Chamomile flowers are white and yellow. The gel in your Azulene Soother jar is deep blue. The change between the two is chemistry, and it is the reason the line has its name.
The short version
Chamomile contains a compound called matricin. When chamomile is distilled at a high temperature, matricin changes into a blue compound. That blue compound is an azulene.
The azulene found in the Dr.SANTE products is guaiazulene. You will see it on the ingredient list as “Guaiazulene”.
It takes a lot of flowers
SANTE’s brand guide gives a number that is easy to picture: about 1 g of azulene from 100 kg of chamomile. That is a small amount from a very large pile of flowers, which is one reason azulene is a feature of the line and not a background ingredient.
Why the colour can change
The blue in the products is natural, not a dye. Natural pigments can shift with temperature and time. If a jar left in a warm car looks slightly different, that is part of the nature of the ingredient, not necessarily a fault. If you are unsure, contact your stockist.
What the blue is for
On its own, the blue colour is a sign: it tells you the azulene is in the formula. What SANTE says the line is for is skin that feels dry, hot or easily upset. The products are cosmetic. They are made to help skin feel comfortable, calm and hydrated, and they are not made to address skin conditions.
About concentration
You may see “ppm” on product pages and in other brands’ marketing. It means parts per million, a way of describing how little of something is in a formula. 10,000 ppm is 1%. A very small amount of azulene is enough to make a formula visibly blue, so a percentage by itself does not tell you much about how a product feels.
SANTE’s guide explains that azulene concentration should be stated as the actual content of the pure compound, not the amount of a raw-material blend. We will publish SANTE’s confirmed figure on this site once it has been checked.
Who should be careful
Chamomile is in the daisy family, which also includes chrysanthemums, mugwort and ragweed. If you are allergic to any of these, ask your doctor or pharmacist before using chamomile or azulene products.
Where to see it
The line includes a cream, an ampoule, a gel, a lotion and a toner, among others. The Azulene and chamomile page lists them all.
A note on the word “soothing”
You will see “soothing” a lot in Korean skin care. In this Journal we use it in a cosmetic sense: it describes how a product helps skin feel. It does not describe an effect on health.
