Tea Tree Acne Solution

Clear & Smooth Skin

..an even more natural product for acne(99.6% natural).

• Tea Tree Oil Acne Exfoliant (3%)

• Burdock Root

• Benzoyl Peroxide Free

• 99.6% Natural Ingredients.

• Gentle to use.

• Full 16 ounces

• Works as well as our 2 other Clear & Smooth Acne products.

• If you are happy with our other acne products there is no reason to switch (unless you just want to go more natural).

• If Benzoyl peroxide causes you to be dry, then this is the product for you.

• If you are among the few we haven't been able to help, try this! Still no time limit guarantee.

• Warning if you really don't like the scent of tea tree essential oil, don't buy this.

• No worry, the scent doesn't persist.

• Sorry according to the importer: Tea Tree Essential Oil is not recommended for pregnant or nursing mothers. (ask your doctor)

We weren't able to help Kate with our BP acne products. So when we decided to do this Tea Tree product Kate was one of the first I thought of. This comment is after about a week:

Thank you for making this formula.

Cheers!

-Kate C.

Tea Tree Treatment: It has absolutely done wonders for my skin. I mean, u have no idea. I wish I had taken before and after pictures. You wouldn't believe it. Shirley

Hi, all you wonderful people who know what I need better than I do.

You have sent me numerous free samples of Tea Tree and Anti-Aging Exfoliant.
I gave them away to friends because I thought I needed industrial strength
Kick A** formula. Well, last time you sent me the samples, I tried both.
Even though I thought my skin could not be more healthy than it already is
from using Clear & Smooth products for over 10 years, I was pleasantly
surprised that my skin is even BETTER after Tea Tree and Anti-Aging
Exfoliant! Thank you for making the best products ever. 
Tina

You don't HAVE to believe 
a word we say!
BUT, you might want to believe
what over 37,000 people have to say!

Testing new products for acne

I'm the chief formulator for our products. I'm also the first guinea pig. If it doesn't work for me, it goes no further.

Adult Formed Acne: (a short recap)

I was in my 40's when I started getting these huge cysts. I was stunned. I had acne as a teen. But nothing like this! As a professional, this was embarrassing. How do you look someone in the face when you know they are seeing your own messed up face and thinking less of you? I tried everything out there. Many products I discovered I was allergic to. So I started experimenting. I tried hundreds of combinations. My skin became super sensitive too. I used myself as a testing ground. At first I started using over the counter products and mixing them together. Then, I went to alternative herbs and oils and essential oils. Soon I set up a spread sheet that helped me test each new ingredient. I tried hundred and hundreds of different combinations. Using the Edison method of testing one ingredient at a time. I discovered in skin care, a lot of what is taken for granted as fact, was just plain BS. That was 1999. At the time, I had no idea I was going to help 10'S OF THOUSANDS of others with the same issue. After some professional guidance, we released our first product -Clear & Smooth- in October of 1999. And we have sold that product and many other products since then. With 10's of thousands of regular customers, I was perfectly content to offer the same products for the rest of our lives.

Something I came to dread. During the first few years of our company's existence, I was constantly testing other products and ingredients. In order to do this, I had to stop using Clear & Smooth. And my acne always came back. Clear & Smooth is my golden bullet.

One thing people are often asking us to do is push the envelope of natural. Every natural product we tested didn't work. None compared to Clear & Smooth. . Even the ones with Tea Tree did nothing for me. So when we decided to start experimenting with Tea Tree, I was filled with regret. I just knew I was in for a lot of acne. I was convinced we couldn't do any better than Clear & Smooth. 

Many years ago we looked at Tea Tree Essential Oil and decided against it. But we really didn't give it a full trial. Now was the time.

So I asked what if we exactly replaced the benzoyl peroxide in our acne treatment and used Tea Tree in it's place?

We kept in all the good nutrients our skin needs and added Burdock Root. And it had to be pH neutral. At first we tried 5% Tea Tree. Keep in mind, we are using a very high quality Tea Tree oil. The scent almost knocked me down. To my astonishment my face stayed clear. So after a few weeks I decided to back off to 3%. Which isn't such a powerful a scent. And still my acne didn't return. In fact, my skin has remained remarkably clear. In some ways I like my skin better. I am able to exfoliate closer to my eyes now. More and more experts are coming to believe that exfoliation is the secret to healthy skin. We think with a pH neutral exfoliant and numerous nutrients, anti-aging benefits will abound.

What is it about Tea Tree Essential Oil?

