[5 ml]
This is how Wormwood (African Wormwood, Artemisia Afra), described by its producer – Like Mountains: African Wormwood is one of the most popular medical plants in Africa. Harvested between March and May, when the flowers are in bloom.
The essential oil has cleansing and soothing properties. When inhaled, it soothes a stuffy nose and coughs. It has antibacterial and antiseptic properties. Can be used to wash out minor wounds and cuts. When sprayed in the air, it soothes headaches. When added to the bath, it soothes rheumatic and menstrual pains. Used in a warm compress, it soothes skin irritations.
The plant is indigenous to South Africa.
According to the South African National Biodiversity Institute – Artemisia Afra is one of the oldest and best known medicinal plants and is still used today in South Africa. African Wormwood is used for coughs, colds, fever, loss of appetite as well as for headaches, earaches and malaria. One popular practice is to insert a fresh leaf into your nostril to unblock a stuffy nose.
For external use only, do not use undiluted on the skin!
NOTE: the information below is an example because: we do not know the exact composition of this essential oil and because each person may react differently to a given substance. Therefore, according to the literature, it is always recommended to test whether a given substance is irritating to our skin.
According to Tisserand and Young, the maximum concentration when applied to the skin is 0.8%.
Aroma: herbal, medical, fresh, delicately floral, coniferous – forest (which makes it seem festive, frosty), piercing, sawmill – like a cut tree.
sources:
1. Tisserand, Young (2014), Essential Oil Safety. A Guide for Health Care Proffesionals, Churchill Livingstone Elsevier.
2. http://pza.sanbi.org/artemisia-afra access: October 16, 2021