Mugwort Skincare: DIY Toner & After-Shower Rinse for Glowing, Fragrant Skin

October 26, 2024 Alina Fabozzi

So you went foraging and came back with an armful of fragrant, emerald-green mugwort. What should you make with it? How is mugwort actually used in skincare? In my opinion, mugwort is always slept on in the West, but it’s been a staple in Eastern (specifically, Korean) skincare for decades. I love easily accessible, DIY-versions of expensive items (including esoteric folkcraft) and I’m determined to bring more of them to you.

In this blog post, I’ll walk you through a simple mugwort toner (preserved) and post-shower rinse (preservative-free) that you can make at home! To learn about the unique properties of Artemisia and how to identify, gather, and store it, read the previous blog post here.

Obviously, don’t gather or use mugwort if you’re allergic to it. I have alternative herbs and botanicals listed at the end of the post. Please do a patch test if you’re unsure.

More importantly, this is an all-gender skincare routine! Anyone can make this mugwort hair and body rinse (plus toner!) because the scent is flattering on all skin-havers.

Preservative-free After-Shower Mugwort Hair & Body Rinse

This is my favorite quick and easy method to incorporate mugwort into my skincare routine. It’s cheap and requires minimum ingredients, but you can make it as complex as you want! And this method is compatible with so many other herbs (a list of which can be found at the end of this post). Post-shower rinses are like a whole-body toner: softening, perfuming, and enhancing your skin from top to bottom. I rinse my hair, too, because it’s so nice for scalp health.

The best part is that a post-shower mugwort rinse is made fresh right before you hop in the bath and used immediately after. No need to add a preservative. Here’s how to make it.

You will need:

1 cup dried or 3 cups fresh mugwort (leaves and flowers, discard stems)
Water (tap is fine)
Colander or funnel
Cheesecloth or coffee filters
Large plastic pitcher

Here’s how I do it:

1. Steep & Strain Mugwort

Whether to use dry or fresh mugwort depends wholly on the season. If it’s anytime other than winter, fresh mugwort is the way to go, the scent and phenols are at their peak. But if I’ve squirreled away some dried stuff in a glass jar, a warm mugwort rinse in winter leaves my skin tingling and warm long after the shower.

Whichever you choose: pack 1 cup of dried, crumbled mugwort or 3 cups of fresh mugwort into a large pot and cover with 5-6 cups of water. Bring water to boiling, cover with lid, and take off heat. Steep the mugwort decoction for 10 minutes and strain into your heatproof plastic jug. I use a large funnel and two layers of coffee filters and strain directly into a large iced tea pitcher (32oz to 64oz).

Why plastic? Because you will be using this in the bath/shower and plastic is safer than glass in a wet, slippery place. Use your head!

2. Take A Shower or Bath (at night)

Bathtime, yay! Bring the jug o’ mugwort water and set it on the floor of the shower. It will stay warm until Step 3 (very important!). I do my usual routine. It doesn’t matter if you’re shampooing or not, because a mugwort rinse is incredibly mild and will not interfere with your skincare or haircare routine.

3. Pour It All Over Yourself!

Temperature test the mugwort decoction so it’s not too hot. Turn off the shower and pour the mugwort tea over your head, allowing it to drip all the way down. Splash it around wherever necessary. Have someone help you if you have limited mobility.

4. Do Not Rinse Off!

Pat dry with a towel but don’t rub. It gives me a warm, spiced wine sensation on the skin and I love the old-fashioned botanical scent (kind of like Tiger Balm). That’s the camphor and phenols, man.

5. Enjoy an Extra Restful Night

Mugwort is an herb associated with dreams, so I make this rinse for my nighttime after-work shower. It helps soften my skin and refreshes it after shampooing and washing off makeup. It’s mild enough for everyday use, but I make it once a week or so. I’m not made of mugwort.

I hope you’ll try this mugwort skincare method. When I was little, I had a lot of skin problems and my mother would make me nettle or chamomile rinses to treat my skin. I still make these rinses for myself and I believe in the quantitative effect. You won’t see a massive difference immediately, but it does have a steady effect when used regularly. I encourage you to experiment with other herbs and botanicals, each having their own special effect. Mix and match, it’s as easy as making tea!

