super-duper skin healer!

I recently finished an experiential Materia Medica on the plant Calendula officinalis, otherwise known as Calendula or Pot Marigold. Essentially, the assignment was to research the plant and spend at least 30 days taking the plant in various delivery systems, experiencing firsthand the medicinal effects. I thought I'd share some information and personal observation from this incredibly useful plant....

Calendula - joyful, cheerful, my BFF!

Calendula is a beautiful flower in the Asteraceae family, with bright yellow and gold petals that just scream sunshine and happiness. Just admiring her beauty makes you feel awesome! She's not to be confused with the decorative landscaping variety of Marigolds, however. The flower heads are what we use in herbal medicine, in the form of teas, tinctures, infused oils, salves, creams, and more! Within Calendula's beautiful flowers we find :
anti-inflammatory, anti-septic, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and astringent actions. Not only is Calendula all this, she's more! She helps with the lymphatic and immune systems, and also supports the gall bladder, liver, and provides vitamins and minerals.

Although she's great in so many ways, her sterling reputation comes from her amazing ability to heal the skin and expedite external wound healing. Calendula encourages the formulation of granulation tissue, which is an essential part of the body's natural healing process. Last year I was in a pretty nasty motor scooter accident which left a gnarly gaping hole on my knee, exposing the bone. EW! I will provide a detailed post (with photos) in the near future....trust me, you won't want to miss that one! It was almost a miracle how I healed that wildly offensive wound using botanicals instead of plastic surgery!

Using the dried flowers, you can easily prepare your very own Calendula oil that can be used to treat scrapes, burns, cuts, bites, dry skin, eczema, psoriasis, acne, scars, and any almost any other type of external wound or abrasion. The oil is also lovely as part of a salve or cream recipe. (I'll post a recipe for this in the near future too!)

HOW TO MAKE YOUR VERY OWN SKIN HEALING CALENDULA OIL:

1. Fill a clean glass jar (w/ matching lid) with dried flowers (about 2/3 of the way up)....use whatever sized jar you want!
2. Pour cold-pressed Extra-Virgin Olive Oil  (almond, apricot, castor, or grapeseed oil work well too) over the flowers until you reach just above the top.
3. Cover the jar opening with a square of parchment paper and twist on the lid with the paper in between....this helps create a tighter seal.
4. Give her a shake and make sure the flowers are immersed in the oil and there aren't any leaks, and..... TA-DA! that's it!

IMPORTANT: Keep the jar in a dark warm place or, even put it in a window or give her some outside exposure now and then so the oil can capture the sun's energy and heat. Just make sure to agitate (shake, wiggle, move the oil and flowers around) at least once per day. This is a really important part of the process so keep the jar within eye's and arm's reach! You can even dance around the house with it, tell jokes to it, or write lovely affirmations all over the jar. It will only create more potent medicine!

After 2 weeks to one month (or longer if you'd like) of maceration, AKA soaking time, uncap the jar and filter the oil from the plant material through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a new clean jar w/matching lid. Label with the name and date and keep in a dark cool place----but no need to refrigerate. VOILA! You are practicing herbal medicine!

happy healing!
the wise owl