Urban Herbalism: Calendula Infused Oil

When I became an amateur herbalist, I was able to shed many items from my former medicine cabinet quite easily. Ibuprofen-gone! Allergy meds- Bye bye! But the very last thing that I was able to part ways with was my triple antibiotic lotion. I'm not sure how it took so long for it to happen, but years after my last dose of Advil, I was still smearing the petroleum-based good on cuts and scrapes.

When I discovered  the magic that is Calendula, I was never to be the same again. It gave me permission to completely reinvent my cabinet for the better.  Calendula heals like none other. It grows locally in Zones 3-10 (that's a lot of zones!!) and has a ton of uses.  In cases of fever, it can be used to help you sweat it out. If you have the chicken pox, calendula oil on the pox will encourage healing. Infusions of Calendula are even being explored for their cancer fighting properties, and women have been using them for their monthly breast exams for pro-active breast health. Burns, scrapes, acne, cuts. You name it. Athlete's foot, diaper rash... I've even heard of ring worm!

"Well how do I make a Calendula oil?", you ask.  So easy! Simply grab enough dry flowers to loosely fill a jar. (To make with fresh flowers, they must be dried before hand.) Then pour oil of your choosing over the flowers, shaking gently as you do to release air bubbles.  Because olive oil is a soothing oil and not very expensive, lots of herbalists use it for this purpose.

When you have covered all flowers, place your jar in a place where you will see it daily. Some folkloric herbalists recommend a sunny place. Others say this ruins light sensitive properties. I just left it on the counter. Shake daily for six weeks and you will notice the petals start to give their color to the oil. Afterward, drain the oil out of the mixture, pressing the petals to extract every bit of love. Offer the spent petals to your compost.

Then enjoy! Great to regenerate or heal any part of your body that could use a little love.  In four more weeks, when my newest batch finishes, I will be using it, along with some comfrey oil, to make a healing salve. Try it when you get a chance and let me know how it goes!