How to use mugwort for skin

How should you start using mugwort?

1. 1Identify the plant and product. Common mugwort is Artemisia vulgaris, but Artemisia is a wider group of plants. Do not assume a finding about another species applies to your product.
2. 2Check whether mugwort is suitable before applying it. Avoid it during pregnancy and if you have a diagnosed allergy to the Asteraceae plant family. Discuss use with your healthcare provider if you take medicine or are breastfeeding.
3. 3Follow the specific cosmetic's application instructions. Do not invent a daily dose, mask duration or morning and evening schedule from the ingredient name.

How often should you use it, and what can you pair it with?

There is no established universal frequency or best time of day for mugwort skincare. The product's directions should determine those choices. There is also no established mugwort pairing schedule with exfoliating acids, retinoids or prescription skin treatments. If you use medicine, ask your healthcare provider before adding an herbal product rather than assuming a botanical ingredient is automatically compatible.1

What is mugwort good for?

Mugwort has a long history in traditional medicine, but its usefulness for health conditions remains uncertain. For skin, a lotion containing mugwort and menthol relieved itching associated with hypertrophic scars, meaning raised scars that can develop after burns. Mugwort's individual contribution is unknown, so do not choose it as a scar treatment on that basis. Discuss care for a troublesome scar with your healthcare provider.1

What does mugwort do for skin?

Artemisia vulgaris extracts have shown antioxidant activity in research. Other Artemisia species also have antioxidant, antibacterial or antifungal activity, which explains interest in using these plants in cosmetics. These are potential cosmetic applications, not a reason to expect a mugwort product to clear acne or reduce wrinkles. In particular, activity against bacteria associated with acne has been reported for Artemisia abrotanum and Artemisia absinthium, not a blanket category called mugwort.2

There is no established number of days or weeks in which mugwort should improve your skin. Choose it as an optional cosmetic ingredient, not as a treatment with a promised result or deadline.1

Who should be careful with mugwort?

Mugwort belongs to the Asteraceae family, also called Compositae, alongside plants such as ragweed, chamomile, arnica and chrysanthemums. This family can cause contact dermatitis, an allergic skin rash, through direct plant contact, pollen or skincare containing plant extracts. Someone allergic to one plant extract can also react to related extracts. If you have a diagnosed Compositae contact allergy, avoid cosmetics containing plants from this family. Sensitive skin alone does not identify that allergy, and mugwort is not an established safe choice for sensitive skin.5

Stop using a suspected product if you develop a rash, redness, dryness, scaling, swelling or blisters. Seek medical assessment for a significant, spreading or persistent reaction. A clinician can investigate contact allergy with patch tests; these are diagnostic tests, not simply trying a cosmetic on a small area. Avoid further exposure to the responsible plant extract once an allergy is identified.5

Do not use mugwort during pregnancy. Its safety while breastfeeding is poorly understood, so discuss it with your healthcare provider before use. Drinking mugwort is not an established route to better skin either: oral safety and health benefits remain uncertain.1

Is mugwort an herb?

Yes. Common mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris, is an herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae family. Artemisia is the genus, meaning the broader botanical group, rather than the name of one interchangeable ingredient. Common mugwort's chemical composition varies with where the plant grows. Extracts, essential oils and finished cosmetics are therefore not interchangeable preparations.34

Common mugwort was called the "mother of herbs" in the Middle Ages, so the ingredient arrived with branding before it arrived in a serum. That history is a reason to understand the plant, not a reason to give every mugwort cosmetic the same job.3