If you’re having constant skin issues, whether it be rashes, burns, irritation, minor cuts, or anything in between, it can be really frustrating.
You might have tried a wide variety of medicated creams and products, only to discover that they have nasty side effects, cost a lot, and generally don’t really work at all anyway.
However, there are plenty of naturally occurring substances out there that can indeed help heal your skin and provide you with relief from a variety of conditions.
Two of these naturally occurring substances include calendula and honey. Right now, we’re going to discover how you can use calendula and honey to create a healing skin salve to take care of a variety of conditions.
Calendula for Skin Healing
For those of you who don’t know, calendula is a naturally occurring substance, a special type of oil that is extracted from marigold flowers. Calendula oil has a wide variety of benefits, including being antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antifungal.
As far as being antibacterial and anti-inflammatory are concerned, these are both big benefits for wound healing.
Substances with anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties help the inflammation of wounds disappear faster, while also preventing bacteria from causing infections. At the same time, calendula also contains a variety of fatty acids that help to hydrate and moisturize the skin.
Honey for Skin Health
We then have honey, which is a naturally occurring substance produced by bees. Honey is of course a fantastic ingredient that is often used to sweeten desserts and drinks alike. However, what many people may not know is that honey also has a variety of fantastic therapeutic benefits.
For instance, honey also has antibacterial properties, such as calendula. Being antibacterial in nature means that honey is fantastic for fighting off a variety of infections, a reason why so many people use it when they have colds. Not only is honey antibacterial in nature, but also anti-inflammatory.
When you combine the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties of honey, they come together to provide you with benefits not only for relieving symptoms of colds and other such infections, but also for helping your skin heal. Honey has often been used for wound healing purposes, mainly due to its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.
How to Make a Calendula and Honey Salve for Skin Healing
OK, so both calendula and honey have skin-healing properties. One of the easiest ways to take advantage of these skin healing properties is to make a salve or cream out of both of them.
Yes, you can use calendula or honey on their own, but they’re really the most effective when used together. Follow the steps as listed below to make your own honey and calendula salve.
As you’re about to see, it is somewhat of an extensive process, but you can make a lot of it at once, and a little bit goes a long way.
Step 1: Gather Ingredients
To make your honey and calendula salve, you’ll need a variety of ingredients, including about 1 cup of dried calendula petals, about two cups of carrier oil such as coconut oil, 2 tablespoons of raw honey, 1/4 cup of beeswax, and some essential oils for additional fragrance, if desired.
Step 2: Gather Equipment
You also need some equipment to make this salve, including a double boiler or a heat-safe pot and bowl, some cheesecloth or strainer, containers, something to measure with, and something to stir with.
Step 3: Make Calendula Oil
The first real step in this process is to make the calendula oil. Take the dried calendula petals and put them in your heat-safe boil or double boiler, and then pour the carrier oil over the petals so that they’re completely submerged. Using low heat for about two hours, cook the mixture, but make sure that it doesn’t boil.
Step 4: Strain the Oil
Once the petals have been infused into the oil, use a strainer or cheesecloth to remove the petals from the oil. Make sure to squeeze as much of the oil out of the petals as possible.
Step 5: Prepare the Salve
Put the oil you just strained back into the double boiler and then add the beeswax, stirring constantly until it forms a homogeneous mixture.
Step 6: Add Honey and Essential Oils
At this point, you can add the honey into the mix, and if you’re using essential oils, you can add these as well. Make sure that everything is totally combined.
Step 7: Store and Label
Pour the newly made calendula and honey salve into clean containers, label them properly, and store as needed.
How to Use a Calendula and Honey Salve
Let’s go over some quick tips on using your calendula and honey salve for a number of conditions and purposes.
- If you’re using it as a moisturizer, just apply a small amount to your skin after washing.
- If you’re using it as a sunburn agent, apply it to the sunburn areas as needed.
- To help heal cuts and scrapes, first clean the area, and then apply a small amount of the salve to the affected area. This can also be done for minor stings, bug bites, and minor burns.
- If you are using this salve to help treat acne, psoriasis, or eczema, apply small amounts as needed.
Make sure to 1st apply a very small amount to a patch of your skin just to ensure that no adverse reactions occur. Furthermore, this is something that you can use up to three times per day. However, be sure that you don’t use this salve in extremely open and moist wounds.
How to Grow Your Own Calendula
If you want to grow your own calendula at home, just be sure that the soil pH is between 6.0 and 7.0, and that the soil is well drained. Make sure that the calendula is in a sunny spot, and that you don’t overwater it. In general, growing calendula in the garden is not much different than growing any other flowering plant.
The Best Honey for Health Benefits
According to modern research, manuka honey contains some of the highest concentrations of beneficial substances known for their healing properties.
Conclusion
Now that you know just how beneficial both honey and calendula can be in terms of skin healing benefits, you might be tempted to create your own salve to treat a variety of conditions, whether minor burns or cuts, stings, and scrapes, or even skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema.
Leave a Comment