Blue Tansy for Redness: What the Blue Oil Is and What the Research Actually Shows

Blue tansy has the best branding in skincare. The oil is a deep, inky blue, the name sounds like something from a pharmacy shelf, and plenty of tallow balm pages say it reduces redness, with some claiming it blocks the same inflammatory enzyme that ibuprofen targets. ANML Essentials

So we went looking for the research. The short version: there's real chemistry behind it, a handful of lab studies, and, as far as we can tell, no published human trial of blue tansy oil on skin redness. That's less than the labels imply and more than nothing. Here's how it breaks down.

What blue tansy actually is

Blue tansy is Tanacetum annuum, a small annual in the daisy family. It started out as a wild-harvested Mediterranean plant and is now cultivated mainly in Morocco. The flowers are bright yellow. The plant isn't blue at all. healthlineWitchyLashes

The blue comes out in the still. The pigment, chamazulene, forms during steam distillation. In chamomile, it's a colorless compound called matricin that converts to chamazulene under distillation, and it's the same pigment in blue tansy. WitchyLashestllm

Chamazulene is the headline, but it's not most of the oil. Lab reports on commercial Moroccan lots show chamazulene at roughly 6 to 12 percent, alongside sabinene, pinenes, and camphor, which ran around 10 to 16 percent. One older analysis of a Moroccan sample found closer to 28 percent chamazulene. So blue tansy oil is a terpene-and-camphor oil that happens to contain a famous pigment, and no two lots are identical. aliksirscent

Two things to know if you're buying it:

It isn't common tansy. Tanacetum vulgare, the tansy that grows wild across Europe and North America, is a different plant. Its oil contains thujone, which is toxic in large amounts. Blue tansy oil contains no thujone, and common tansy oil is never blue. redzetWikipedia

Real blue tansy is expensive. A 2 oz bottle can run over $100, and there are reports of cheaper tansy oil being passed off as the blue kind. If you're formulating with it, ask your supplier for a GC/MS report that shows chamazulene and no thujone. healthlineWikipedia

What the research actually shows

Let's take the common claims one at a time.

"Chamazulene is anti-inflammatory." In the lab, yes. A 1994 study described chamazulene as an antioxidant-type inhibitor of leukotriene B4 formation, a signal the body uses to drive inflammation. A 2024 review of azulene compounds in dermatology collects the laboratory and clinical research, reports anti-inflammatory properties, and calls for more preclinical and clinical studies. The chemistry is credible. It's also a long way from a jar of balm. Wikipedianih

"It works like ibuprofen." That claim traces back to a real 2006 paper, with a catch. The compound in that study was chamazulene carboxylic acid, a breakdown product of matricin, and it inhibited the COX-2 enzyme but not COX-1. Follow-up work covered animal models and a small study in which volunteers took matricin by mouth and showed blood levels of that acid. Nobody applied chamazulene, blue tansy oil, or a balm to skin. "Works like ibuprofen on your face" is several steps past what the paper showed. sigmaaldrichuni-halle

"It calms redness on skin." This is the claim that matters most, and it has the least behind it. Much of the published work on T. annuum covers its chemistry and its effect on plant pathogens, and a 2023 paper on the plant noted that its organic extracts and their biological properties hadn't been studied yet. Writers who've looked at blue tansy for skin call the science scarce and note that clinical and real-life testing is limited, and there are no large human trials of blue tansy oil on facial skin. We haven't found a small one on redness either. Chemical Characterization and Antifungal Activity of Blue Tansy (Tanacetum annuum) Essential Oil and Crude Extracts against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. albedinis, an Agent Causing Bayoud Disease of Date Palm +2

"The cooling tingle means it's working." Not necessarily. Paula's Choice's ingredient dictionary attributes the cooling to camphor, rates blue tansy oil poorly for topical use, and reads the tingle as a sign of irritation, though it acknowledges research showing some antioxidant properties. We think that's worth hearing. Dose matters, and a balm with a small amount of oil is a different thing from a bottle of it. But "it tingles" isn't evidence of anything. paulaschoice

"The blue color cancels out redness." Some product pages say the pigment optically neutralizes redness on contact. We wouldn't build a claim on it. Chamazulene is unstable and breaks down faster in light, and in a balm the oil is a small fraction of the formula anyway. The color you see in the bottle isn't something to count on. ANML EssentialsResearchGate

Here's where that leaves it:

Blue tansy has credible chemistry and a thin evidence base. Plausible, not proven. Anyone telling you otherwise is ahead of the research.

