Is tea tree oil safe during pregnancy?

Do health bodies agree on tea tree oil in pregnancy?

Health bodies do not agree. A US government centre says products on the skin may be safe in pregnancy. An EU committee says use in pregnancy is not recommended.

NCCIH is the US government’s centre on complementary health, part of the National Institutes of Health. It says tea tree oil products used on the skin may be safe during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Its page gives no reason, limit or dilution for that line.

The EMA is the EU’s medicines agency. Its herbal medicines committee says using tea tree oil in pregnancy and breastfeeding is not recommended. That line covers tea tree oil sold as a herbal medicine, including for spots on the skin.

Some pages say to avoid tea tree oil until week 27 of pregnancy. We found no health body that gives that rule, and the page we read that gives it cites no source. Others say ACOG or the WHO rate tea tree oil as low risk. We found no ACOG or WHO page that says so.

Where does the worry about tea tree oil in pregnancy come from?

The published concern rests on a study of pregnant rats given the oil by mouth, and on hazard labels proposed for the oil as a chemical.

In that study, pregnant rats were given tea tree oil by mouth every day, from day 5 to day 19 of pregnancy. The EMA’s report records three doses: 20, 100 and 250mg for each kilo of body weight. At the lowest dose, it records no harmful effects seen in mothers or young.

At the two higher doses, the unborn rats weighed less. At the highest dose, some had defects of the body and skeleton. The EU’s cosmetics safety committee (the SCCS) says all these effects followed from harm to the mothers. The oil went into the rats by mouth, not onto their skin.

The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports two labels proposed by the EU’s chemicals committee. One says the oil may damage fertility. The other says it is suspected of damaging the unborn child.

HSE does not agree with the second. It says a label for harm to the unborn child is not warranted. For now it proposes no fertility or pregnancy label in the UK at all. It wants to look at questions first, including how the oil gets into the body.

These are hazard labels for the oil as a chemical. They are not a rule for skin products, or for pregnant people.

The SCCS weighed the possible reproductive label too. It then judged tea tree oil safe in four products for adults: shampoo, shower gel, face wash and face cream. That is a safety limit for cosmetics. It gives no rule for pregnancy.

Does it matter whether tea tree oil goes on your skin or is swallowed?

Swallowing is where the clear warnings are. NCCIH says tea tree oil should not be swallowed, and that most people can use skin products with it without problems.

Swallowed, NCCIH says, tea tree oil can cause confusion, unsteadiness and coma. A review in a microbiology journal says the oil can poison people if swallowed. It records cases in both children and adults.

MotherToBaby wrote about essential oils in general on its blog. It does not name tea tree oil. It says products on the skin usually are not absorbed much by the person using them.

More gets in with constant use, broken skin, large areas of the body, or swallowing, it says. It adds that many essential oils have not been studied in pregnancy. That does not mean they help or harm.

The SCCS judged tea tree oil safe up to 2% in shampoo, 1% in shower gel and face wash, and 0.1% in face cream. Those strengths are for adults, and not for sprays.

Is tea tree oil safe in pregnancy, while breastfeeding, trying to conceive, or with PCOS?

NCCIH and the EMA’s herbal committee both cover pregnancy and breastfeeding, and they differ. The other stages have less.

On an ingredient list, tea tree oil may be listed as Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil. The chip on each row is what the Truva app shows for it at that stage, on its tea tree oil page.

Pregnancy

CAUTION NCCIH says tea tree oil products on the skin may be safe in pregnancy. The EMA’s herbal committee says use in pregnancy is not recommended, for tea tree oil sold as a herbal medicine, on skin or in the mouth. See the app’s pregnancy ingredient list.

Breastfeeding

SAFE NCCIH says skin products may be safe while breastfeeding. The EMA’s herbal committee says use while breastfeeding is not recommended. The SCCS reports a French food agency advising against a tea tree oil food supplement, taken by mouth, if you are breastfeeding. See the breastfeeding ingredient list.

Postpartum, not breastfeeding

SAFE No body we found has published a rule on tea tree oil postpartum if you are not breastfeeding. NCCIH’s advice for everyone is that the oil should not be swallowed.

Trying to conceive

SAFE Nothing we found covers tea tree oil while trying to conceive. HSE reports a proposed EU label saying the oil may damage fertility, a label for the chemical, not advice for people. The app’s chip here is its own call about the weeks before a pregnancy is known. See the trying to conceive list.

PCOS

SAFE Nothing we found covers tea tree oil for PCOS. NIEHS, a US government institute, lists chemicals in tea tree oil as potential endocrine disruptors, which may affect hormones. Our PCOS skincare guide reads that page, and the PCOS list is in the app.

Not pregnant or breastfeeding

SAFE NCCIH says most people can use skin products with tea tree oil without problems, though some get redness or irritation. The SCCS judged its four products safe for adults only, and not in sprays.

Who should I ask about tea tree oil in pregnancy?

Ask your midwife, doctor or pharmacist, and take the product with you. That is our suggestion, not a published rule.

Tell them how you use it. MotherToBaby says more is absorbed with constant use or broken skin, or over large areas. Say too whether it is a pure oil or a product with tea tree oil in it.

If you use tea tree oil for spots, we also read what is published on salicylic acid in pregnancy, another ingredient sold for acne.

Where this came from

Every health claim on this page links to the body that published it. Nothing here comes from another blog.

Every link above was fetched and confirmed to resolve on 6 September 2026.

Truva summarises published guidance from bodies including ACOG, the FDA, the EU SCCS and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review. It has no access to your medical history and it is not a substitute for your doctor, dermatologist or midwife. This post was written by the Truva team from the sources listed above. It has not been reviewed by a clinician, and nothing in it is a diagnosis or a prescription. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or being treated for PCOS, take the ingredient list to the person looking after you.