I have been using tea tree oil for a few years now for its anti-bacterial properties and have never had a problem with it so far.

UNTIL

I dabbed a bit over a cut on my upper thigh, and covered with gauze overnight. I awoke to see my skin had turned a dark purple/blackish colour in a perfectly square shape of the piece of gauze I had on, which absorbed the tea tree oil and spread it. A few days later, the skin peeled off, and now I am left with a weeping, open abrasion the size of a dollar...I have discontinued use, although previously diluted tea tree oil has always worked for me, until it basically melted this patch of skin out of the blue.

Is there a way to speed the healing/avoid scarring in open wounds of this nature? Has anyone experienced similar experiences with tea tree oil or chemical burns?

I don't use tea tree oil very often, but I have in the past without any problems. If it were me, after rinsing it thoroughly, I'd apply either natural vitamin E, you can squeeze it out of a softgel....or extra virgin coconut oil, both of these should soothe and help heal.

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"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~

I would apply a compress of comfrey and yarrow leaves over night. Make a tea, steep 3 minutes, drink it and apply the tea leaves in a compress secured with gauze.

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I would suspect the gauze having chemicals that reacted to the oil. Have you used the gauze in the past with the oil without any problems?

I have used that sort of gauze before, but I am thinking that perhaps the area of skin I applied it to may be more sensitive? I always used the same dilution and was my go-to for minor injuries, etc. Could different areas react so differently as to cause THAT extent of damage, yet work fine on other places?

I think some areas of our body are definitely more sensitive. If it is high up on the thigh, that skin may also be warmer temperature wise, just like under the arm, etc. That may intensify the tea tree.

The wound so far has not been infected, yet it is far from healed. Is it normal for open wounds to have a 'whitish' background to them where the skin was burned away, during a healthy healing process?

Any tips on where to go from here to avoid scarring form this chemical burn?

tea tree oil is strong, by covering it with gauge, you effectively made it a high concentration for a long time.