Chamomile

What it is

Two different daisies are sold as chamomile: German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) and Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). Chamomile flowers contain roughly 1 to 2% essential oil. In German chamomile it is rich in alpha-bisabolol and matricin, which turns into deep-blue chamazulene during distillation; Roman chamomile oil is made mostly of other compounds (esters of angelic and tiglic acids) and holds far less chamazulene. These, with flavonoids such as apigenin, are the compounds behind chamomile's anti-inflammatory reputation². Bisabolol is also sold on its own, and chamomile extracts appear in many creams for sensitive skin.

What the evidence says

Evidence: limited. Small, mostly older studies suggest mild soothing and eczema benefit; there is no large modern trial.

The best-known eczema study compared a chamomile cream with 0.5% hydrocortisone and a placebo cream on opposite sides of the body in people with moderate atopic eczema. After two weeks the chamomile side did slightly better than the weak steroid and only marginally better than placebo, and an older estimate puts chamomile cream at around 60% of the strength of 0.25% hydrocortisone². Small wound-healing studies, including 14 people after tattoo removal, found faster drying and skin regrowth with chamomile². The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health calls topical chamomile possibly safe short term but endorses it for no skin condition¹.

In practice, chamomile and bisabolol are reasonable calming ingredients for mildly irritated or dry skin, not a substitute for prescribed eczema treatment, and for anyone with a daisy-family allergy they can make things worse.

How people use it

• In a fragrance-free cream or serum: look for bisabolol or chamomile extract high on the list, used once or twice daily on irritated areas.
• As a cool compress: strong, cooled chamomile tea on a clean cloth for a few minutes on itchy or sunburnt skin, if you have no daisy allergy.

Cautions

• Chamomile belongs to the daisy (Compositae) family. If you react to ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds or daisies, you are more likely to react to chamomile, and reactions range from contact dermatitis to, rarely, anaphylaxis^{1, 3}.
• Keep it away from the eyes. Chamomile tea eyewashes have caused allergic conjunctivitis and swollen eyelids in hay-fever sufferers^{1, 4}, and eyelid dermatitis is a classic pattern of daisy-family allergy³.
• Contact dermatitis from chamomile ointments and cosmetics is well documented^{3, 5}. Patch test twice a day for seven to ten days before wider use.
• Little is known about safety in pregnancy or breastfeeding, and chamomile taken by mouth can interact with warfarin and some other medicines¹.
• Our rosacea and sensitive skin guide and eczema guide show how to build a routine that does not depend on one soothing plant.