Experience Nature’s Gentle Touch With DIY Calendula Lotion
Calendula (Calendula officinalis) is a cheerful, bright yellow- and orange-flowered herb that reigns supreme at soothing and supporting the skin and mucous membranes, among other things. When applied topically, it helps with minor scratches, severe wounds, and even bacterial imbalances. This plant ally is a powerful flower to incorporate into topical herbal formulas, such as…
Let’s Celebrate These 8 Plants That Are Associated With the Sun
As we slowly transition out of the depths of winter and, if we are fortunate, are blessed with sun-ray glimpses of spring, this can be an excellent time to celebrate plants associated with the Sun. If you are familiar with herbal systems that place a strong emphasis on the energetics of herbs, such as Ayurveda…
5 Common Spices to Use for Everyday Health
The following excerpt, 5 Common Spices to Use for Everyday Health, is taken from Spice Apothecary© by Bevin Clare. Used with permission from Storey Publishing. HEALTHY CONNECTIONS: SKIN, BONES, AND JOINTS Our skin is the organ that interacts most with the world. A dynamic and responsive organ, it contends with all kinds of impacts and…
Homemade Bug Bite Salve for Itchy Spots
The summertime invites us outdoors to bask in the warmth of the sun and enjoy more physical activity. All of this time outdoors leaves us sunkissed, grounded, and also, in many cases, bug-bitten. Like all the best things in life, there’s always a little bitter with the sweet. A homemade bug bite salve is the…
Summer Solstice Sun Tea Recipes
The clouds make way, the night lessens, and the sun shines brightly as ever. It is the summer solstice—the longest day of the year! On this day, the sunbeams high in the sky, proudly providing warmth and light. A new season is ushered in, with the hope of a successful harvest to follow. The summer…
DIY Spring Herb Salve With Lavender, Calendula, and Rose
Fresh slow-infused calendula drips through a strainer sending drops of gold liquid splashing to the bottom of the glass. Next to it a jar filled with sweet lavender oil fills the room with a soothing aroma. A glittering of copper paints the wall as the sun hits the lid to my rose-infused oil. This right…
Mushroom Immunity Broth with Astragalus and Calendula
Make your own mushroom immunity broth by blending nutrient-rich mushrooms with herbs that are well-known for their positive effect on the immune system. Winter is known as the cold and flu season, and supporting your immune system is a must for those wanting to stay productive and healthy during the colder months. This mushroom-laden brew…
Homemade Nipple Balm with Calendula and Marshmallow
None can know the pain of cracked nipples from nursing, and the overwhelming relief of good nipple balm unless they’ve been there. We’ve been there, and this herb-infused homemade nipple balm uses rich ingredients and soothing botanicals to help the new mother. Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) root is one of the main ingredients in this herb-infused…
Best Herbal Oils for Homemade Soaps
In my five years of professional soapmaking, I’ve discovered herbal oils are a true luxury that adds vitality to homemade soap. Our skin is alive, but lifeless chemicals cannot give back life to the skin. To be “alive,” beauty products and topical formulas should be made purely of plant-based and natural ingredients (Raichur,1997). As the…
Shelf-Stable Calendula Cream Recipe
As herbalists, we turn to our trusty herbal allies to create simple and safe skincare products. We love our calendula-infused oil, our lavender hydrosol, our rose petals. But how can we bring these beautiful herbal ingredients together into a calendula cream recipe or another botanical skincare creation that is shelf-stable? After all, any time we…
Video: How To Make A Calendula Salve
Calendula (Calendula officinalis) is an herbal staple that many herbalists include in their herbal toolkits. While this herb has a plethora of uses, one of the most common uses is as a topical preparation for the skin. Calendula is a great herbal ally for the skin as a topical application on a wound, a rash,…
5 Child-Friendly Herbs For Topical Use
If you have children (or if you’ve ever been a child, for that matter), you’re familiar with all of the common childhood ailments, from colds and flu to basic boo-boos (like cuts, scrapes, and bruises). As a mother of two, there are a handful of herbs and very simple-to-make topical remedies that I like to…
9 Edible Flowers And How To Use Them
The use of edible flowers in cooking is an act of pure earthly delight! Fragrance and sheer beauty combine to create a truly sensually scrumptious experience right on your plate. You may be surprised to learn that there are a wide variety of flowers to enjoy. Discover how to enjoy using edible flowers and take…
DIY Herbal Skin Steam and Aloe-Calendula Cleanser
We all want great-looking skin. A quick skim through any fashion and style magazine gives plenty of evidence that healthy, clear, youthful-looking skin is a hot commodity—you’ll see ads for anti-wrinkle serums and collagen creams, moisturizers, acne-fighting gels, lotions to minimize the appearance of pores. Some products are excellent (and often expensive), while others are…
How To Make Calendula Salve
Calendula is a beautiful flower and is well known throughout the world as a powerfully supportive plant. It grows most climates and readily reseeds itself to come back year after year, and it’s a plant that I believe most herbalists would recommend growing yourself. I was so pleased when I moved into my new house…
A Family Herb: Helpful Calendula Blossoms
Vivacious, happy Calendula blossoms are a delight to grow and use in herbal remedies for everyone in the family. As a member of the Asteraceae family, Calendula (Calendula officinalis) is a relative of other helpful plants such as chamomile, yarrow, dandelion, Echinacea, and Arnica. And just like its family members, Calendula has a plethora of…
Herbal Remedies for Dry Skin: 3 Simple Recipes
Most of us have dealt with dry skin at some point in our lives, and for many of us, this concern intensifies during winter. Even though spring is just around the corner, if you are still dealing with the drying effects of cold air and indoor heat on your skin, here are some natural options…
How To Make A Homemade Sugar Scrub with Calendula
Over the last 8-10 years, I’ve become more focused on living a healthier lifestyle and raising my kids with that mindset as well. Because of this decision, I’ve had to change a lot of things in my life–things that most people may see as harmless, but I can see that they do more harm than…
Herbal Burn Salve Recipe with Comfrey, Calendula, and More
This past month, my four-year-old landed a second-degree burn on his leg, thanks to a cup of accidentally spilled hot cocoa. Thankfully, I had an herbal burn salve in our medicine cabinet that was a perfect remedy for this painful situation. The Story Now isn’t that just the way things tend to happen? Kids always…