Tea Tree Essential Oil, or Melaleuca Oil, is a pale yellow color to nearly colorless and clear essential oil with a fresh camphoraceous odor. It is taken from the leaves of the Melaleuca alternifolia, which is native to Southeast Queensland and the Northeast coast of New South Wales, Australia.

Some sources suggest beneficial medical properties when applied topically, including antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiseptic qualities. The antiseptic properties can help treat skin blemishes (acne). It also has beneficial cosmetic properties. I could get into the chemical properties of this all natural ingredient. But what's the use? We know it helps control the bacteria that causes acne. The key was getting it to work long term. Tea tree Oil Essential Oil is not recommended for internal use.

One big manufacturing problem is Tea Tree Essential oil, (the good stuff) is very expensive. About $150 to $180 a gallon.

So in order to save money, why not put it in small bottles with a bunch of filler ingredients and use it as a spot treatment? Just like all the other tea tree products do? For the same reason benzoyl peroxide and glycolic acid spot treatments don't work long term. The constant contact of spot treatments we believe over does it. They work at first, but you get a burn out effect after a while. We believe spot treatments compromise the skin's natural protective flora. Without these natural flora you cannot have clear skin. If anything spot treatments might be partially responsible for so many adults having acne today. Since their introduction decades ago, the incidence of adult acne has soared.

99.6% why not go to the whole 100%? This is a good question. Why not use natural preservatives? Some products do. How do they do that? Truthfully natural preservatives are not very effective. Here are the 2 reasons we don't or can't use them:

• Acids fight the bad bacteria that cause skin care products to go bad. So if we made our product acidic, wouldn't that keep the product from going bad? Yes, but acidic is what just about all skin products already are. And if they worked so well, why is adult acne so common today? We think most adults today are suffering from acid overkill. Too much acid can undermine your skin's natural protective flora. It's why we make our product pH neutral. In so doing, we have to use traditional preservatives. It's also why our products are made in small batches of a few hundred bottles at a time. And shipped fresh, with only a one year shelf life. Most store bought products today were made years ago. We think Fresh makes a difference. More about this below.

• We use raw or virgin ingredients whenever possible. These are delicate and loaded with nutrients that are very available to your skin. Even most, so called, all natural products typically use highly processed ingredients. This processing involves high heat and strips the natural goodness out of these ingredients. But the one good thing about highly processed ingredients is they are easier to preserve. Heck I would argue dead (nutrient poor) ingredients are always easier to preserve. So we believe, in order to get an effective product, it is necessary to sacrifice the perfection of 100%.

Helping people with acne isn't something for the short term. Our goal is the long term. We can't afford the large advertising campaigns just to sell a product that only works for a few months to a year. In order to stay in business and earn repeat business, we have to help people long term.

How do you use it? Pretty much the same directions as our other acne products. Once a day. Although I find (a little longer)1 to 2 minutes is a better scrubbing time. Just remove with our natural soap (included).

Won't I get better results with twice a day usage? No. Use our natural soap (free bar is included) as often as you like throughout the day. It is wonderful. We recommend at least one more time of day. We encourage our customers to keep in touch. We answer all emails personally. We learn from your experiences. And can pass them along to others. This is how we found out that twice a day wasn't nearly as effective as once a day. Yes we would sell more product if we had people use twice a day. Initially. But in the long run, as we've seen over and over, this product becomes ineffective twice a day. We prefer to keep you as a long term customer. Most get 3 to 4 months out of each bottle. For clear skin this has to be an incredible bargain.

Is it just the Tea Tree oil? We don't think so. Our acne products are loaded with nutrients that your skin can readily absorb. 

So how does it work exactly? Science is all about observation. If we observe something helping a particular condition, then we try to determine how much to use to get the optimum results. For example: Aspirin has been on the market for 120 years. And it has been used (from the Willow bark) for centuries by native American Indians. We know if you take too much it can possibly kill you. And children shouldn't use it. Just the right amount helps all sorts of conditions. Yet scientists are still speculating how it works. This is true of many products and ingredients. We know our products help acne. We know if you follow the directions chances are very good you will become clear and your skin will get smooth, soft and healthy. The exact mechanisms just aren't that important.

One thing most of our customers will agree on: Once your acne is under control, your general health and well being will improve physically and mentally.

