DIY Calendula Salve Recipe
It's finally almost summer, and the garden is in full bloom. Recently, I have been focusing on growing things I enjoy, especially flowers—lots and lots of them. More importantly, I am cultivating foods that make me smile and using plants as medicine. For a long time, I have relied on holistic creams and homeopathic remedies to heal my body in various ways. I have always wanted to make my own salves since I tend to buy so many of them. One of the main ones I use is Calendula, which you can read all about here, but in short, this remedy is great for cuts, scrapes, and scars, and it has replaced our Neosporin. However, we go through a lot of it, which can be expensive. So, this year, I decided to grow calendula flowers and make my own salve. I hope you enjoy!
I grabbed from a few recipes online, but this felt like the best combo.
Ingredients: (makes one 12oz jar)
1 cup dried calendula flowers
1 cup carrier oil (Olive oil, coconut oil…)
3 tablespoons organic beeswax pellets
1 tablespoon Shea butter
(It's not necessary, but it's nice to have) Vitamin E oil to help preserve your salve, Essential oils for smell or added properties, and a premade calendula tincture to boost your potency.
Tools:
Double boiler or pot with glass bowl that can be placed inside (pictured above)
2 glass bowls that can be thrown out (thrift store)
2 Jars with lids (12oz mason jars) or a few of these (found to be a better option)
Cheesecloth or a mesh strainer
A big cooking spoon you can stir with that you don’t mind throwing away
A small funnel you can throw away
Directions:
Infuse carrier oil with dried calendula flowers for 3-6 weeks. The longer, the better, but the added premade calendula tincture is handy if you're in a hurry.
Put dried flowers in a glass jar and pour the carrier oil over them to infuse. If 1 cup doesn’t cover the flowers, add more until fully submerged. Then screw the top on and let sit at room temperature for 3-6 weeks. I put mine in the window to let the sun warm it partially during the day.
After 3-6 weeks, strain the now-infused oil into one of your glass bowls and set aside.
Start preparing either your double broiler or your pot of boiling water with your second glass bowl hovering on top. Click here to see how that should look.
Now, in your double broiler, add the 3 tablespoons of organic beeswax pellets and the 1 tablespoon of Shea butter and set to low heat.
Once fully incorporated, turn the burner to the lowest setting.
You can now add a tablespoon of the premade calendula tincture, your essential oils of choice, and the infused oil you made.
Once fully incorporated, you can funnel your liquid into the second glass jar and set it aside to cool.
Once thoroughly cooled, you can place the lid on and use your new salve.
Final thoughts:
If you wanted them to look like the ones in the photos, you can oil the jars and add flower pieces to the sides. Once mine cooled, I also added a few dried petals to the top for aesthetics. I will also say that this recipe can easily be doubled. I did find the full 12-oz glass jar to be hard to use once I neared the bottom. I suggest splitting it into two or four smaller jars like these.
Well, there you have it! You did it! Thanks for following along and using this as a guide. I hope it was helpful and empowering. You can do this. You really can!
All my love,
Ashley
