With more and more skincare products coming on to the market purported to contain a plethora of free-radical busting extracts, it can be difficult to come across an ingredient that truly stands out from the crowd. Discover how Artemisia Umbelliformis, a lesser known botanical powerhouse often neglected and passed over in today’s saturated antioxidant world, could be just what your skin is looking for.

If you’ve been following the brand for a while, you’ll know that my take on modern skincare is one where the products are safe and effective. Where ‘effective’ is self-explanatory, safety, in my opinion, comes from decades or even centuries of use and study. When it comes to selecting ingredients for my formulas, I look at their heritage and history as well as their skin-benefits. Artemisia Umbelliformis, also known as white genepi, is an ingredient found in many of our formulas and is no exception to this rule.

History and heritage:

Studied since ancient times and viewed as an extremely multitasking medicinal plant, traditionally artemisia has been used to ‘cure all’ around the world. Plato is even said to have given the plant its name “Artemisia”, taking his cue from the word “artemes”, which means safe and pure, and “Artemis”, the goddess of hunting and the moon (also known as the goddess of fertility) in Greek mythology. What’s more, it’s also known as the “Queen of Herbs” in some circles.

Skin benefits:

Although there are many varieties of artemisia plant with a whole host of medicinal benefits, Artemisia Umbelliformis, which hails from alpine climes, really does take the skincare crown in my opinion. Rich in not only essential oils, chlorogenic acid and tannins, but also in flavonoids, recent in-vitro studies have proven that this botanical extract provides significant protective anti-oxidative action.

To put things into perspective, let’s just mention vitamin C for a moment. Vitamin C is viewed as the industry standard when it comes to antioxidant ability and all other ingredients are tested against it. However, just 1ml of Artemisia Umbelliformis has the equivalent free-radical busting power of 8 micrograms of vitamin C! Furthermore, Artemisia Umbelliformis is a lot more stable as a molecule than vitamin C, meaning its ultra-antioxidant properties can be made available to the skin using the extract’s purest form. This alone makes Artemisia Umbelliformis a hero ingredient to protect skin against free radicals and repair any skin damage caused.

Another major point in its favour is its bio-compatibility. Extensive testing has shown it’s well tolerated by any skin type, meaning it’s a great ally for sensitive skin. Further research has also revealed potent skin rejuvenating abilities and a promising positive effect on young skin with hormonal imbalances too.