Ingredients:

Reverse Osmosis purified water: virtually all skin care products 'say' they use purified water. But the real deal is reverse osmosis purified water. This mean ZERO contaminants which means the starting point is pure. It's expensive to do (goes through 5 filters, which have to be changed often), but it is the only water we use. We use the waste water from this purifying process to water our flowers and landscaping. So there is no waste. Don't some products use distilled water? Yes but distilled water is expensive to make (heat is used to boil the dirty water and steam is collected). The problem we have with distilled water is it has a lower pH due to the extra ions added during the process. We prefer to work with pH neutral water. To me there is no more perfect water than R-O water. I remember the 1st time we made soap with it. As we poured the soap, it was so creamy! It looked like home made ice cream right before it gets solid. It's one of our special secrets to how good our products are.

Tea Tree Essential Oil 3% (Active) (Melaleuca Alternifolia) We have to buy from a certified source or risk getting a watered down ingredient.

Our Natural Soap: This helps cleanse the skin.

Walnut Shell Powder: This gently opens your pores and removes dead skin cells. Some people make claims that Walnut powder tears your skin. (Usually this misinformation comes from competitors) Nothing can be farther from the truth. Have no fear, you cannot damage your skin. Your skin is 15 or more layers thick. As you remove dead skin cells this encourages new skin growth. Exfoliation is a secret to youthful skin. Why not use plastic particles as many exfoliants do? They are polluting our waterways and oceans. (search: plastic particle pollution) Walnut powder will gradually decompose.

Xanthan Gum, Xanthan Gum is a naturally derived thickener.

Cetyl Alcohol, it's not actually alcohol but a solid vegetable wax. It imparts thickening and conditions the skin.

Glycerin (vegetable). What skin care product doesn't benefit from Glycerin? Problem is most store bought and even high end moisturizers use animal derived Glycerin. You don't even want to know how they make this glycerin. Unless the label specifically says vegetable it is almost always animal derived. Yuck!

Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), We buy from suppliers who buy directly from native tribes in Africa. We like the raw version of this product. Most manufacturers use the highly processed versions that are from factories in Europe. The difference between the two is so vast the first time I tried it, I didn't even know it was shea. The processed shea, might as well have been mineral oil. It was absolutely worthless. Yet we could use it, save money, and call it shea butter. We don't.

Stearic Acid, Another vegetable wax used for thickening and giving the product a creamy feel. 

Jojoba oil (Simmondsia Chinensis), What can I say about jojoba, except what a wonderful ingredient! God truly smiled down on the us when this was created. Jojoba is a magic bullet in skin care. it matches almost perfectly the natural oils in our skin. i think of it as a transportation oil. It helps other ingredients absorb. Unfortunately, in 2010 the whole Argentine crop of jojoba, was frozen. And the trees were frozen too. There is a world wide shortage. And will continue for years until these trees reach maturity. This oil is used for cosmetics (it has completely replaced whale oil) and also many machines use this oil in their transmissions. And military use in machinery as well. Much more world demand than supply. Prices have tripled, if you can even buy it in bulk. We have not reduced the amount we use.

Corn Meal, this is used to help other ingredients work.

Emulsifying Wax, Another vegetable wax used for thickening and giving the product a creamy feel. 

Kukui Nut Oil (Aleurites Moluccana), Another expensive oil we use with many nutritional benefits.

ElderFlower Extract (sambucus nigra), We're not big on extracts. Mainly because most extracts are so watered down as to be worthless. They are in a lot of products as 'label candy'. (To help sell the product) This one we extract ourselves to insure proper concentration. Elderflower is popular in Europe. In the USA it was popular in the 1800's and a poultice to heal skin injuries. Today, it has come to be used very little. We think this is a big mistake. Elderflower helps the skin heal. 

Hemp Oil (Cannabis sativa), Hemp oil is highly nutritious. By law contains almost no active THC.

Macadamia Nut Oil (Macadamia integrifolia), Again another highly nutritious oil from Australia.

Burdock Root tea. (Articum lappa) Burdock Roots are a favorite among herbalists for acne control. This is new to this product.

GuarSilk (Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride)  is another pricey ingredient ($28 a pound). This is new to this product. It is derived from the Guar bean, and is a natural hydro colloid. Guar Gum belongs to the legume family and is primarily cultivated on the Indian subcontinent. Small amounts are also grown in Texas and Oklahoma. The gum is derived from the endosperm of the Guar Bean, which contains protein, fiber, and moisture. Through multi-stage grinding and sifting, the endosperm is separated out and then ground to a fine powder called guaran. Guar Conditioner (GuarSilk), and its derivatives, offer several advantages for personal care formulators looking to add conditioning, and improved aesthetics, to natural product lines.