Other After-Shower Herbs & Botanicals Ideas

Nettle - smells amazing, healing on the skin
Chamomile - smells amazing, healing and softening
Rosemary - smells piney, adds lots of shine to hair
Calendula - healing, softening, excellent for inflammation, sunburn, allergies, etc.
Mint - smells amazing, refreshing, adds shine to hair
Lavender - smells amazing, relaxing, adds shine to hair

Mugwort + Witch Hazel Toner (Preserved)

This formula will yield 100g of mugwort toner. Please measure everything using weight (grams), not volume (teaspoons). Measuring by weight is the best way to ensure accuracy since many of these ingredients have different masses. Use an accurate scale; a cheap gram scale from Amazon like this is suitable.

This formula is preserved with Germall+. This is not optional. A preservative ensures that your hard work won’t be ruined by mold, bacteria, yeast, or fungus. It’s 0.5% of the formula (only 0.5g) so it’s worth using.

You must use distilled water. Tap, filtered, and bottled water have impurities that will stress your preservative. Distilled water is cheap, please use it!

How to Formulate My Mugwort + Witch Hazel Toner at Home

Always formulate in a clean, well-ventilated, well-lit environment. Your kitchen counter is perfectly suitable if you wipe down your surfaces before and after with an appropriate cleanser. I use a spray cleaner and paper towels and follow up with alcohol wipes. Use washed, dried, and dust-free equipment. Wear disposable gloves and an apron to protect your clothes.

This is a cold process formula, no need to heat. Read the entire formula first!

Equipment You Will Need

.01 gram precision scale
200 gram beaker
Stirring rod or spoon
100g toner bottle with cap
Plastic pipettes
Metal scoops or spoons

Ingredients You Will Need

Mugwort Toner Formula (100 gram batch)

60.5g distilled water
20g mugwort extract
15g witch hazel
2g vegetable glycerin
2g sodium lactate
0.5g germall+

Mugwort Toner Directions

Place 200g beaker on precision scale and tare/zero out the weight.
Starting with the distilled water, carefully add each ingredient in order by descending weight. Do not tare/zero out the scale between each ingredient.
Use stirring rod to ensure sodium lactate crystals are fully dissolved.
Pour toner into bottle of your choice, cap, and give a final shake.
Use your toner whenever you want! No need to refrigerate, it’s fully preserved and safe to keep on the bathroom vanity.

Use the toner with a cotton round or ball after cleansing skin to remove impurities and lightly tone. The sodium lactate and glycerin perform synergistically to add hydration so you’re ready for your serum and cream. I love herbal toners, they’re so folksy but effective. Korean skincare brands charge $20 or more for a 3.5oz (100g) bottle of mugwort toner!

I use this toner because I have very sensitive skin, and making my own mugwort (and other botanical) toner allows me to eliminate anything that triggers inflammation on my face.

Other Botanical Toner Ideas

Feel free to swap some or all of the distilled water for mugwort extract or a calming hydrosol like chamomile. Increase the amount of glycerin to 5g for extra hydration but remember to reduce the distilled water by the amount of aloe vera juice added to maintain a total weight of 100g.

Swap distilled water for chamomile hydrosol
Swap all water for mugwort extract
Swap 15 grams from distilled water and add 15g aloe vera juice
Swap distilled water for rose hydrosol

Concluding Our Mugwort Adventure (for now)

And there you have it! Two simple formulas to incorporate mugwort into your skincare routine. Even though it’s considered a weed, mugwort has been used for centuries as a dream-inducing tea and skincare supporting actor. I love the old-fashioned scent, like a church in the deep forest, and how it makes my skin feel warm.

If you want to add a mugwort cream to your repertoire, I have a lovely, pudding-thick mugwort face cream made with organic, wildcrafted mugwort straight from my garden. I make my own mugwort extract and mugwort oil, adding lots of healing and soothing benefits into a cream! It has a lovely matte texture, and is suitable for day or night.

I hope you give it a try and forage some mugwort for yourself. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at ag.fabozzi@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you!

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