Sun-Kissed Butt Cheeks: My Experience with Calendula

Calendula, the bright orange, lions-mane-like flowers of late summer have been on my Top 5 Herbal remedies to keep in my medicine cabinet for over 16 years now. All because of little red butt cheeks.

The first time I ever even heard of Calendula was as an ingredient in the all-natural diaper rash cream I bought at a health food store for my infant daughter. This was long before I had any real experience with herbs (and barely any experience with babies either!) so I didn’t know what else to do. But the cream helped, so I began to know and love calendula.

Calendula officinalis is a member of the daisy family Asteraceae, and is native to southern Europe. It has been cultivated for centuries for its medicinal properties, and is now grown in gardens in many parts of the world. It’s quite easy to grow and the seeds look like little curly alien tails.

This golden flower is a perennial plant that grows to about 18 inches tall. It has daisy-like flowers that are typically yellow, orange, or red. The leaves are oval-shaped and have a slightly hairy texture.

The petals by themselves are edible and make a dainty addition to a summer salad, though they haven’t got a strong flavor. You won’t want to eat the calyx, which is insanely strong in volatile oils and resinous compounds (that’s where most of the medicine is!)

Calendula flowers are harvested whole, keeping the resinous calyx intact. I don’t know of any medicinal properties in the leaves, stems, or roots– all the research has been done on those gorgeous flower heads that will make your hands all sticky after you pick a bunch.

Back to skin care: It turns out that the best cure for diaper rash is some good old-fashioned naked butt time under the sun.

Drying out those little cheeks on a warm sunny day did more for her skin than any herb or cream ever did. [You’ll learn more about that inside my Think Like an Herbalist book.] But when it’s too cold outside or your face and hands get chapped from being too dry, calendula is there to rescue them.

Calendula can help heal the tissues of your inner gut lining just as well as it can help your visible skin! It’s also a powerful lymphagogue (Lymphatic cleanser) and I often pair it with cleavers and violet for that purpose.

Here are some ways to work with calendula:

• Orally: Calendula tea can be made by steeping 1 teaspoon of dried calendula flowers in 1 cup of hot water for 5 minutes. I prefer to combine it with plantain and marshmallow to increase its gut-healing properties. The tea can be taken 3 times per day.
• Topically: Calendula oil can be applied to the skin to soothe burns, cuts, and scrapes. Calendula salve is an excellent remedy for rashes and dry skin.
• In a bath: Calendula flowers can be added to a bath to soothe skin irritations and dryness.

The basic recipe for a Simple Salve is:

• 1/2 cup calendula-infused oil
• 2 Tbsp beeswax
• 20 drops essential oil (such as Helichrysum or Chamomile)

Calendula is one of the main ingredients in my All-Purpose healing salve, my Bellyrama (formerly “gut heal”) Tea, and of course in my new Calendula Salve.

It’s also one of the 5 Most Important Plants To Grow highlighted in my Remedies From Nature online herbal medicine making course, which shows you how to make potent infused oils, teas, tinctures, and other herbal products.

Please join my Mailing List today to keep abreast of new upcoming classes, sales, and other news from my end. Also check out this Monograph on Calendula from a trusted herbal source, Herbrally.

Note: I am not a doctor and none of this is medical advice. Also, there may be an affiliate link in this blog, which means I get a few cents if you buy the thing through my link. Thanks!