Evening Primrose Oil (Oenothera Biennis), Again another highly nutritious oil, that some studies show is effective for acne control.

Apricot Kernal Oil (Armeniaca vulgaris), Again another highly nutritious oil

Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis), skin softening.

Sodium Citrate, pH balancing. natural product.

Germall plus (4/10’s of 1%) (diazolidinyl Urea, 3-Iodo-2-propylbutylcarbarmate). Why do we use preservatives? Simply to keep the product from going bad. We've tested so called natural preservatives. They just aren't effective. Plus many popular preservatives don't work in a pH neutral product. We believe many people are suffering from acid overload. Practically every skin care product today is pH acid. Many products are very acidic. 50 years ago our research tells us most skin care products were closer to pH neutral. At that time, adult acne was uncommon. Today millions of adults suffer from outbreaks. Coincidence? Maybe. When new preservatives came on the market (decades ago), they were hailed by skin care manufacturers as one of the greatest of inventions. Mainly because they gave their skin care products almost unlimited shelf life. Today most skin care products you buy were made years ago. Most preservatives require a pH acid formula to work. We believe this fear of the tiny amounts of preservatives is largely unfounded. It is the abundance of acids that we believe creates an imbalance in our skin. This is why we use a preservative friendly to a pH neutral formulation. This means we have to make our products in smaller batches and ship our products fresh. With only a one year shelf life. Something almost no one else is doing. Even most all natural products are usually acidic. We think this helps our customers have the best skin of their lives.

What did our research about oceans tell us? I noticed on trips to the beach how wonderful my skin felt. Sometimes for days afterwards. What was it in the ocean water that helps the skin? After much research we came to believe that the natural alkalinity of ocean water has a positive effect on the skin. Contrary to popular thought alkaline is life. Acid is death. If the ocean waters ever became acid, most sea life would be gone.

So if acid isn't good for the creatures of the sea, why is it good for our skin? Something we wanted to know.

What is pH? Aqueous solutions all have a pH measured anywhere from 0 (extremely acid) to 14 (extremely alkaline). A pH of 7 is considered neutral. Most skin care products can vary from pH of 5.5 to below 3. Except for our natural soap, which is naturally alkaline, our products are pH neutral.

What about the skin's 'Acid mantle'? Our body (over 60% water), if healthy, is pH neutral. Our blood, if healthy, is pH neutral, or slightly alkaline. Every living cell of our body is fed constantly through a series of blood vessels and capillaries. So where does this acid mantle exist? It doesn't.

Are you saying acids are bad? Our stomach uses acids uniquely to begin the digestion of our foods. When our food passes to the small intestines, a big change happens. The digestion process changes to alkaline. This is an environment friendly to good natural bacteria which take over the digestion process. So how is it this myth get started about this layer of our skin being acid? And all this about how this acid layer protects us from invading bacteria? We think decades ago, when new preservatives came on the market that required an acid formulation, manufacturers had to make all this up to sell their acid products. And still today after many decades, this myth lives on. Even though science has discovered our bodies are protected not by an 'acid mantle', but by natural protective good bacteria. These bacteria exist by the trillions and help us digest our food and are involved in every bodily function. In fact it can be argued, that excessive use of acids harms these good protective bacteria on our skin's surface.

So are acids causing acne? No one knows for sure. I know I never allow acids to touch my skin. And I have the best skin of my life. Bad bacteria (Propionibacterium Acnes) in the air, attack our skin and cause acne. We believe acids reduce our natural defenses, which makes us vulnerable to the acne causing bacteria.

Most of our ingredients are as close to natural as possible. We avoid overly processed ingredients. Processing means heat and that destroys the goodness in these precious ingredients we use.

No animal ingredients or testing EVER! We also get assurances from our suppliers that all of our raw ingredients are not animal derived or any animal testing done there either.

Most skin care products you buy to use today, were made in large factories years ago and have been in storage. Everything we ship was made in small batches within a few weeks of shipping. Fresh matters!  Quality ingredients matter!

Now keep in mind it is legal in this country to put one drop of an ingredient into a product and name it after that ingredient. WE DON'T EVER DO THAT. It might be legal, but it isn't moral. Besides in our mind if a product works we will get reorders.

Best if used within one year of receipt. I'll bet no skin care product you have bought from a store was made within the last year. Most of the products were made years ago. We find we can better control our quality if we make products as they are used. Fresh just makes for better skin care products. Our families all use our products. We only sell what we would use.