Organic calendula oil infusion is an essential home remedy for all herbal medicine cabinets. Use this tutorial to make it yourself, and enjoy the benefits for you and the whole family (including your newborn baby!).
Why I Love Calendula Oil
When taking a stroll through my cottage garden, many look at the beautiful flowers and assume they are ornamental. While this garden provides an aesthetically pleasing space, it serves the purpose of providing medicinal herbs for our homestead.
Each year, I spend time either growing or foraging herbs to make medicinal recipes like my bone healing compress, homemade arnica salve made with DIY arnica oil, my homemade antibiotic ointment, garlic salve for a cough, and DIY elderberry syrup, to name a few.
Calendula flowers (Calendula Officinalis) are on my list of top medicinal herbs to grow, and if you’re pregnant and homesteading, I encourage you to grow calendula while preparing your homestead for a new baby.
These bright blooms are part of the Asteraceae compositae family and provide powerful healing properties to make it into a soothing calendula oil safe enough for a baby’s skin.
It’s important to note that I am not a certified medical practitioner. This post is not intended to diagnose or treat but is for informational purposes only. Please contact your medical care professional before introducing new herbal remedies into your wellness routine.
Health Benefits of Calendula Oil
Calendula-infused oil has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory properties useful for reducing inflammation and promoting wound healing in common skin irritations such as diaper rash and itchy dry skin.
Calendula oil can be helpful as a postpartum aid to speed episiotomy healing, and midwives often recommend using calendula oil as a daily breast massage to prevent mastitis.
Are There Side Effects of Calendula Oil?
Calendula petals are edible (internally they are great at moving stagnated lymph and as an anti-inflammatory), and when ingested, calendula can have a sedating effect that could be increased when consumed with other sedating herbs, medications, or supplements.
This calendula oil, however, is only intended for topical use and is considered VERY SAFE when used this way.
For those sensitive to ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, daisies or other ragweed-related plants, calendula may cause an allergic reaction. If you have allergies, check with your healthcare provider before using calendula.
Ways to Use Calendula Oil
Once you’ve whipped up a batch of calendula oil, there are many ways to use it. Though this isn’t an exhaustive list, it will give you some great ideas for how to use this incredibly healing oil.
- Cradle Cap – Gently massage calendula oil onto baby’s scalp, and use a fine tooth comb to exfoliate the dried cradle cap from the skin.
- Dandruff – The anti-fungal properties in calendula oil will help reduce dandruff. Massage oil into the scalp and allow it to penetrate before washing hair as usual.
- Diaper Rash – Applying calendula oil to diaper rash proves more effective than using aloe. Homesteading Hack: After birth, apply calendula oil to your baby’s bottom before they pass the meconium, which will help keep it from sticking to your baby’s skin.
- Dry Skin – Rub calendula oil on patches of dry skin, or add a few drops to your favorite facial creams or lotions to boost their hydrating properties.
- Eczema – While it has not been scientifically proven, some have found that calendula oil helps with healing eczema.
- Poison Ivy – The anti-inflammatory properties of calendula oil can help calm poison ivy reactions and promote healing.
- Scars – Using calendula oil on cuts and scrapes can help reduce the appearance of scars.
- Sunburn – The anti-inflammatory properties of calendula oil calm a sunburn and promote healing.
- Wound Healing – Dabbing wounds such as abrasions, lacerations, and skin tears with the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of calendula oil promotes healing.
One of my favorite recipes for using calendula oil is in my homemade antibiotic ointment. Though for that recipe I create an oil with more than just calendula flowers, the premise is the same and easily adaptable.
Supplies Needed
- Mason Jar w/Lid – I use a half-pint jar, but you can scale this recipe up or down depending on how many flowers and oil you have.
- Cheese Cloth or Sieve – Used to strain the flowers after infusing them in the oil.
- Bottle/Jar – This can be a separate bottle or the Mason jar used to make the calendula oil. It just needs to be clean with a good seal for storage.
Ingredients Needed
- Dried Calendula Flowers – If you don’t grow calendula flowers, I recommend purchasing dried calendula flowers and other dried herbs from Farmhouse Teas.
- Carrier Oil – I use olive oil to make an herbal oil, but almond, jojoba, and sunflower oil are also popular choices.
How to Make Calendula Oil
- Fill the jar half full with the dried calendula flowers.
- Pour carrier oil over the flowers to fill the jar.
- Cap the jar, and make sure the seal is tight.
- Shake the jar once daily for 4-6 weeks to ensure the flowers stay covered and mold cannot form.
- After 4-6 weeks, the oil will be infused with the calendula.
- Open the jar and strain off the flowers using a cheesecloth or sieve.
- Store your infused calendula oil in an airtight container in a cool, dark place until ready to use.
Did you make this calendula oil? If so, please leave a star rating in the recipe card below. Then snap a photo of your homemade calendula oil and tag us on social media @homesteadingfamily to share how you are using it!
Herbal Medicine Cabinet
Are you surprised how easy it is to make your own calendula oil? Are you feeling inspired to learn more about treating your family’s common health complaints with safe and natural, plant-based medicine but don’t know where to start?
Join me in my Herbal Medicine Cabinet: Colds and Flus class, where I will take you beyond infused oils and teach you more ways to use simple herbs safely, naturally and effectively this cold and flu season.
Other Articles You May Enjoy
- 15 Medicinal Herbs To Grow, Harvest & How to Use Them
- Designing an Old-Fashioned Cottage Garden
- Medicinal Herbs & Their Uses
- Homemade Christmas Gifts Guide
- Homemade Antibiotic Ointment (Better Than Neosporin)
- How to Make Arnica Oil
- Homemade Arnica Salve Recipe
- Preparing for a New Baby on the Homestead
- Homesteading While Pregnant
Calendula Oil
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dried calendula flowers
- 3/4 cup oil olive, jojoba, almond, etc.
Instructions
- Fill the jar half full with the dried calendula flowers.
- Pour carrier oil over the flowers to fill the jar.
- Cap the jar, and make sure it is sealed tight.
- Shake the jar once daily for 4-6 weeks to ensure the flowers stay covered and mold cannot form.
- After 4-6 weeks, the oil will be infused with the calendula.
- Open the jar and strain off the flowers using a cheesecloth or sieve.
- Store your infused calendula oil in an airtight container in a cool, dark place until ready to use.
