Is that a captivating title or what? I’m referring to Tea Tree Oil, apparently nature’s miracle cure…If you think that you detect a bit of sarcasm in the previous comment, you would be right. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been using and will continue to use tea tree oil for years. Firstly, I love the smell and secondly, it works. I do however, remain a New Yorker at heart with an undying devotion to the art of skepticism, cynicism, and most importantly—pragmatism.

I went online before writing this blog. When I googled tea tree oil there were two hundred fifteen million hits arriving in just over one tenth of a second. While I might here take a moment to marvel at the magnitude of my internet service, I shall resist the temptation to digress. Most of the sites were commercial (and admittedly informative), though a few were not (those that weren’t seemed mostly to be Australian research or government sites listing the studies currently underway…I’m sure some more digging would unearth a bit of unbiased information about the stuff, but the stories seem to be consistent amoung the commercial sites). There seems to be a plethora of facts out there about the oil with ranging uses including a toe nail fungus cure (my current use), a cold remedy, a yeast infection healer, an oral antiseptic, a bug repellent and a cleaning aid. At $22 a pop for a small organic sample of the stuff from my local health foods store, I don’t foresee myself dumping any of it into my cleaning water anytime soon. And as for putting it full strength on sunburns, cuts, cankers and the like…all I know is that my skin is a bit too tender for that kind of treatment.

I don’t have anything earth shattering to add or deduce. I do love the stuff, but I don’t know that I’ll be stocking every cabinet in my home with some derivation of an over-commercialized, well marketed product. Much like Epsom salts, witch-hazel and good old Boric Acid, I prefer to keep a small bottle of Tea Tree Oil in my arsenal of fine home remedy/care products. Having a variety of tried and true items that have benefited folks through the ages appeals to the pragmatist in me…what can I say, I was born and bred a New Yorker!