Calendula Oil

I've been using calendula oil for quite some time now and in fact, the first time I used a calendula cream was for my baby's nappy rash.  He's now thirty years old.  It was very effective in clearing nappy rash - incredibly effective.  I was so impressed with its efficacy that I decided to investigate it and make my own calendula oil

I now grow calendula (marigold) each year or, should I say, it keeps coming back each year and I weed around it to give it the best chance.  It is also in the sunniest part of the garden

How to make homegrown and homemade calendula oil

In the photo above, you can see the patch of calendula (Marigold).  Notice the ones that are beginning to wilt!  Well, I take those flowers - this is called dead heading.  I dry them for a couple of weeks in a cool dry part of my house and then I take the petals only removing all other parts of the flower.  These petals then go into a jar where I also put in sweet almond oil.  I place this jar on a sunny ledge for a couple of weeks to let the oil mingle with the petals and take out the active ingredients.

What are the active ingredients in Calendula?

There are a number of active ingredients in the calendula flower.

• Cartenoilds
• Fatty Acids
• Triterpene Saponins
• Coumarins
• Essential Oils
• Flavonoids

That is just naming a few. 

Healing properties of calendula oil

These must be what contributes to its ability to heal wounds, to soothe eczema and to repair tissue.  This must be the reason why, when my baby was so small, and with an acute nappy rash, that calendula cream just cleared it right away.