Chamomile Oil and Headaches: Check Your Nose First

Most people who search for a headache remedy are thinking about what to put on. A better first question may be what you are smelling. For some people with migraine, fragrance is part of the trigger, and that is as true of a lovely oil as of a harsh cleaner.

Roman Chamomile Essential Oil bottle

Roman Chamomile Essential Oil

Our own Roman Chamomile Essential Oil, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.

From $32.99

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What the odor study found

A Brazilian team exposed 158 people with diagnosed primary headaches to odors in a clinic setting and watched what happened. In the 72 people with migraine, odor brought on a headache in 25 of them (34.7%). In the 86 people with other primary headache types, it brought on none. When it did happen, the headache arrived slowly, about two hours into the exposure on average (Silva-Neto et al., Cephalalgia, 2017).

It was one study at one clinic, and it did not single out chamomile. Still, the lesson is practical. A two-hour delay makes the link easy to miss, so if you live with migraine, notice what you were smelling earlier in the day before you blame something else. If a scent seems to set you off, that is a good reason to skip it, however pleasant it is to someone else.

The chamomile migraine trial, in plain terms

You may have seen a chamomile and migraine study quoted. It is real: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial of 100 patients with migraine without aura, in which people used a chamomile preparation and a placebo and scored their pain over 24 hours (Zargaran et al., Neurological Sciences, 2018).

What matters is what was in the tube. It was an oleogel, a gel made from a reformulated traditional Persian chamomile oil, standardized against chamazulene and apigenin. In traditional Persian medicine, chamomile oil means chamomile extract boiled in sesame oil, not a distilled essential oil (Zargaran et al., Medical Hypotheses, 2014). That is a different material from a bottle of Roman or German chamomile essential oil, so the trial is a result about that gel, in that population, and not about our oils.

Where our oils fit

We sell chamomile essential oil as a cosmetic and aroma product, and we do not make claims about headaches. If you enjoy the scent, Roman has a sweet, apple-like aroma and our German oil is blue and hay-like. Both are sold undiluted, and our guidance for skin is 0.5% to 2% in a carrier oil after a patch test (how to patch test). Keep it away from the eyes, children and pets, and do not take it by mouth. People with ragweed or daisy-family allergies should be cautious, as NCCIH notes they are more likely to react to chamomile (NCCIH). Our inhalation article covers scent in the air, and the safety overview covers the wider limits.

A headache that is sudden and severe, follows a head injury, comes with a stiff neck, fever, vision loss, confusion or weakness, or simply keeps coming back, is not a fragrance question. The NHS headache page lists the emergency and urgent signs in detail (NHS), and a physician is the right person to see.

For ordinary evenings when what you want is simply a pleasant smell, chamomile is a lovely one, and trusting your own nose is as good a rule as any.

Roman Chamomile Essential Oil bottle

Roman Chamomile Essential Oil

Roman Chamomile Essential Oil from our own shop, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.

From $32.99

Shop Now →

Sources & Further Reading