Artemisia Annua Extract

Irritancy: unknownComedogenicity: unknownMasking

The details

Artemisia Annua Extract comes from sweet wormwood or the annual mugwort. This plant is best known historically as the source of the anti-malarial drug, artemisinin. In skincare, this ingredient has skin soothing and conditioning properties that make it a great choice for sensitive, reactive, or acne-prone skin. The extract is rich in polyphenols, flavonoids, and sesquiterpenes that do most of the work in a formula. A 2020 human clinical trial found that cosmetics containing Artemisia Annua Extract increased stratum corneum hydration and reduced transepidermal water loss while also calming redness and inflammation over four weeks of use. Lab and animal studies build on this as well, showing the extract reduces inflammatory signals, boosts a protein important for barrier health (filaggrin), and has anti-itch/antibacterial activity (including against C.acnes, the bacteria linked to breakouts). There's also a well-documented artemisinin-free version called Artemisia Naphta oil which performed well at 1% in a small human trial for sensitive and acne-prone skin. On concentrations, published research clusters around 1% for finished products. The ingredient is generally well-tolerated, but people with Asteraceae or ragweed allergies may want to patch test first.