what can you make with calendula

by Stephania Rath Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago

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What can I do with calendula?

The dried petals of the calendula plant are used in tinctures, ointments, and washes to treat burns, bruises, and cuts, as well as the minor infections they cause. Calendula also has been shown to help prevent dermatitis or skin inflammation in people with breast cancer during radiation therapy.

What is calendula best for?

Calendula oil has antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties that might make it useful in healing wounds, soothing eczema, and relieving diaper rash. It's also used as an antiseptic.

Can you eat calendula flowers raw?

Calendula flowers or just the petals can be used for culinary purposes. The leaves and petals of this plant are edible. The leaves are typically bitter and often are added to leafy salads. The fresh petals are used as a garnish, seasoning, or a traditional yellow cheese colorant.

What can I make with calendula petals?

Here are over 10 creative ways to use calendula flowers for skin care and health!...As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.Calendula Flower Infused Oil. ... Calendula Flower Salve. ... Whipped Calendula Coconut Oil. ... Calendula Lotion Bars. ... Calendula Bar Soap. ... Calendula Liquid Soap. ... Calendula Oatmeal Soak. ... Calendula Tea.More items...

Who should not take calendula?

If you're allergic to ragweed, daisies, marigold, or plants in the Asteraceae/Compositae family, you shouldn't use calendula. You also should not use calendula if you're pregnant or breastfeeding.

What does calendula do to your face?

In the short term, the nourishing benefits of calendula help to plump the surface of your skin to give you tighter, more supple skin. In the long term, both the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties help to protect your skin's collagen and elastin supply.

Does calendula come back every year?

Calendula flowers can also be grown in containers and will do well. They are in fact often called “pot marigolds,” but they shouldn't be confused with regular marigolds. Calendula will grow easily in almost any climate, and will readily reseed itself and often come back year after year.

Does calendula have side effects?

Calendula might cause sleepiness and slowed breathing. Some medications, called sedatives, can also cause sleepiness and slowed breathing. Taking calendula with sedative medications might cause breathing problems and/or too much sleepiness.

Are marigolds and calendula the same thing?

The simple answer is no, and here's why: Although both are members of the sunflower (Asteraceae) family, marigolds are members of the Tagetes genus, which includes at least 50 species, while calendula are members of the Calendula genus, a smaller genus with only 15 to 20 species.

Is calendula tea safe to drink?

This tea can be used to drink or as a mouth rinse to treat a sore throat or wounds within the mouth. If steeped to be especially strong, Calendula tea can also be used as a healing warm compress for eye infections. Calendula oil is a common method of topical medicinal use.

How long does homemade calendula last?

Storage & Shelf Life of Calendula Salve Store your salve containers in a cool, dark place. I always keep one out and about for regular use, then stash the rest away in a cabinet. Homemade calendula salve can “stay good” for several years! However, its medicinal potency may decrease with extended time and age.

Can you eat the whole calendula flower?

Calendula – All “pot marigolds” (Calendula officinalis) have flower petals that are edible. They have a nice flavour that ranges from peppery to bitter, and they add bright yellow, gold, and orange colour to soups and salads.

What are the side effects of calendula?

Can you put calendula on an open wound?

Calendula officinalis is an annual herb from Mediterranean origin which is popularly used in wound healing and as an anti-inflammatory agent.

Does calendula have healing properties?

Calendula (Calendula officinalis, Asteraceae) is one of the easiest herbs to grow and a highly versatile medicinal plant—naturally, it finds its way into the hearts and gardens of all herb lovers. It has been used for centuries, both internally and topically, to heal wounds, burns, and rashes.

Is calendula better than chamomile?

One Heals, The Other Protects: Enriched with healing properties, Calendula works wonders on minor cuts and wounds on baby skin. On the other hand, Chamomile extract has an abundance of anti-fungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that speeds up the healing procedure.

A few notes before we begin

1. If your calendula flowers are fresh, you’ll need to dry them before making most of these recipes. To do so, spread the flower heads out in a single layer on paper towels or clean dish towels and let them air dry for several days.

1. Calendula Flower Infused Oil

Calendula infused oil can be massaged directly onto dry, irritated skin or used as an ingredient in recipes for salves, lotions, creams, soaps, and lotion bars. Shelf life of strained, infused oil is around 1 year.

2. Calendula Flower Salve

This recipe uses the infused oil we made above. It’s perfect for including in your first aid kit since it helps soothe many minor skin ailments such as scratches, dry spots, diaper rash, razor burn, minor scrapes, insect bites and more. Calendula salve can be used on pets and farm animals too!

