Skin Conditions Report and Zap It! Melaleuca Oil Treatment

Zap It!® Skin Care Treatment — Research Report

Acne and Other Skin Conditions
Researched and Written by Karen MacKenzie

The skin is the largest organ of the body, it covers an area of 21 square feet (two square meters) and weighs around eleven pounds (five kilograms) in an average adult. No other organ is so exposed to infection, pollution, and injury or can be inspected so readily. It has a very complex layered structure that contains billions of skin cells, sensory cells, nerve endings, pores, sweat glands, oil glands, fibres, blood vessels, and hair roots. Bacteria, yeasts and fungi, that live naturally on the surface of the skin, can sometimes penetrate through the top layer via damaged skin cells, pores or hair follicles to cause various irritating infections.

Tea tree oil (a key ingredient in Zap It!®) has significant antiseptic properties to fight against the majority of skin infections. It can also impede rashes caused by parasites and insects. It stops the itching and calms the inflammation normally associated with eczema, psoriasis and topical skin flares. But, the very best thing about tea tree oil is that if you have an unidentified area of pimples, patch testing with diluted tea tree or a good quality tea tree cream on a small area will not hurt it and it may well go on to cure it.

Acne — Zap It!® Tea Tree Oil

Acne can strike at any age, it can be caused by stress, a hormone imbalance, pollutants, a poor cleansing routine or hereditary. Zap-it!®, with both tea tree oil and Salicylic acid (which is naturally found in several plants, such as willow, birch and wintergreen) is a safe treatment for those skin conditions that need the dead scaly skin removed so that the natural ingredients can penetrate to work more effectively.

Melaleuca oil is specifically mentioned for having antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial and acaricidal actions against skin infections such as acne, herpes and scabies in the following abstract.
Adverse and beneficial effects of plant extracts on skin and skin disorders. Adverse Drug React Toxicol Rev. 2001 Jun;20(2):89-103.

This was the first peer-reviewed paper about the effects of melaleuca oil on acne. It concludes that the treatment of acne with melaleuca oil results in fewer side effects than a treatment of benzoyl peroxide.
A comparative study of tea-tree oil versus benzoylperoxide in the treatment of acne. Med J Aust. 1990 Oct 15;153(8):455-8

Salicylic acid, which is the main active ingredient in Zap-it!®, is a safe treatment for skin conditions that need the dead scaly skin removed so that the natural ingredients, such as melaleuca oil, can penetrate to work more effectively. It is naturally found in several plants, such as willow, birch trees and wintergreen leaves.

Salicylic acid applied on pads reduced the number of acne lesions and was well tolerated.
Treatment of acne vulgaris with salicylic acid pads. Clin Ther. 1992 Mar-Apr;14(2):247-53.

In this comparison study, salicylic acid was superior to benzoyl peroxide for the treatment of acne.
Comparison of a salicylic acid cleanser and a benzoyl peroxide wash in the treatment of acne vulgaris. Clin Ther. 1989 Mar-Apr;11(2):264-7.

Zap It!® Melaleuca oil for treatment of skin conditions caused by other organisms

That is the beauty of such a broad-spectrum antiseptic substance, it does not matter what sort of organism caused the skin infection and associated irritation, melaleuca oil helps to alleviate it:

The way that melaleuca oil can easily penetrate the skin suggests it may be suitable for use in the treatment of fungal mucosal and cutaneous infections.
In vitro activity of tea tree oil against Candida albicans mycelial conversion and other pathogenic fungi. J Chemother. 2001 Aug;13(4):377-83.

Unlike the normal antibacterial topical medicines, diluted melaleuca oil can maintain the beneficial skin bacteria while getting rid of the nastier strains that cause the problems.
Susceptibility of transient and commensal skin flora to the essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree oil). Am J Infect Control. 1996 Jun;24(3):186-9.

…. And don’t forget the viral skin infections.

A 6% tea tree dilution in gel form shows significant results against reoccurring herpes labialis (Cold sores).
Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil gel (6%) for the treatment of recurrent herpes labialis Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (2001) 48, 450-451

More serious skin infections:

Staphylococcus aureus is a strain of bacteria that lives naturally on the skin. When an over-growth occurs it can cause minor infections, such as pus-filled spots and boils, etc. When it becomes resistant to the strongest antibiotics that we have, it becomes known as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or golden-staph. This can also live on the skin without causing any problem to the host. But, when it is transferred to another less-healthy individual or it infects a wound, it can become life threatening. MRSA/Golden staph, claims tens of thousands of lives every year. Melaleuca oil has been shown to inhibit and even destroy it, both in vitro and in vivo.

Staphylococcus aureus and wounds: A review of tea tree oil as a promising antimicrobial agent. Am J Infect Control. 2004 Nov;32(7):402-8.

This controlled trial in a hospital found that tea tree preparations used in the decolonization of MRSA were effective, safe and well tolerated.
A randomized, controlled trial of tea tree topical preparations versus a standard topical regimen for the clearance of MRSA colonization. J Hosp Infect. 2004 Apr;56(4):283-6.

Articles in publications:

Tea tree oil is listed in Today’s Herbs for Summer Health. An absolute must for skin conditions and the first aid box.

Wendell L. Combest, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Shenandoah University School of Pharmacy, Winchester, VA, writes an article for the US Pharmacist on tea tree oil and the microorganisms that cause various skin infections.

Comments From Your Researcher

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November 2004

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Zap It!® Skin Care Treatment — Research Report

Acne and Other Skin Conditions Researched and Written by Karen MacKenzie

Acne and Other Skin Conditions
Researched and Written by Karen MacKenzie