DIY Sweet Orange Calendula Salve

This healing DIY sweet orange calendula salve is easy to make, and perfect for disinfecting small cuts and wounds and reducing inflammation.

If you can’t already tell, I’m a sucker for homemade salves and creams. I love everything about it! Making them, taking pictures of them, whipping them out when one of my family members has a scrape or burn, sharing the recipes, giving them away, I love it all!

Every jar is made with love and depending on how you infuse your oil, it’s time consuming. High-quality organic ingredients can get pricey, so you best believe I take pride in my stockpiled creams. There is nothing more fulfilling than making your own products.

…So Why Calendula?

Calendula is commonly used in herbal remedies, salves, and creams because it’s gentle on the skin and it eases itchiness. (Not to mention it smells dang good) Because of it’s anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties, many people use calendula salve on minor cuts, scrapes, bug bites, and rashes.

I’ve been using this calendula salve every day since I’ve made it, and I plan on making another batch before I run out. It’s that good! I apply it to my hands and feet to keep them from becoming dry or cracked, and I even apply it on my stomach. I’m not entirely sure if calendula is beneficial for healing stretch marks, but Shea butter is supposed to work wonders. My stretch marks have lightened up a little bit already, but as you know – time heals scars and stretch marks more than anything. Salves and creams can aid in the healing process, but ultimately your skin just needs time to heal.

I applied a little bit of the salve to a cut on my husband’s foot, and it helped with the pain. I’d like to believe it even helped it heal a little faster! We have a ton of chiggers out here, so this has come in handy. I can’t imagine not having calendula salve around the house now. It’s definitely a staple at this point!

Let me warn you though – it is oily. Using grape-seed oil or jojoba oil should cut down on the greasiness a bit. Make sure you let it soak into your skin a little before covering the area with clothing.

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/2 cup Almond Oil
1 heaping tbsp Coconut Oil
1 cup Dried Calendula Flowers
1/2 tsp Vitamin E Oil
5 tbsp Beeswax
4 tbsp Shea Butter
10-15 drops Orange Essential Oil
Unbleached Cheesecloth
3 Jelly Jars (4 ounce jars)

Directions:

1. Combine olive oil, almond oil and vitamin e oil and infuse with dried calendula flowers

You can do heat infusion or solar infusion. For solar infusion, you simply add the oils and dried calendula flowers to a mason jar, screw the lid on and let it sit for a minimum of two weeks. Four to six weeks is preferred. You want the mason jar to be kept in a warm, sunny area. Most sources claim that you shouldn’t place the jar directly in the sun, unless you’re using a dark amber glass bottle.

If you’re in a hurry, you can infuse the oil in the oven or on the stovetop using a double boiler. I typically infuse my oils in a double boiler, as you can see in my homemade diaper cream post. Solar infusion is the best way, though.

2. Strain the infused oil

Once your calendula infused oil is done, strain it through the cheesecloth and add it to a double boiler.

3. Heat the infused oil

Add the infused oil to a double boiler on medium-low heat.

4. Add beeswax, coconut oil, and Shea butter to the infused oil

You can stir occasionally if needed. Heat the ingredients together until melted.

5. Take off of heat and add orange essential oil

Stir in 10-15 drops of orange essential oil and immediately pour into jars.

Store in a cool, dark place. It can last up to three years if stored properly, though it should be kept out of sunlight as it reduces the potency of the salve. The vitamin e oil helps increase the shelf life as well.

This recipe yields just over 1 1/4 cups worth of calendula salve. It filled about 3 jelly jars (4 ounces).

If you’d like a firmer salve, add more beeswax. Alternatively, if you’d like it to be creamier, use less beeswax.

How beautiful is that? It’s the best smelling salve I’ve ever made! I’m not a huge fan of citrus, but mixed together with calendula, it was enough to make me want to eat it.

If you give my calendula salve recipe a try, I’d love to hear from you! You can tag me on Instagram or drop a comment below to let me know how your batch turned out.

I hope you enjoy. If you suffer from dry skin, or you spend a lot of time in the garden, your hands will thank you!

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