"however" is also perfectly OK at the beginning of a sentence, followed by a comma.

I wouldn't put two commas around a "however" in the middle of a sentence.  I would leave out the second comma.  You can end up with two many commas through slavishly following punctuation rules, and this make a sentence look more complex than it needs to.

When in doubt, think about whether or not the comma comes at the same time as a natural pause for breath.

I say yes. It's very appropriate.