How to Make Calendula Lip Balm

A simple DIY to make Calendula Lip Balm – gentle and nourishing lip balm that is perfect for family, friends, and even gifts!

Calendula is one of my favorite flowers to grow in my backyard garden – not only have I planted it directly in my garden beds, for a long time, I had it growing in grow-pots, too.

If you haven’t used grow pots for your home garden, they are a wonderful way to grow a variety of herbs, flowers and plants in a tight space. Growing a garden in a tight space can definitely be done!

How to Grow Calendula

Calendula is one of the most beautiful flowers to grow – not only does it provide a ton of color in your garden, it actually serves as a skin healer and can also be used for culinary purposes, too.

Calendula grows best in well-drained soil in fun sun or in part shade.  Once established, calendula blooms with yellow to orange blossoms that open and close with the sun.  It grows easily from seed –  plant 1/4 inch deep and thin the seedlings 8-12 inches apart after you see it emerge from the soil.

Calendula also serves as a great companion plant in the vegetable garden. Good companions to calendula are tomatoes, peas, carrots, asparagus, and cucumbers.  Plant along the edge of an herb, flower or veggie garden. In cold climates, calendula will die off in a hard frost and seeds will need to be resown the next year.

How to Make Calendula Infused Oil

By collecting the flowers and allowing them to infuse in oil, you can extract the powerful qualities. Then use that oil to make salve, lotion, soap, or balm.

To make calendula infused oil, pick your calendula flowers and allow them to dry. While you can use them fresh, the water content within the flowers will be higher and it will increase the chance of spoilage over time.

To dry your flowers, spread them in a single layer on a paper towel and allow them to dry, undisturbed, for a week or two. Or, purchase dried calendula flowers online at Mountain Rose Herbs or on Amazon.

#1: Make Calendula Infused Oil

To make calendula infused oil, fill a pint canning jar 1/2 full with dried calendula flowers. Then pour your choice of oil over them. Feel free to opt between olive oil, avocado oil, sunflower seed oil, or even sweet almond oil. Cover the entirety of the dried calendula, cap the jar and let sit for a few weeks in a dry, cool place, shaking each day.

Or, for a faster infusion, set the jar in a pan or pot of water over low heat. Over the course of several hours, infuse the oil and then remove the pan from the heat.  Once done, strain the calendula out and store the strained oil in a separate jar complete with lid and ring.

Step 2: Make Calendula Lip Balm

To make the Calendula Lip Balm, you will need the following: 

• • 1.5 oz of strained calendula infused oil
  • .80 oz of beeswax pellets
  • .50 oz beef tallow (or, substitute shea or mango butter)
  • 15-18 Lip Balm Tubes (I pick up these on Amazon)

Add the calendula infused oil, beeswax, and tallow or butter to a heat safe measuring cup (a Pyrex glass measuring cup works well). Zap in the microwave on 15-20 second bursts, taking care to stir between. Once melted, pour into your lip balm tubes, cap, and label.

Don’t want to make your own lip balm?

That’s ok too! You can find ready made Calendula Lip Balm here in my Etsy shop. Or, pick up a tin of Calendula Salve and score a Bonus Calendula Lip Balm with each salve purchase!