Camomile has long been used in traditional medicine for various ailments such as gastrointestinal disorders, insomnia and menstrual pain.
Sipping camomile herbal tea is one way to harness its health benefits, which are particularly rendered by terpenoids and flavonoids found in its dried flowers.
Cosmetics brands also offer soothing camomile "infusions" through formulations developed for sensitive skin prone to redness.
Mamonde Blue Chamomile Soothing Repair Cream.
The little white flower has been Yves Rocher's emblematic bloom since the 1960s, when it began using camomile extract as a skincare ingredient. The French company actually grows Chamomilla recutita, commonly known as German camomile, at its organic fields in La Gacilly, in Brittany.
A botanical concentrate from this variety is the key ingredient in Sensitive Camomille moisturisers. The Corrective Green Cream is applied in the morning, with the green colour neutralising the redness. The night creams come in a light texture and a rich balm, respectively for combination to oily and dry skin.
Water obtained from the flower is also an ingredient in the micellar cleanser for removing make-up and impurities.
Aesop Chamomile Concentrate Anti-Blemish Masque and Blue Chamomile Facial Hydrating Masque.
The Body Shop's cleansing collection for sensitive skin features a silky oil and a rich butter containing community trade camomile extract from Norfolk, England. From the camomile fields, flowers are cut fresh and distilled for a naturally blue-green essential oil bottled in the biphase Camomile Waterproof Eye & Lip Make-up Remover, with each bottle containing the essence of 125 flowers.
Aesop Chamomile Concentrate Anti-Blemish Masque and Blue Chamomile Facial Hydrating Masque.
The distillation and extraction of camomile gives the blue-coloured azulean, which is a primary component of the essential oil.
Neutralising redness with The Corrective Green Cream. Photo courtesy of Yves Rocher
South Korean brand Mamonde combines skin-calming azulene capsule technology with five hyaluronic acids in Blue Chamomile Soothing Repair Cream for redness relief and hydration.
Oil from the flower along with moisturising ingredients in Aesop Blue Chamomile Facial Hydrating Masque make for an intensive treatment, catering to normal, dry and dehydrated skin.
The Body Shop Camomile Waterproof Eye & Lip Make-up Remover, Sumptuous Cleansing Butter and Silky Cleansing Oil.
The Australian brand also addresses troubled skin through the purifying clay-based Chamomile Concentrate Anti-Blemish Masque with a blend of camomile bud, tea tree leaf and evening primrose extracts.
