you have — is the ratio on the bottle, and it is the one to use.
The reason is not squeamishness. The European safety committee that examined tea tree oil found that neat tea tree oil is a sensitiser in humans, and that undiluted oil can irritate skin and eyes. Diluting it is what makes it pleasant to use rather than a risk, and somebody who applies it neat may well end up with the reaction they were hoping to avoid.
Patch test first, on the inside of a forearm, and leave it a day before using a new blend more widely.
Keep it away from eyes entirely, and wash your hands after mixing so you do not rub an eye later.
How We Would Actually Use a 10 ml Bottle
In the bath: five to ten drops, added once the water is run and stirred through.
In a room diffuser: seven to ten drops in the water. This is the use most people enjoy most, and the clean medicinal scent is the whole appeal.
As a diluted skin or scalp oil: five drops in 10 ml of carrier oil, patch tested first.
In homemade cleaning: a few drops in a spray bottle of water with a little vinegar makes a surface spray that smells properly clean. This is an honest and popular use for a 10 ml bottle and it carries none of the questions the skin uses do.
Keep it cool, dark and tightly closed. This matters more for tea tree than for most oils: it oxidises on contact with air, heat and light, and the oxidised oil is considerably more likely to irritate skin. A bottle left on a sunny windowsill for a year is a different product from the one you bought. Buy the small size, use it, and replace it.
What We Are Not Going to Tell You It Does
A great deal is claimed for tea tree oil, and our honest reading is worth more to you than a repetition of it.
It is sold as a cosmetic and an aromatherapy oil, not as a treatment for any condition. Claims that a product kills bacteria, fungi or viruses, or treats acne, wounds, burns, cold sores or a chest infection, are medicinal claims. A product making them is being presented as a medicine, and this is not one.
If you have an actual skin or scalp condition, please come and talk to our pharmacist. Acne, a fungal nail, athlete’s foot, a stubborn patch of dandruff — there are licensed treatments for each of those, our pharmacist can tell you which fits, and our doctor is here if it needs looking at. Reaching for an essential oil instead is how a treatable thing becomes a long-running one.
What we will say is that a pure single-species oil, properly stored and properly diluted, is a pleasant and genuinely useful thing to keep in a house — and that is a smaller promise than the one on most tea tree bottles and a true one.
If You Came Here for Something Specific
Two of the reasons people search for tea tree oil have honest destinations on our shelves, and we would rather send you to them.
If a cold or a cough brought you here, an oil is the wrong shape of thing entirely. An effervescent with vitamin C, vitamin D and zinc carries recognised immune claims for all three nutrients, which is a genuine basis rather than an implied one.
If your skin is the reason, the recognised route runs through vitamin C, which contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin. An effervescent vitamin C at 1,000 mg carries that claim outright. And for a diagnosed skin condition, our pharmacist will point you at a licensed treatment instead.
Is Tea Tree Oil Right for You?
- Never internally, and never within a child’s reach. Swallowing it causes confusion, unsteadiness and in serious cases coma, and small amounts have harmed small children. If any is swallowed, go to the nearest hospital with the bottle.
- Not on infants, and ask us about older children. Your bottle says it is unsuitable for infants and we agree. For an older child, please ask our pharmacist about dilution before you use it on them.
- Always dilute, and patch test. Neat tea tree oil is a recognised skin sensitiser. Five drops in 10 ml of carrier oil, inner forearm, wait a day.
- If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, please ask us first. Your bottle advises medical advice in pregnancy, and we would rather that was ours before you buy.
- If you have a skin condition you want treated, ask our pharmacist instead. Acne, fungal infections and persistent dandruff all have licensed treatments, and we would rather point you at one than sell you an oil.
- Keep it away from cats and dogs. Tea tree oil is toxic to both, so a diffuser in a room a cat sleeps in is worth reconsidering.
Where to Buy Aqua Oleum Tea Tree Oil in Kenya
Order online and we deliver countrywide, or collect from our pharmacy at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. We send orders to Nairobi and every neighbourhood around it — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Rosslyn, Kitisuru, Lower Kabete, Lavington, Kileleshwa, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Buruburu, Donholm, Embakasi, Ngong Road, Kasarani, Roysambu, Zimmerman, Githurai, Ruaka, Banana Hill, Two Rivers, Village Market and Pride Lands — and across Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru and Ngong.
Beyond the capital we deliver to Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Athi River, Kitengela, Kajiado, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Bomet, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Siaya, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Vihiga, Webuye, Kitale, Nandi Hills, Iten, Kapenguria, Embu, Meru, Chuka, Kerugoya, Murang’a, Othaya, Nyahururu, Nanyuki, Maralal, Isiolo, Marsabit, Moyale, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Mwingi, Makueni, Emali, Kibwezi, Voi, Taveta, Wundanyi, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi, Lamu and Hola. At a few drops at a time a pack runs for a known length of time, so tell us the pack size you want and we will work out how many months that covers before you order.