Why it's in our balm anyway

Fair question, so here's how we think about REDNESS.

The balm's job is the same as every balm we make: give skin that looks red and feels touchy a rich, protective layer. A lot of everyday redness (windburn, dry patches, a fresh shave, one afternoon too many in the sun) is skin that's dry and stressed, and a good moisturizing base helps with that whatever else is in the jar. Blue tansy is the botanical we put on top of that base. It's the supporting cast, not the lead, and we're not going to tell you it treats anything, because the research doesn't back that up.

Like everything we scent, the essential oil goes in at a small, properly diluted amount. The reasoning is in our essential oil safety guide.

One more thing: we'd use it in the evening. The 2024 review flags breakdown under UV light, and the reactive molecules that can form, as an open safety question for azulene-type compounds on skin, so we save blue tansy for night and leave daytime to sunscreen. nih

Who should patch test, or skip it

• If you react to fragrance or essential oils, start with something plainer. Our Pure Unscented balm is tallow balm with no added scent.
• If you're allergic to chamomile, ragweed, arnica, or daisies, be careful. Blue tansy is in the same plant family, and anyone with a known Asteraceae allergy should patch test first. WitchyLashes
• If you're pregnant, nursing, or using it on young children, check with your provider first, as you would with any essential oil.
• Patch test any new balm. A small amount on your inner arm, checked after 24 to 48 hours.
• If the redness sticks around, see a dermatologist. Redness that lingers, burns, flares with flushing, or comes with bumps can be a medical issue like rosacea. A balm isn't a treatment for that.

Making your own? A note for makers

If you're formulating with blue tansy, buy from a supplier that publishes a GC/MS report, keep the oil in dark glass, and stir it in after the melt cools to about 140°F so you don't cook off the scent. Face products generally sit at 0.5 to 1% essential oil, and individual oils can have lower limits, so check the supplier's safety data for that specific oil before you scale up. Our essential oil guide covers the rules, and our DIY kit comes with everything for the balm itself.

FAQ

Is blue tansy oil toxic? Not in the way common tansy is. Blue tansy (Tanacetum annuum) contains no thujone, the compound behind common tansy's toxicity. It's still a concentrated essential oil, so dilute it, patch test it, and never swallow it. Wikipedia

Why is blue tansy oil blue? Chamazulene. It forms during steam distillation, and the flowers themselves are yellow. WitchyLashes

Can you put blue tansy oil straight on your skin? No. It's an essential oil and needs a carrier or a base, like a balm, to dilute it.

Is blue tansy a treatment for rosacea or eczema? No. Those are medical conditions, and blue tansy hasn't been shown to treat either. If you have one, a dermatologist is the right call.

Short version: Blue tansy's blue comes from chamazulene, which shows real anti-inflammatory activity in lab studies. No one has shown that a small amount of the oil in a balm changes redness in people. It's a nice botanical with plausible chemistry, and it isn't a treatment.

Want to try it?

• Blue Tansy Tallow Balm, our REDNESS balm, for skin that looks red and feels touchy.
• Pure Unscented Tallow Balm, with no added scent.
• Kukui Nut Tallow Balm, our BARRIER balm, if your redness is mostly dryness and windburn. Here's what the research says about kukui.

Sources

• Slon E, Slon B, Kowalczuk D. Azulene and its derivatives as potential compounds in the therapy of dermatological and anticancer diseases. Molecules 2024;29(9):2020. PMC
• Ramadan M, et al. Chamazulene carboxylic acid and matricin: a natural profen and its natural prodrug. J Nat Prod 2006;69(7):1041-1045. PubMed
• Safayhi H, et al. Chamazulene: an antioxidant-type inhibitor of leukotriene B4 formation. Planta Med 1994;60(5):410-413. PubMed
• Gabbanini S, et al. Photochemical and oxidative degradation of chamazulene contained in Artemisia, Matricaria and Achillea essential oils. Molecules 2024;29(11):2604. PMC
• Ettakifi H, et al. Chemical characterization and antifungal activity of blue tansy (Tanacetum annuum) essential oil and crude extracts. Antibiotics 2023;12(9):1451. PMC
• Greche H, et al. Composition of Tanacetum annuum L. oil from Morocco. J Essent Oil Res 1999;11(3):343-348.