So, in contrast to our theme of you to focus on using all natural products, this post is going to focus on a known potential harm of using an all natural product — and we’re specifically talking tea tree oil and lavender oil here, people.
The study (linked below) is a paper from 2007.
Let’s start with some definitions, like we always do. Gynecomastia is defined as the development of breasts and breast tissue in men. Normally, guys are not supposed to have breast tissue or any glandular tissue in their chests. This is a female trait, and we consider our human species sexually dimorphic, meaning that guys have no breasts, whereas ladies have breasts and the two have different sex organs.
Alright, so gynecomastia is the development of breasts in boys and men. During puberty, up to 60% of guys have some degree of gynecomastia, simply because all sex hormones including estrogen and testosterone are elevated during puberty. The vast majority of cases of gynecomastia during puberty resolve within a few months and it’s never a problem for the guy thereafter.
In contrast to gynecomastia during puberty, prepubertal gynecomastia, that is gynecomastia that develops before the onset of puberty, is VERY uncommon and when present it’s ALWAYS associated with some underlying pathology—meaning some kind of abnormality in the prepubertal boy.
The authors of this paper document the development of gynecomastia in 3 prepubertal boys after regular use of either lavender oil, tea tree oil, or both.
Let’s look at the cases. Case 1 was a four year old boy who developed gynecomastia about 3 weeks before presenting to his pediatrician. He was normal in terms of height and weight for his age, as well as his genital exam, and he underwent a series of tests including hormone testing, all of which was normal. After some thorough questioning, it was discovered that his mother was applying a healing balm containing lavender oil to his skin on a regular basis before the development of his gynecomastia was noted. After she was advised to stop using the lavender oil, his breast tissue had completely resolved after several months.
Case 2 was a 10 year old boy who had a 5-month history of gynecomastia, as reported by his parents. Similar to the first case, the boy was otherwise normal in terms of his height, weight, genitals, and hormone testing. He had noticeable breasts on exam, measuring around 4 cm in size. After some thorough questioning, it was discovered that this boy was applying a styling gel and using a shampoo, both of which contained both lavender oil AND tea tree oil. After 9 months of stopping both products, the boy’s gynecomastia had resolved.
Case 3 was a 7 year old boy who had a month history of gynecomastia. Similar to the first two cases, this boy was normal in terms of height, weight, genitalia, and hormone testing. He had been using a lavender scented lotion and lavender-based soap on a regular basis. Once instructed to stop using these products, his gynecomastia had completely resolved within a few months.
Beyond these three cases, the authors of this paper also performed some cell culture studies and basically showed that both lavender oil and tea tree oil have estrogenic activity. This means that these two oils can turn on estrogen receptors in the body, just like estrogen does when it meets it receptor. Not only that, but these two oils can also block androgen receptors. What the heck does that mean? That means, that these oils block your body’s natural androgens like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, which in essence can lead to feminization or the development of female characteristics in guys.
And, that’s likely the underlying mechanism explaining why these three cases of prepubertal gynecomastia was seen in these boys using lavender and tea tree oils.
Just a quick side note before we conclude this episode. Although I am sharing this information with you and trying to persuade you to avoid using lavender and tea tree oils, I’m not saying there’s no place for these oils in your natural skin care regimen. Tea tree oil can certainly help with a few conditions including fungal infections and even acne. So, there’s clearly some benefit to using these oils in short term settings. What I am trying to convince you of here is to avoid using these two oils on a long-term basis.
Furthermore, it really goes to show that what you apply to your skin can have systemic effects on your whole body, which is something that we’ve been preaching from the very beginning. Whoever told you that what you put on your skin doesn’t get absorbed is just plain wrong.
Reference
Prepubertal Gynecomastia Linked to Lavender and Tea Tree Oils