Here’s the trivia that makes you sound smart at brunch. Tea tree oil has been used since the 1920s by Australian soldiers as a field antiseptic. It’s also registered as an active ingredient in the European Pharmacopoeia. But the coolest fact? The name “tea tree” comes from Captain Cook, who brewed the leaves into a tea that tasted like nutmeg. He didn’t drink the essential oil—he brewed the leaves themselves. Big difference.
Modern essential oil distillers use steam to extract the oil, making it about 50 to 100 times more concentrated than the original leaf. That concentration is what makes it a hero on your skin—and a villain in your gut.