4. Calendula Lotion Bars

Lotion bars are the best thing ever for dry, cracked skin. They’re really easy to throw together and make wonderful gifts too!

5. Calendula Bar Soap

This is a mild, unscented calendula soap bar that’s very gentle. It’s made with calendula infused oil and calendula tea.

6. Calendula Liquid Soap

This soap is made using a crock pot and potassium hydroxide, to form a soap paste that you can dilute and use as liquid soap.

7. Calendula Oatmeal Soak

This bath soak is specially designed for sensitive or itchy skin types. Ground oats soothe irritated skin while calendula flowers calm inflammation. If desired, you can also add a few drops of lavender essential oil for a light relaxing scent.

Calendula & Shea Nose Salve

This was one of my first DIYs, and I still love it. It’s simple, but wonderfully effective; if you’ve been blowing your nose a lot, this stuff will make your face stop feeling like you’ve been exfoliating with sandpaper.

Grapefruit & Calendula Soap

Calendula is special in that it does not turn brown, black, or some other unappealing colour when it goes through saponification. It stays its pretty, cheery yellow colour, which is why it’s a pretty popular soap additive. In these pretty bars it plays with pink and white swirls and looks rather fetching, if I do say so myself.

Morning Frost Face Mask

I love blitzing dried herbs into powdery face mask bases; it helps dilute the clay, making the mask less drying, which is great if you have dry or sensitive skin. The fact that calendula is one of those herbs means this face mask is extra awesome for battling inflammation and boosting healing. Score.

Luxury Facial Serum

This lovely facial serum was inspired by a very expensive shop-bought one. A blend of skin-loving oils are infused with calendula to boost healing and reduce inflammation, making for a pretty darn great facial serum.

Herb Infused Belly Bar

If you know somebody who’s expecting, this simple body butter bar would make a lovely gift. Even if you don’t know somebody is such a state, this is a pretty great body bar. Since it doesn’t have any essential oils in it as it all kinds of soothing and anti-inflammatory properties, it would be great for babies, too. Or just, you know… skin 😉

Scar Salve

I whipped this up when a close friend had an impending surgery, and I’ve gifted tubes of it to quite a few people since for everything from surgical scars to accidental car-trunk-nose encounters. My friend Robb wrote a great testimonial for it, and it’s definitely worth a read 😊

Healing Herbal Hemp & Shea Lotion

If you suffer from dry, irritated skin, this stuff is great. Rich, creamy, it’s crammed with all kinds of skin-soothing, healing goodies like allantoin and honey. Unrefined hemp seed oil gives it a slight green tint, and an herb infusion that includes calendula helps battle inflammation.

Learn about the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial benefits

Barbie Cervoni MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist.

What Is Calendula Used For?

Calendula has been used to treat a variety of ailments affecting the skin as well as infections and fungus. Research suggests that calendula may be effective in treating diaper rash, wounds, vaginal yeast infections, and other skin conditions. Calendula has also been used as a pain reducer and inflammation reducer.

Possible Side Effects

You should not use calendula if you are allergic to ragweed, daisies, marigold, or plants in the Asteraceae/Compositae family. Doing so could cause an allergic reaction.

Dosage and Preparation

It is hard to come up with a generic dosage of calendula considering it is not approved by the FDA. Depending on the form, and what you are using it for, the dose of calendula will be different. Before starting any new supplement be sure to ask your physician or healthcare provider.

What to Look for

Companies that claim calendula to be an effective treatment for certain health issues will need to follow up with a disclaimer that states, "these statements have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration." The FDA has not approved therapeutic claims for calendula.

Calendula Benefits

Also known as pot marigold, calendula is a pretty, bright flower that adds cheer to garden beds. But did you know that this is also a medicinal plant? You should always talk to your doctor before trying any kind of herbal or supplement, but if calendula is safe for you, there are some medicinal purposes it may serve:

How to Use Calendula

Using calendula flowers medicinally usually involves preparing topical applications. Most remedies use dried flowers, so harvest your calendula flowers and give them time to dry. Some of the things you can do with those dried flowers to promote skin health include:

Calendula cream as sunscreen

Calendula oil might be an option for sun protection. A 2012 laboratory study found that calendula oil had SPF properties as a cream mixture. However, more evidence is needed to support calendula cream as a possible sunscreen.

Calendula oil for wounds

Calendula oil might accelerate wound healing. Research from 2013 suggests that using aloe vera or calendula ointment along with standard care sped up episiotomy recovery time.

Calendula oil for acne

Some people use calendula oil to treat acne. One laboratory study found that calendula extract may be useful in treating and preventing acne vulgaris, but more research, especially studies on humans, is needed to support these findings.

