Awhile back, there was some discussion about using tea tree oil as an
antifungal agent. I lost the private email I'd saved from the person
(Vickie, I think) whom I was trying to get information for. Anyway, here's
what I've learned:

As a cleaning solution, pour some drops (about 10-15) of tea tree oil into a
natural soap (e.g., Dr. Bronner's) from the health food store. Lavender can
also be used for general antibacterial cleaning. But tea tree is best for
yeasts since it is anti-fungal.

From what I've read, tea trea oil and lavender are far more effective and
much safer than the antibacterial soaps and solutions you can buy. To make
antibacterial soap for handwashing, you can put several drops of tea tree
and/or lavender oil into an 8 oz. bottle of glycerin soap.

Here is a study from PubMed:
Skin Pharmacol 1996;9(6):388-394

Antifungal activity of the essential oil of Melaleuca
alternifolia (tea tree oil) against pathogenic fungi in vitro.

Nenoff P, Haustein UF, Brandt W

Department of Dermatology, University of Leipzig, Germany.

The in vitro antifungal activity of tea oil, the essential oil of Melaleuca
alternifolia, has been evaluated against 26 strains of various dermatophyte
species, 54 yeasts, among them
32 strains of Candida albicans and other Candida sp. as well as 22 different
Malassezia furfur
strains. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of tea tree oil were
measured by agar dilution
technique. Tea tree oil was found to be able to inhibit growth of all
clinical fungal isolates. For the investigated dermatophytes MIC values from
1,112.5 to 4,450.0 micrograms/ml with a geometric mean of 1,431.5
micrograms/ml were demonstrated. Both C. albicans strains and the other
strains belonging to the genus Candida and Trichosporon appeared to be
slightly less susceptible to tea tree oil in vitro. However, their MIC
values, which varied from 2,225.0 to 4,450.0 micrograms/ml (geometric mean
4,080 micrograms/ml), indicated moderate susceptibility to the essential oil
of M. alternifolia. The lipophilic yeast M. furfur seemed to be most
susceptible to tea tree oil. MIC values between 556.2 and 4,450.0
micrograms/ml (geometric mean 1,261.5 micrograms/ml) were found against the
tested M. furfur strains. However, when calculated as percentage tea tree
oil of the agar, the above-mentioned concentrations correspond to 0.5-0.44%
tea tree oil content. These values are far
below the usual relatively high therapeutic concentrations of the agent;
approximately 5-10%
solution or even the concentrated essential oil are used for external
treatment.

In comparison with tea tree oil, in vitro susceptibility against miconazole,
an established topical antifungal, was tested. As expected, very low MIC
values for miconazole were found for dermatophytes (geometric mean 0.2
microgram/ml), yeasts (geometric mean 1.0 microgram/ml), and M. furfur
(geometric mean 2.34 micrograms/ml). It is suggested that the in vivo effect
of tea tree oil ointment in the therapy of fungal infections of the skin and
mucous membranes as well as in the treatment of dandruff, a mild form of
seborrheic dermatitis, may be at least partly due to an antifungal activity
of tea tree oil.

PMID: 9055360, UI: 97208133

Janice Berry
Columbus, OH