HealthWatchlist verdict: Chamomile essential oil is not an established eczema treatment. A small older cream study and animal experiments are often cited, but they tested different preparations and provide limited support. Chamomile can also cause allergy.
Start with what was actually applied
Chamomile tea, a water-based extract, a cream containing extract and distilled essential oil are different preparations. A positive result for one does not establish that adding another to an eczema moisturiser will help.
NCCIH distinguishes German and Roman chamomile and concludes that reliable clinical evidence remains insufficient for many claimed uses. This review concentrates on the German-chamomile preparations most often cited in eczema discussions.
The Kamillosan cream study
A 2000 randomised study compared chamomile-extract cream with hydrocortisone and its cream base. Treatment lasted two weeks, using a partially blinded comparison of opposite sides of the body.
The abstract describes a small advantage over 0.5% hydrocortisone and only a marginal difference from the vehicle cream. The latter is important: a moisturising cream base can itself help eczema symptoms.
This is a much narrower result than “chamomile beats steroids”. It concerns one formulation, a short study and a weak difference from its own base. It does not establish the benefit of distilled chamomile oil or justify stopping prescribed treatment.
The abstract also makes a favourable allergy claim for the particular cultivar. That cannot establish that all chamomile preparations are non-allergenic, especially given other clinical allergy evidence.
What the wider review concluded
A systematic review of topical herbal medicines for atopic eczema found insufficient evidence for firm conclusions. Only two positive studies were judged at low risk of bias across all assessed domains; those tested other plants.
The review identified small studies, inconsistent methods and different preparations. Counting every herbal study as support for chamomile would hide precisely the uncertainty that the review was trying to examine.
Its search ended in 2014, so it cannot settle what later research adds. The more recent experimental work below is relevant, but it does not supply the missing robust human trial of ordinary chamomile essential oil.
Promising formulations in animals
A rat study tested chamomile oil and specially engineered nanoemulgels in induced dermatitis. The formulations improved laboratory and tissue outcomes. A manufactured delivery system with several ingredients is not a home mixture.
A separate mouse experiment used an aqueous chamomile extract with an emollient. That study involved a different preparation again. Neither experiment measured long-term flare control, sleep or quality of life in people with eczema.
Animal research can justify further development. It cannot determine a safe concentration for a baby’s inflamed skin or demonstrate that a supermarket oil is a substitute for an established treatment.
| Finding | What remains unproven |
|---|---|
| Short-term extract-cream improvement | A clinically important advantage for bottled essential oil. |
| Changes in animal dermatitis | Human benefit and safety on eczema-prone skin. |
| A cream feels soothing | Whether chamomile adds anything beyond its base. |
| A botanical is described as gentle | That a particular person will not develop an allergic reaction. |
Allergy evidence needs balance too
Patch-testing research identified a possible chamomile sensitiser in selected allergic patients. This supports taking reactions seriously, but such a selected sample cannot tell us the allergy rate in the general population.
A controlled oral-challenge study did not find evidence of systemic allergic dermatitis from chamomile tea capsules. That negative result should also be reported. It does not prove that applying chamomile preparations to the skin is risk-free.
DermNet explains that essential oils can cause allergic contact dermatitis. Stop a product that aggravates the skin and seek advice. A home spot test cannot guarantee that repeated use will remain tolerable.
Protect the skin barrier and recognise infection
NHS eczema care centres on appropriate emollients and prescribed treatments when needed. Avoid known irritants, and seek help when treatment is not controlling symptoms. Do not add fragrance to a prescribed or well-tolerated product simply because it is plant-derived.
Urgent GP advice or NHS 111 is appropriate for eczema that becomes painful, hot, swollen, blistered, crusty or weeping, suddenly spreads, or comes with fever or feeling unwell. These changes can indicate infection.
For children, discuss proposed botanical products with a clinician or pharmacist. Evidence from a cream trial in a different population does not establish suitability for a child’s face or broken skin.
Evidence score and conclusion
John’s Evidence Score: 1/10 for chamomile essential oil treating atopic eczema. Indirect extract and animal findings do not establish a dependable clinical benefit for the oil. Allergy risk further limits the case for experimenting on inflamed skin.
The unanswered question is whether a defined preparation adds useful benefit to good eczema care. Current evidence does not justify replacing that care with bottled chamomile oil.
How this review was researched
Research checked on 13 September 2026. We searched PubMed for the named oils or preparations and the condition, followed relevant review references, and checked the official guidance linked below. This is an editorial review, not an exhaustive systematic review. We distinguish human treatment outcomes from laboratory findings, and identify where a study tested a mixture or a different preparation.
Related reading
References
- Proof of efficacy of Kamillosan(R) cream in atopic eczema.
- Topical herbal medicines for atopic eczema: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
- Evaluation of chamomile oil and nanoemulgels as a promising treatment option for atopic dermatitis induced in rats.
- [Matricaria chamomilla (aqueous extract) improves atopic dermatitis-like lesions in a murine model].
- The coumarin herniarin as a sensitizer in German chamomile [Chamomilla recutita (L.) Rauschert, Compositae].
- Oral provocation of patients allergic to sesquiterpene lactones with German chamomile tea to demonstrate possible systemic allergic dermatitis.
- NCCIH: Chamomile
- DermNet: Allergic contact dermatitis to essential oils
- NHS: Atopic eczema