Calendula flowers have a long history of use in traditional medicine, with the beautiful flowers being soaked in oils to extract their medicinal qualities. Now, advanced technology in the field of botanical extracts has created the first Calendula essential oil, with an incredibly strong concentration of the therapeutic components of the flower. This essential oil, known as a Total Supcritical Critical Carbon Dioxide Extract, is very easily used by both natural health practitioners and by mothers using aromatherapy as a natural healing alternative in their home. A large body of scientific research has grown in the last decade revealing quite a list of profound healing properties of this extract. It has been found to have regenerative, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic, antitumorial, and organ-protective effects.
Healing from the Marigold Flower
Calendula flowers show off their antioxidant content with their deep red, orange and gold colors. The plants are a type of Marigold, commonly found in home gardens the world over. An oil infusion of the flowers, made by simply soaking the flowers in a “fixed” oil (like Almond or Jojoba oil) for up to several months. This infusion has been an exceptionally popular, if hard to come by, ingredient in skin care recipes, especially for infants and toddlers. Anyone prone to skin irritation would benefit from application of this very soothing oil. However, the infused oil has been generally difficult to find, and limits one to the oils included in any recipe. By using the Calendula essential oil in small concentrations, any carrier, with specific desired therapeutic properties can be used.
New Methods Offer Easy-To-Use Essential Oil
The Calendula essential oil concentrate is often labeled as Calendula CO2, meaning all the lipid-soluble components of the plant have been extracted using pressurized, liquified carbon dioxide. At the end of the process, the carbon dioxide is released and only the essential oil remains. A search through the data provided by the US Nation Library of Medicine uncovers hundreds of references to Calendula officinalis extract. The database is hosted at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov — simply search for the therm “calendula” for pages of facinating results to browse through.
A Summary of the Research
The researchers, prompted by the great historical use of this flower as medicine, have investigated a great many of its healing properties. These include the speeding of wound healing, potent anti-inflammatory action, strong anti-oxidant activity, and a myriad of protective effects to various organs. The research notes that the extract actually increases the speed at which skin cells form, has uniquely strong antioxidant activity due to the red and orange pigmentation, and prevents damage to the liver and kidneys when they’re exposed to toxic chemicals. The conclusions of these studies indicate quite clearly the efficacy of the flower extract in a wide variety of applications. So how can we make use of this oil?
Making Healing Recipes at Home
Simply adding a few drops of Calendula essential oil to topical skin and beauty care, wound healing, and pain relief formulas is the most simple means of using the oil. Calendula will synergize with essential oils such as Helichrysum, Lavender and Tea Tree depending on your needs. For wound healing, with the possibility of scar and hematoma reduction, try 5% Helichrysum, 3% Calendula, 3% Lavender and 3% Tea Tree in a base of virgin Tamanu and Coconut oils. This formula can prevent infection, sooth the injury, and speed the overall healing process. For joint and muscle pain, or injuries to muscles and connective tissue, increase the amount of Helichrysum essential oil to up to 25%, and use 5% Calendula in any carrier oil as a base. Helichrysum is known to be very effective at relieving pain and reducing inflammation, as is Calendula — the two together may provide an even more profound healing effect for many people.
Liver and Kidney Protection Through Reflexology
Calendula’s organ-protective effects can be utilized by applying the essential oil to the feet, which are highly receptive to the energetics of essential oils. The liver and kidney points are directly behind the ball of the foot, at the front of the arch. One can make one ounce of an organ-supportive blend by using 3 milliliters of Calendula, 1 and 1/2 milliliters each of Helichrysum italicum, Blue Tansy and Carrot Seed essential oils in organic Coconut. Regular massage in the area described with this blend is intended to ‘clear’ these organs and support their healthy function. With further dilution, this formula can be massaged in the low back and abdomen for further therapeutic support.
An Excellent Safety Profile
Calendula extract is also safe for internal ingestion, listed as GRAS, or Generally Recognized as Safe by the FDA. A few drops can be ingested daily for simple antioxidant support, and the oil, while not particularly flavorful (tastes like strong green/orange flowers), can be ingested without dilution (unlike other ‘hotter’ essential oils). For more complete antioxidant protection from essential oils that are ‘GRAS’, consider Sea Buckthorn CO2 (3 drops daily, a nicer flavor) and Clove CO2 (1 drop daily — this is a ‘hot’ oil and will require dilution in warm water or olive oil). Ingestion of Carrot Seed, 1 drop daily, is recommended in the aromatherapy literature for liver support. The oils can be dropped in a en empty cellulose capsule and easily ingested this way. Ingestion also provides a means of utilizing the organ support offered by Calendula; while protocols are developed for human use, low dosages such as these are considered both safe and therapeutic by aromatherapy professionals.
Calendula: Now One of the Most Highly Regarded Natural Medicines
Calendula is a profoundly-healing plant, with both extensive folklore as well as scientific research supporting its use. An effective and easy method of using Calendula essential oil is to use it therapeutically in instances of skin irritation and wound healing of all varieties. Calendula and Helichrysum essential oils synergize to enhance the rate of wound healing, the reduction of inflammation, and therapeutically for injuries to the musculoskeletal system (painful joints, muscles, tendons and so on). Calendula extract has also been noted by researchers as supportive and protective for both the kidneys and the liver, and has other protective effects for nearly every aspect of one’s physiology. If these effects of Calendula seem like something you or your loved ones could use, its long history of direct application in therapeutic use along with scientific validation make it a worthwhile product to investigate further.
About the Author:
The author, Kelly Smith, is proponent of the varied and potent healing actions of herbal infusions and aromatherapy essential oils. For more,
visit Anandaapothecary.com .
How to Make Lotion, Calendula Lotion
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