Meditree & Thursday Plantation's 100% Pure Tea Tree Oil Review

Every now and then I happen to find beauty products that work for me. It all started when I had one of the worse breakout recently. Don't know whether it is work stress, putting up late nights or just the expired facial masks I used but one day I got this hideous acne. The kind that is huge, filled with blood and puss FML. Off I head to the acne products aisle. I knew for sure creams do not work so I chose the 100% pure tea tree oil. There were not many choices available so I simply closed an eye and chose one, no kidding. I shared two brands but Meditree's Pure Australian Botanical Tea Tree Oil, retailing at RM30 for 10ml was my first pick.

The super unnecessary packaging that's double the product size

It took me a few days of religious applications to reduce the size of the acne. For the first few days I applied multiple times a day in hope to dry off the skin around the acne. Since the zit was so huge, it took a while before the anti-bacterial properties of the tea tree oil to get inside the acne to kill off whatever germs that was contributing to it. Since the zit is so close to my eyes, the tea tree oil stings my eyes even when I apply just little amount. After several layers of peel off skin exposes some pore and bleed the puss and blood out only did the acne reduced in size. I also try to 'push' out the blood gently so as not to leave a scar. Too many scars already! At this point, I am considering to go for another laser treatment *sigh*

Other noticeable observation is that the tea tree oil somewhat helped in controlling my combination skin_ my face is less oily by the end of the day. For the same reason, the tea tree oil doesn't dries up my skin too much but sometimes though, I do have flakes on skin around the drier part of my chin and forehead.

I also found I have much noticeable longer eyelashes. My eyelashes were rather short and especially the bottom lashes are unevenly distributed if not bald. The past few weeks however, they've appeared longer (some up to 0.5mm!). I'm loving the result, it looks like I put on some fake lower lashes HAHAHA! I look up online and found that "tea tree oil has proven natural antifungal and antibacterial properties that help in maintaining a clean, healthy scalp and strong, healthy hair follicles" which explains. Maybe if you have balding issue, can try some homemade hair remedy with the oil and other ingredients. Tell me if it works!

Thursday Plantation's 100% Pure Tea Tree oil was the other brand I bought after my Meditree's were used up (in less than a month!). I thought since they're both 100% pure tea tree oil, they should have the same function and result. Besides, Thursday Plantation was the only option available in 25ml for RM56.50 (RM49.90 in Aeon Wellness during sale). The 10ml one retails at RM39.19 (RM34.29 in Aeon Wellness during sale). Similar to Meditree, this too has the minty feel. However, there is a much woody, earthy scent (like all the weird men's cologne or wood-y scented candles) to this brand which took a while for me to get use. I still quite dislike it compare to the sweeter scent of Meditree's tea tree oil.

Conclusion, these stuff works and I'm loving it! It does take effort and several days for the result to show so my advice is to apply often on affected areas. Now that I have gotten my pimples under control, I am planning to include this into my routine but only during the night. While browsing, I noticed rosehip oil which claims to be suitable for all skin type. I have been interested in trying that out but have been advised against using it by beauty consultants due to my troubled skin type. So I have some doubts about spending RM50 for the small bottle! Well if I tried, you'd most probably see a post about it.

my green journey

My transition to green & sustainable lifestyle is slow but gradual. I have been trying to use what I own before restocking new toiletries or body care products. The first thing I wanted to reduce was the use of disposable sanitary pads and I dedicated a lengthy blog post to tell you why you too should try cloth sanitary pads and where you can get them in Malaysia. As of now, I have not converted 100% because I still have some disposable ones. Plus, I am still worried about leakage especially when wearing cloth sanitary pads during the day. I can vouch I love them so far!

The other thing I bought was this safety blades. I have heard of them and found there were a number of overseas sites selling really atas shaving razor but they do not come cheap! About RM200 for the holder and about RM50 for a set of replacement blades. They probably cater for more comfort and safety especially since the dudes need to shave their face.

I got mine when a vintage-themed store called 'Childhood' which specializes in selling vintage Malaysian snacks, toys, miscellaneous products (even rotan!) had a pop up store in KL. Don't quite remember the price but both the razor holder and a set of 6 blades cost less than RM20.

The safety blade box comes together with a mini mirror which is really cute but I don't have any use for LOL. So far I have been using it for a few months and the blades are still super sharp. They're definitely sharper than those plastic razors that usually also have a protective strips with lubricants for easy shaving and soothing the skin. I have accidentally cut myself (it didn't hurt) but otherwise, I have no problem using this shaver for my legs and underarms. Apparently the blades are rust proof but I still want to be safe and store it out of the washroom.

One discovery was this thing call loofahs. I first heard of it from a friend who suggested loofah compare to sponges which seem to have a short lifespan in my house with so many people using them! Before I found out you can find this dried gourds online and in some specialty sustainable lifestyle shops which has been mushrooming around KL, my friend had to get it from his hometown. They're super worth it! For just less than RM10, you get a long loofah which you can cut depending on the length you need and that can last for months! While they do trap some food, they're easily cleaned and do not smell with prolonged usage. Just for hygiene purpose, I hang them on the window panes so they get sun-ned just to kill some germs hahaha

I did found loofahs in the toiletries section of Aeon but I don't know if they're chemically processed to maintain the shape and remain hard but mine is holding the shape real well! Works amazing in the bath though I wished they have a version with handle because I cannot reach the back properly...

As part of this whole green lifestyle, I decided to convert back to using soap bars which uses less packaging. I am super tempted to get those artisan soaps bars but they're much more pricey, about RM20-ish! There are more economical ones but I am too lazy to go all the way out just to shop for soaps. I have been relying on off-the-shelf brands in Aeon like Dove (under RM4 per bar) and I recently found Ecostore available in Aeon Wellness for RM10.90 for the 80g bar. It's lemongrass scented and I'm crazy eager to use it because it smells so good, almost yummy! Obsessing over scents like this or citrusy ones these days, they make me feel happy #allthelittlethings

Also from Aeon Wellness, I got this for about RM10 because everything about it caught my attention. Later I regretted my purchase. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE how the toothbrush and packaging are made of recycled materials. Totally supporting the idea! Unfortunately there is still lack-to-none recycling programs here in Malaysia, except for Penang (Penang rocks!) which meant after I am done with this, it will end up in the landfill FML So I guess for now I don't have an option but to order my bamboo toothbrushes online.