Across Africa, ask us before you order. We have sent orders to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and as far as Malawi, and we will quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of the continent. Tell us the destination and we will confirm any import paperwork before the parcel leaves us.
Living abroad? Order from wherever you are and we deliver to your family here in Kenya. Kenyans in the UK, the United States, Canada, South Africa and the Gulf order from us regularly for parents and relatives at home. An essential oil like this one taken steadily month after month does far more than a single pack, so tell us who it is for and how many months you want covered and we will set up the repeat.
Why Buy Your Aqua Oleum Tea Tree Oil from HealthAlone Kenya?
HealthAlone is a pharmacist-led health ecosystem licensed by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and our stock is original, sealed and correctly stored. Kahawa Sukari is a real counter with real pharmacists behind it.
Our pharmacists will show you how to dilute it properly, and tell you honestly when a licensed treatment would serve you better than an oil. Our doctor is here too if you would rather have the whole question looked at properly.
It is one more step in our vision: building Africa’s most trusted health ecosystem, accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I swallow tea tree oil, or put it in hot water for a cough?
No, and this is the most important answer here. Tea tree oil must never be taken internally in any form. Swallowing it causes confusion, unsteadiness, loss of the ability to walk and in serious cases coma, and published poisonings include a 17-month-old and a four-year-old boy. If anybody swallows any, go to the nearest hospital and take the bottle with you. For a cough or a cold, please come and ask our pharmacist — there are things that help and this is not one of them.
How do I dilute it for skin?
Five drops in 10 ml of a carrier oil such as almond, coconut or olive. Patch test on the inside of a forearm and leave it a day before using a new blend more widely. Never apply it neat: the European safety committee that examined tea tree oil found that neat oil is a skin sensitiser and can irritate skin and eyes.
What is it actually good for?
It is sold as a cosmetic and aromatherapy oil rather than a treatment for anything. The uses we would stand behind are a room diffuser, five to ten drops in a bath, a properly diluted skin or scalp oil, and a few drops in a homemade surface spray. If you want something treated, that is a conversation with our pharmacist rather than a bottle of oil.
Will it clear my acne?
Please talk to our pharmacist instead of relying on it. Acne has licensed treatments, our pharmacist can tell you which suits your skin, and our doctor is here if it needs looking at properly. Reaching for an essential oil is how a treatable thing turns into a long-running one.
Can I use it on a fungal nail or athlete’s foot?
Ask us first. Both have licensed treatments that we stock, and for a fungal nail in particular the course matters more than the ingredient — it is a months-long job and the wrong start wastes most of a year.
How long does a 10 ml bottle last?
Longer than people expect, because everything is measured in drops. A bath takes five to ten, a diffuser seven to ten, a skin blend five. For most households a 10 ml bottle is several months of occasional use, and buying small is deliberate — see the storage answer.
How should I store it?
Cool, dark and tightly closed, and this matters more for tea tree than for most oils. It oxidises on contact with air, heat and light, and oxidised tea tree oil is considerably more likely to irritate skin. A bottle that has sat on a sunny shelf for a year is a different product from the one you bought.
Is it safe for children?
Not for infants, and please ask our pharmacist about dilution before using it on an older child. The bigger point is storage: a 10 ml dropper bottle of sweet-smelling oil is exactly what a small child will try, and the amount that causes harm is small. Keep it where they cannot reach it.
Can I use it while pregnant or breastfeeding?
Please ask us before you buy. Your bottle advises seeking medical advice in pregnancy, and we would rather have that conversation with you first.
Is it safe around pets?
Keep it away from cats and dogs, for whom tea tree oil is toxic. A diffuser running in a room where a cat sleeps is worth reconsidering, and never apply it to an animal.
Do you sell a bigger bottle?
This one is 10 ml. A lot of people ask us for 30 ml, so tell us what size you want and we will say whether we can get it — and for occasional use the small bottle is genuinely the better buy, because the oil degrades once opened.
Where can I buy tea tree oil in Kenya, and what does it cost?
From HealthAlone, online for delivery countrywide or over the counter at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. The current price is shown at the top of this listing. We deliver across Nairobi — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Kitisuru, Lavington, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Kasarani, Roysambu, Githurai, Ruaka and Banana Hill — and to Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru, Ngong, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Kitengela, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Kitale, Embu, Meru, Nanyuki, Nyahururu, Isiolo, Marsabit, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Makueni, Voi, Taveta, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi and Lamu. Outside Kenya we have delivered to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and Malawi, and we quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of Africa on request. This bottle is 10 ml and everything is measured in drops, so tell us how you plan to use it and we will say whether the small size is the right one for you.
