Calendula soap is a healing bar of soap for soothing dry, rough skin. Terrific after a day of working in the garden or for use during the dry winter months when hands tend to become chapped.
Calendula officinalis, also called pot marigold, is a hardy annual herb that has a bushy habit and is easy to grow. The flowers, stems, and leaves have a slightly sticky quality from a plant resin that contains anti-inflammatory properties, in addition to unique antioxidant compounds.ย Calendula flowers have a special affinity for skin support and are traditionally used to heal rough, inflamed, or damaged skin.ย In this recipe for calendula soap, we capitalize on the skin healing properties of calendula flowers.
Making soap at home is a fun craft and a good way to improve both your health and your budget.ย I want to teach you how to make soap and give you a basic soap making recipe that is easy to follow and uses ingredients that you probably already have in your house. The only thing you may need to purchase is lye. Be sure to review the article “How to Make Basic Soap At Home” to brush up on the details of working with lye and weighing vs measuring ingredients.
The Healing Benefits of Calendula
While studying the healing activity of Calendula flower extract against thermal burns in rats, scientists found that the extract showed significant healing activity by increasing hexosamine and collagen hydroxyproline content with a significant decrease in the level of tissue damage marker enzymes. Daily use of Calendula gel (2%) causes significant healing of wounds due to its antioxidant and antimicrobial activities (Leach, 2008) [source]
During the Civil War, calendula petals were used to staunch wounds because of its highly antiseptic saponins and flavonoids. Today herbalists still use calendula salve for dressing wounds and sores. This calendula soap recipe uses the healing power of calendula herbal tea to soothe dry, chapped skin and other skin irritations.
DIY Calendula Soap for Soothing Dry, Rough Skin
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours + 3 weeks curing
- Yield: 9 5-oz bars 1x
- Category: soap
- Method: cold process
Description
Calendula soap is a healing bar of soap for soothing dry, rough skin. Terrific after a day of working in the garden or for use during the dry winter months when hands tend to become chapped.
Ingredients
Water/Lye Portion
- 300 ml calendula flower tea (use ยผ cup calendula blossoms and 2 cups of water)
- 150 grams of sodium hydroxide (lye)
Oil portion:
- 500 grams of coconut oil
- 300 grams olive oil or herb infused olive oil
- 200 grams sunflower oil
Essential oils (2%)
- 1 teaspoon tea tree essential oil
- ยฝ teaspoon Frankincense (Boswellia carteri) essential oil
- ยฝ teaspoon lavender essential oil
Instructions
- While wearing safety goggles and rubber gloves, weigh the lye on a paper plate.
- Add lye to cooled tea in a glass measuring cup. The lye will heat up the tea and release caustic fumes. Do not breathe in the fumes.
- Stir the lye in the cup of tea with a wooden spoon to completely dissolve all lye crystals. Allow the lye solution to reduce in temperature to 100ยฐF to 105ยฐF.
Meanwhile,
- Measure the oils in an 8 cup glass measuring cup. Place the glass measuring cup in a warm place or in the microwave to fully melt the oils.
- Remove the oils from the heat when some of the oils remain solid and are floating on the top of the oil.
- Stir the oils to melt the remaining oils using the residual heat. Allow the oils to cool to 100ยฐF to 105ยฐF.
- When both the oil and the lye are cooled to 100ยฐF to 105ยฐF, pour the lye solution into the liquid oils.
- Use a stick blender to blend the lye solution and the oils together.ย Continue stirring your calendula soap until the mixture reaches a thin trace.
At this point,
- stir in the essential oils that you are using.
- Continue blending with a stick blender until the soap is well blended and a trail of soap dripped on the surface of the soap, remains on the surface.ย Just a few more minutes after trace.
- Pour the soap recipe into a prepared mold. Scrape the sides of the bowl to get as much of the soap as possible into the mold.
- Cover the soap with plastic wrap or a lid, and allow it to set completely, typically overnight.
- Keep the soap warm by wrapping the mold in a towel.
Notes
Calendula soap will go through a gel phase indicative of saponification. Leave the soap overnight to complete saponification. In the morning remove the soap from the molds and cut into bars. Stack the bars on a flat surface to cure for 3 to 6 weeks before packaging it.
Calendula Soap for Soothing Dry, Rough Skin
Yield: 9 โ 5-ounce bars
Ingredients:
Water/Lye Portion
- 300 ml calendula flower tea (use ยผ cup calendula blossoms and 2 cups of water)
- 150 grams of sodium hydroxide (lye)
Oil portion:
- 500 grams of coconut oil
- 300 grams olive oil or infused olive oil
- 200 grams sunflower oil
Essential oils (2%)
- 1 teaspoon tea tree essential oil
- ยฝ teaspoon Frankincense (Boswellia carteri) essential oil
- ยฝ teaspoon lavender essential oil
Directions:
- While wearing safety goggles and rubber gloves, weigh the lye on a paper plate.
- Add lye to cooled tea in a glass measuring cup. The lye will heat up the tea and release caustic fumes. Do not breathe in the fumes.
- Stir the lye in the cup of tea with a wooden spoon to completely dissolve all lye crystals. Allow the lye solution to reduce in temperature to 100ยฐF to 105ยฐF.
Meanwhile,
- Measure the oils in an 8 cup glass measuring cup. Place the glass measuring cup in a warm place or in the microwave to fully melt the oils.
- Remove the oils from the heat when some of the oils remain solid and are floating on the top of the oil.
- Stir the oils to melt the remaining oils using the residual heat. Allow the oils to cool to 100ยฐF to 105ยฐF.
- When both the oil and the lye are cooled to 100ยฐF to 105ยฐF, pour the lye solution into the liquid oils.
- Use a stick blender to blend the lye solution and the oils together.ย Continue stirring your calendula soap until the mixture reaches a thin trace.
At this point,
- stir in the essential oils that you are using.
- Continue blending with a stick blender until the soap is well blended and a trail of soap dripped on the surface of the soap, remains on the surface.ย Just a few more minutes after trace.
- Pour the soap recipe into a prepared mold. Scrape the sides of the bowl to get as much of the soap as possible into the mold.
- Cover the soap with plastic wrap or a lid, and allow it to set completely, typically overnight.
- Keep the soap warm by wrapping the mold in a towel.
Calendula soap will go through a gel phase indicative of saponification. Leave the soap overnight to complete saponification. In the morning remove the soap from the molds and cut into bars. Stack the bars on a flat surface to cure for 3 to 6 weeks before packaging it.
More skin-soothing recipes with calendula flowers
For other DIY recipes using calendula flowers tryย This Easy Calendula Ointment For Your First Aid Kit and 5 ways to preserve and use calendula flowers.
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Can I halves this recipe. Since I’m new to soap making. I’m afraid to fail and had to throw so much ingredients.
Yes. Put it through a soap calculator though to be sure you have the exact right amount of lye before you start.
Seems like alot of water ran it through soapcalc and their amt of water for your amount of oils is 11.64 oz . You state 2 cups of water which would be 16 oz. Is there something I am missing?
I state 300 ml of cooled tea. That’s just a few tablespoons over 1 cup. You are making the tea with 2 cups of water, but the herbs will absorb some of that water and it won’t be available to you. Once you’ve made the tea and let it cool, then measure out the 300 ml. of cooled tea for the lye / liquid measure. Always add the lye to the liquid and not the other way around.
Is it possible to make calendula soap using a melt-and-pour goat milk soap base?
Hi, Edna
Yes you could make calendula soap using a melt and pour base. You would use 2 teaspoons of calendula infused oil per pound of melt and pour soap. Add it after the soap is melted for best results.