Behold the magical powers of the Calendula Flower! Or, as you (and me too) may better know it, the Marigold Flower. Yep, those lovely golden blooms are way more than just looks. While they do wonders to brighten up your landscaping, they pack a punch when it comes to natural, medicinal benefits. We could even dub them a “cure-all” in the world of all natural remedies.
Why, you ask? Allow me to enlighten you?
Anti-bacterial, anti-viral, AND anti-inflammatory. Not impressed? It also contains astringent and healing properties that can speed the healing of burns, cuts, and minor infections. All in a little flower petal. Pretty cool, right?
So you have an itchy rash? Calendula can help.
Sat outside and got eaten by a mosquito? Calendula will calm the inflammation and soothe the itching.
Scratched the bug bites and broke the skin open? Calendula will fight infection and help the healing process along.
So by now I’m sure you’re wondering how to pull all of the wonderful benefits out of the dried petals. The best way is to make a salve (so you can slather it onto every bump, bite, and scrape!). Here’s how you do it?
You’ll need:
Calendula Flowers
Beeswax
Almond Oil
Cheesecloth
Glass Jar
.25 oz Lip Balm Containers
Fill a jar with dried Calendula petals and pour almond oil over the petals, covering them completely. Place the cheesecloth over the opening of the jar and secure with a rubber band. Set the jar by a window and leave it sit for two weeks (two weeks will seem like FOREVER, but leave it be- the oil needs the full two weeks to soak up all the goodness from the petals).
When the two weeks are up, the oil will be a pretty golden color and you can strain out the petals and discard.
To make the salve, place the oil in a double boiler, heating slowly over low to medium-low heat. When adding in the beeswax, use the ratio of 1/4 cup beeswax for every 1 cup of oil. For example, if my oil and petal mixture yielded 1 and 4 cups of oil at the end of two weeks, I would add in 1/4 cup beeswax for the 1 cup of oil, and an additional 1/16 of a cup of beeswax for the 1/4 cup of oil.
Got it? Let the wax melt into the oil, stirring, until you’ve reached the consistency of salve.
Remove from the heat, place in lidded containers, and smooth onto any minor injury that comes your way!
All this from a little garden flower- Pretty amazing, right?!
is there a reason you use almond oil? can you sub it for another oil?when do you pour it into the lip balm containers?thx
We’re using it as a base, but you can substitute it for any base oils. You need to pour it in the containers after stirring it to the consistency of salve and removing it form the heat.
Will the oil work if I make it during winter with little sun or warmth coming in the window?
Hi, Melissa! Yes, that’s actually great for the salve. A slight bit of warmth helps it to soak up the goodness from the petals!