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Calendula. A humble flower, with many uses.
Also known as the pot marigold, calendula is highly favored for its skin healing properties.It is also excellent for sensitive skin, making it perfect for using with babies and children.
Making a salve allows us to harness the calming and anti-inflammatory powers of this wonderful plant.
The best part, it’s easy! I’m not kidding. It really is.
Keeping Calendula Salve on hand will allow you to treat the following ailments:
- Rashes (including diaper rash)
- Chapped lips
- Cuts and scrapes
- Dry skin
- Minor burns
In my opinion, the variety of conditions this little salve treats, makes it a product everyone who is able, should have on hand.
How to Make Calendula Salve
Gather the following ingredients and supplies:
1/4 cup dried calendula petals
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup grated beeswax or beeswax pastilles
10 drops lavender essential oil (or more if desired, up to 40 drops)
Cheesecloth
Heavy pot
Spoon
Measuring cup
Rubber band
Crockpot
The following method is the “quick” version. (I’ll share the longer version at the end of the post.)
Step One: Put olive oil and calendula petals in a small crockpot and heat on low for approximately three hours.
Step Two: Lay cheesecloth over the top of a glass measuring cup and secure with a rubber band. Slowly pour the olive oil through the cheesecloth so the petals are caught on top and the oil goes through into the measuring cup. (I really do mean go slowly. If you proceed too quickly, the oil will run off the sides! Trust me on this one.)
Step Three: Pour strained oil into a heavy saucepan and turn the heat on low. Add the beeswax and stir occasionally until melted. Add the essential oil and stir to distribute.
Note on essential oil: Some recipes suggest using 40 drops of lavender oil while others only call for 10. I made this version with 10 because it is intended for use with my baby. I will make another batch with 40 drops to use with the rest of the family.
Step Four: Pour into a clean container, leaving uncovered until completely cooled.
Step Five: Cap and label. This salve should last for a year.
To use: Rub a little Calendula Salve on any cuts, scraps, rashes, or dry skin a few times a day.
For diaper rash, use after every diaper change.
This recipe was inspired by the instructions of my friend Michele, and a tutorial found at Mountain Rose Herbs. I decided to use the crockpot instead of the stove top because I am not reliable enough to keep an eye on a pot for two hours (as per Michele’s instructions.) and I didn’t have time to wait for the herbs to step for a week as suggested in the tutorial from Mountain Rose Herbs.
(By the way, Michele has many wonderful recipes for homemade herbal remedies in her lovely e-book: Herbal Nurturing. I highly recommend it.)
The longer version
Place dried calendula petals in a clean jar and pour the olive oil over the top. Close lid tightly and shake to blend. Allow to sit for one to two weeks until the oil turns a golden color.
Strain and follow the above directions.
This longer version is really preferable to the quick version since it uses less heat which will keep more of the natural healing properties of the Calendula flower in tact. If you have time, I’d recommend this version whenever possible.
Have you used Calendula Salve before? If not, would you?
Links to Mountain Rose Herbs are affiliate links. I am a loyal Mountain Rose Herbs customer and have been for many years. I recommend them to you because I use and enjoy their products myself.
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Good morning! Thank you for this recipe. I’m anxious to try it but am not sure where to find the calendula flowers. The Mountain Rose Herb website says they are out of stock. Do you know of other trusted retailers who would carry it?
Thank you!
You might try your local health food store. Sometimes they carry things like this.
I guess they must be popular because I just look up calendula flowers on iherb.com and they are out of stock too!
They do sell dried calendula at More Than Alive They are an awesome company. I’ve purchased loose tea and a big water filter through them. I’m glad you asked because I’d been meaning to mention them but forgot!
I buy the calendula flowers as well as other bulk herbs and teas from an online store called The Bulk Herb store. They have great products, herbs, teas etc… Here is the link to their site: http://www.bulkherbstore.com/
Thanks! Bulk Herb Store is great. I’ve only ordered from them a few time, but was happy on each occasion!