Calendula oil for eczema

Although there’s no research to support it, some people use calendula oil to treat eczema. However, one study found it can help relieve pain from dermatitis in people receiving radiation for breast cancer.

Calendula oil for diaper rash

Calendula oil might help soothe diaper rash. A small study in 2012 found that while an aloe vera cream was effective in treating diaper rash, a calendula ointment was significantly more beneficial. However, this research is preliminary.

Calendula oil for psoriasis

Calendula oil’s wound-healing properties might make it a good choice in treating psoriasis, but there isn’t any research on this yet. You can try applying calendula oil or balm on the affected area a few times each day.

Calendula oil for better skin

Calendula oil might improve the overall appearance of your skin. One study found that a cream containing calendula extract may promote skin hydration and firmness, but more research is needed.

1. Salad

I had a little nibble of the leaves today as I was gardening. They go really well mixed into a salad.

2. Cooked Green

A common name for calendula is pot marigold, because people used to throw the the leaves in the cooking pot as a spinach alternative.

About the Author

MORAG GAMBLE Blog is an award-winning Australian permaculture designer, speaker, author, blogger, film-maker and teacher.

Healing Properties of Calendula

Calendula officinalis has been used by herbalists, homesteaders, and natural healers for centuries. It can be used both internally or externally to support the immune system, heal skin and infections. Calendula works its magic by promoting cell repair and growth, coupled with its natural antiseptic, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory properties.

What can calendula salve be used for?

If you pay attention to labels, you’ll probably notice calendula as a key ingredient in many natural skin care products, and for a good reason! Topically, calendula salve can ease, heal, or otherwise treat a huge array of skin conditions.

Calendula Oil

This homemade calendula salve recipe requires ready-to-use calendula oil. You can either make your own calendula-infused oil, or buy some here. If you’re interested in making homemade calendula oil check out this tutorial – and then come back when you’re ready.

What is Calendula Salve

Maybe we need to step back a moment. How about, “what is a salve?”. A salve is simply the term for a healing solution that you put on your skin, including creams, ointments, or balms. Generally, salves are fairly thick, shelf-stable, and include nourishing oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, or others.

Storage & Shelf Life of Calendula Salve

Store your salve containers in a cool, dark place. I always keep one out and about for regular use, then stash the rest away in a cabinet. Homemade calendula salve can “stay good” for several years! However, its medicinal potency may decrease with extended time and age.

How to Make Homemade Calendula Salve

Learn how to easily make potent and healing homemade calendula salve at home. Calendula salve can help to reduce inflammation, soothe skin irritation, eczema, burns, bites, scars, rashes, and more!

Healing & Medicinal Properties of Calendula

Calendula officinalis has been used by herbalists, homesteaders, and natural healers for centuries. It can be used both internally or externally to support the immune system, treat skin ailments, and heal infections.

What is Calendula Oil?

Calendula oil is simply oil that has been infused with dry calendula flowers. The flowers are steeped in a carrier oil such as olive or jojoba oil for several weeks or longer. Whole dry flower heads or just the petals can be used, but it is important that they’re fully dry (*see note below).

What type of oil should I use to make calendula oil?

Well, that depends on what you intend to use it for! Some of you may want to use your calendula oil on your skin only. If that is the case, consider what oil will be most compatible and beneficial for your skin type, particularly if you want to use it on your face.

Carrier Oil Options for Making Calendula Oil

Here is a list of eleven different oil options for creating your calendula oil, though there are even more out there! No matter what you choose, I highly suggest using a high-quality, unrefined, cold-pressed oil. Certified organic is all the better. The goal is to create a healing medicinal oil after all!

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING CALENDULA OIL

Obtain dried calendula flowers. Either use your own homegrown flowers (learn how to harvest and dry them here) or purchase some. These organic dried calendula flowers come highly recommended! Unfortunately, it is somewhat difficult to source organic calendula flowers from the U.S.

Calendula Oil Storage & Shelf Life

After the calendula oil is strained, store it in a glass container such as a jar – or you may opt to transfer it into a bottle with a pump or squeeze-top lid. Store the calendula oil in a cool, dry location. I keep my jojoba calendula oil in the cabinet under the bathroom sink.

8 WAYS TO USE CALENDULA OIL

As a healing facial moisturizer. A little goes a long way though! You’ll only need a few drops, avoiding a thick oily sheen. Spread evenly across your skin, and lightly massage in. I apply my calendula oil every morning and evening after washing my face, and in rotation/combination with fresh aloe vera.