An orange flower to make your skin blossom

 

This beautiful flower possesses powerful, healing properties that is highly beneficial to your skin.

It is as if sunshine itself can be found in this flower with its bright orange petals. Its origins are traced back to the Mediterranean and has been used for hundreds of years in many traditional medicines. No wonder it has become synonymous with natural skin care treatments.

The mystery behind Marigolds also known as Calendula is intriguing so here I am to discover precisely how it will make your skin blossom.

Calendula Oil

Calendula is the goodness extracted from the marigold plant’s petals, stem and seeds. The powerful antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties makes it an ideal oil to include in skin care treatments.

Did you know you can consume it as a tea and sprinkle in your food in addition to your your skin care regime?

You can easily obtain calendula oil at any good health shop in your area or hop online to find this soothing essential oil. Also you can make your own infused oil and these steps can be seen further down in one of my secret DIY recipes from the lab.

 

Reasons to use calendula

Anti – Inflammatory

Let’s face the facts that stress, unhealthy diets, pollution and the sun  impacts negatively on your skin. Calendula can combat these nuisances and soothe your skin.

Anti-oxidant

Calendula contains carotenoids and flavonoids and due to these anti-oxidants, it helps wounds heal faster and plump skin through hydration and circulation giving you a more youthful appearance. So needless to say it fights off those free radicals that causes aging.

Antimicrobial

Your body is covered with countless amounts of microbes. I hear you asking what is a microbe. Well it is basically bacteria and fungi. When balanced, these all play an important part in keeping skin healthy and the trouble happens when a certain strain (or strains) try to outdo the other. Calendula’s antimicrobial benefits make it useful in clearing up  dandruff, diaper rash, and even acne.

Moisturizing

Calendula offers plenty of hydration, this is due to the linoleic acid which is an essential fatty acid, that provides nutrients to help support your skin barrier function. When your skin barrier function is healthy, it’s better able to keep  water locked in  and stays hydrated more efficiently.

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Best ways to use calendula

• The most popular way is to use as a cream or a serum. You could look for organic products that contain the oil or make your own by adding calendula oil to your normal day cream but I will share something in the lab a bit further down.
• Great in a shampoo to curb dandruff as it eases inflammation of scalp and  fungal overgrowth.
• Tissue or body oils are a nourishing way to soothe and heal your skin and by adding a few drops of calendula to 1/2 cup of coconut/jojoba or olive oil you won’t be disappointed.
• A petal bath is a great idea and when the beautiful flowers hit the warm water it will soothe those pores and leave you in a tranquil state. If you don’t have the flower then calendula oil drops added to your bath will also do the trick.
• Use as face mask calendula works wonders and I will share further DIY secrets in the lab below.

The Lab

CALENDULA AND HONEY FACIAL MASK

1/2 cup jojoba oil or olive oil

1/4 cup dried calendula flowers

1 tsp rolled oats OR coffee grounds

1 Tbsp raw honey

Add water to a pot and bring to a simmer. Add calendula flowers and jojoba oil to a heat-proof to heat-proof container and place over pot. Keep on a gentle simmer for 1-2 hours then remove from heat and let cool. This will allow calendula to infuse into the oil.

Using cheesecloth or a nut milk bag, strain calendula from oil. Squeeze or press to extract as much oil from flowers as possible then compost calendula.

Pour the infused oil into a jar and any leftover store in another sealed jar as it will last up to a year if stored out of sunlight. Grind the oats, leaving them a little rough for more exfoliation benefits.

To a small bowl, add ground oats, honey and 1 tsp infused oil. Stir to combine. Apply to face and neck, avoiding eye area. Leave on for 20 minutes. Massage into skin and exfoliate using light, circular strokes. Rinse off and gently pat skin dry with a washcloth or towel.

CALENDULA  TEA & YOGHURT MASK

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup plain yoghurt

2 calendula tea bags

Steep 2 bags of calendula tea for 8 minutes. Remove tea bags from water, let it cool to the touch, and squeeze out excess. Open tea bags plain yogurt and rolled oats. Mix well and apply to a clean face. Leave on for 20 minutes. Wipe off with a cloth, and rinse well.

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Wrapping up

When it comes to healing and soothing this pretty orange flower will do just that and it will make your skin blossom.

The anti-inflammatory/ antioxidant and anti fungal properties helps all skin types and further to this the hydration factor keeps the skin barrier in function and moisture locked in.

You can find the sunshine flower heads at all good health shops in your area and if that is not an option browse on-line for natural calendula products to suit your needs.

Calendula can also be enjoyed as a tea and sprinkled over your meals as a herb to increase its benefits to your skin.

A word of caution, avoid taking calendula orally at least two weeks before any scheduled surgery, since it can cause drowsiness. Don’t take it orally in combination with any type of sedative drug. It would also be wise to consult a doctor if you are pregnant and would like to use this flower.

As with all of nature’s miracle plants there some of us who may be sensitive and prone to allergies so be cautious and do a skin test patch before rolling around in the petals:-)

Have you tried calendula or would you like to? Let me know below , I would love to hear from you foragers!

Love your skin, naturally!

Janine