I know this was a long time ago, but I order most of my herbs from http://www.morethanalive.com and it’s the same amount of shipping for any size order and as of right now, free shipping on orders over $100. This might help some others who don’t know where to order from….they don’t have beeswax, but I get mine off of ebay or from a local bee keeper…
Wow, this looks really great and an easy consistency to spread (almost like Vaseline). I’ll definitely have to try this when I get my hands on some calendula petals!
It does have a really nice consistency. A lot like vaseline. Very soft.
I took a medicine making class at community college a few years back and the instructor owned a company called Earth Remedies – we made a salve similar to this and it was wonderful! The only thing is that if you use it for dry skin you should expect it to take a long time to soak in (and then it works way better than any lotion)because there’s no alcohol in it. A lot of my less crunchy friends and family didn’t like it because of that.
Thanks for posting this recipe – it looks easier than the one I tried at home (which did get overheated and was pretty ineffective compared to the one we made in class).
Though I’ve never made it, we used Calendula salve with both boys for diaper protection. Loved it because it’s all natural and because it washes out of cloth diapers easily.
So cool! I may have to make my own.
Hey,
Can I make the calendula salve using fresh calendula petals or flowers? Do you have a recipe for that?
Thank You,
Patricia
Michele’s recipe use fresh petals. You could also use fresh flowers in the quick version.
You could also use fresh flowers in the longer version (although I have not tried it this way yet). You will need about 3 cups of calendula flowers. Harvest them after the dew dries. You want them to be moisture-free. Pick off the petals and place in jar, then pour in 1 cup of oil, poke gently with a stick to remove air pockets. Cover with lid and follow the directions above.
If using the petals from 3 cups of flowers and adding 1 cup of oil, you will need to increase the beeswax to 1/4 cup and the lavender essential oil to at least 20 drops (may use more if desired).
I hope that all makes sense!
Thanks for this Stacy. I’ll definitely making some for my kiddos’ bug bites. Since I’m in hot AZ, I think the long version should be quicker than usual at 110 outside. I can’t wait to try this.
It might be quicker in that heat! I hope you like it. Let me know!
Does it have to be Lavender? Perhaps due to how it blends with the Calendula scent?
Or, can I use any scent I want? Thanks!
I haven’t tried any other scent, but I expect you could. Lavender does help preserve the salve. I know other oils will do the same. I’ll have to look them up, since they are not coming to mind at the moment!
I forgot to add that without the lavender, the salve doesn’t have a very strong smell, so I expect most any scent you like would work fine.
I am very interested in this salve. Is the lavender essential oil crucial for this recipe? I do not have lavender but I have some others. Could any essential oil be used or would it clash with the calendula?
Appreciate your help.
Thanks
Chris
This looks yummy! I just wanted to let you know, I looked up the lavender oil you list to see what kind you use. Have you ever tried the DoTerra oils? They are awesome!!!! 100% Therapeutic Grade. I use them a lot and love them. Anyway, just wanted to let you know because the lavender you list is quite a bit more expensive than DoTerra’s. You can get a 15 oz. bottle for $28 with DoTerra whereas the Mountain Rose Herbs comes up $144 for a 16 oz. Just an FYI
You can find the DoTerra oil here: https://www.iact1.com/doterra/ShoppingCart/Shop.cfm?country=USA&categoryid=78&LNG=en_dot&Theme=DefaultTheme&ReturnURL=http://www.doterra.myvoffice.com/melissatriplett&OwnerID=167593
I was looking at soaps somewhere online, and I saw a calendula/chamomile combination. Have you ever heard of adding chamomile flowers to the oil as well? It just sounds so nice, but I don’t know if there is some reason you wouldn’t want to do that. Either way, it’d be next time, as my petals are soaking as we speak! I got them from Frontier, a local group I belong to has an account with them.
I want to make this the long way. Would it be ok to add lavender flowers to the oil with the calendula instead of the Essential oil? I want to also use this infused oil to make a soap.
I can’t see why not. Let us know how it turns out!
The oil did not smell like lavender. It did smell good and I it to make a bees wax oil lotion. It is heavenly. I’m glad i found your your recipe and learned how to infuse oil.