Tea Tree Oil and acne

What 3 graded rows on tea tree oil agree on for acne, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.

Consensus finder Rows from the Tea Tree Oil page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides

What the rows agree on

Each block and row is one graded row from the Tea Tree Oil page, with its PubMed record.

Supplement

Tea Tree Oil Choose another

3 rows · 629 people

They agree: all 3 rows found an improvement.

No difference

Improved

Each block is one evidence row, sized by how many people it enrolled, with its grade inside.

From the rows

The best-graded row, grade C, is a meta-analysis of 445 people (2026) and found an improvement.

The rows run from 60 to 445 people, published from 1990 to 2026: 1 pooled review and 2 single studies.

3 improved

Grade CAcne severity · Improved
Meta-analysis, 7 studies · n 445 · 2026 · Patients with acne in 7 clinical studies
Varied across studies · Varied
Tea tree oil was associated with a modest reduction in acne severity compared with controls (pooled OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.88). Adverse events were mostly local and mild; the authors call for larger, standardized trials.
Row on the Tea Tree Oil page · PubMed 42098589 (opens PubMed)
Grade CInflamed and non-inflamed acne lesions vs benzoyl peroxide · Improved
RCT · n 124 · 1990 · Patients with mild to moderate acne (Australia)
5% gel applied topically · Not stated in the abstract
Both products reduced inflamed and non-inflamed lesions; tea tree oil acted more slowly but caused fewer side effects.
Row on the Tea Tree Oil page · PubMed 2145499 (opens PubMed)
Grade CAcne lesion count and severity index · Improved
RCT · n 60 · 2007 · Adults with mild to moderate acne vulgaris (Iran)
5% gel applied topically · 45 days
Tea tree oil gel improved total lesion count and acne severity index significantly more than placebo (3.55 and 5.75 times more effective, respectively). Side effects were similar and tolerable in both groups.
Row on the Tea Tree Oil page · PubMed 17314442 (opens PubMed)