Calendula Benefits for Skin: The Complete Guide

The Wild Herbalist Series · by Amy Davis

Of all the plants that grow in my garden, calendula is the one I reach for most often when someone asks me what to do about their skin. The bright orange and yellow blooms are gentle enough for a newborn, yet powerful enough to soothe the angry, cracked hands of someone who has tried everything else. In this guide, I want to share what I’ve learned about calendula from years of growing, harvesting, and formulating with her — and why she has become the heart of so many Simply Wild Herbal products.

What is calendula?

Calendula officinalis, sometimes called pot marigold, is a cheerful annual flower in the daisy family. It has been used in folk medicine across Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East for centuries — valued for its skin-soothing, comforting qualities. The bright petals are rich in flavonoids, carotenoids, and resins, which together give calendula its reputation as one of the gentlest yet most supportive herbs for the skin.

If you want to get a little nerdy about it — and I always do — here’s what’s actually inside those petals. The flowers contain flavonoids (particularly quercetin and rutin), triterpenoids (including faradiol — the compound most linked to calendula’s anti-inflammatory power), carotenoids that give the petals their color and act as antioxidants, and polysaccharides that help skin retain moisture.

Why calendula is so beloved for skin

Calendula is prized by herbalists because she works on so many levels at once. The flowers contain naturally occurring compounds that support the skin’s own repair processes, help calm visible redness, and soothe areas that feel irritated or uncomfortable. She is gentle enough for delicate skin, babies, and those who react to almost everything else — yet she is far from weak.

1. Soothes dry, irritated, and sensitive skin

If your skin feels tight, rough, or easily irritated, calendula is one of the first plants I recommend. She helps moisturize and nourish skin that has lost its barrier, and she is remarkably comforting on patches that feel raw or reactive. I use her in almost every balm and cream I make for this reason.

Here’s something that always delights me when I read the research: the triterpenoids in calendula — particularly faradiol — demonstrate anti-inflammatory activity comparable to indomethacin, a prescription anti-inflammatory drug. The polysaccharides in calendula have strong bioadhesive properties, meaning they bind to the skin’s surface and help lock in moisture. That’s the science behind what my hands have been telling me for years.

How I use it

My Skin Relief Cream is built around calendula-infused olive oil. It’s the product I hand to anyone with chronically dry, sensitive, or reactive skin — the kind that doesn’t play well with most store-bought lotions.

2. Supports eczema-prone skin

Eczema is one of the most common concerns customers bring to me, and calendula is almost always part of the answer. She helps soothe the itch-prone, flaky patches that come with eczema flares, and she supports the skin as it works to rebuild itself.

The research echoes what I see at the markets. A clinical trial involving 66 infants found that calendula ointment was more effective than aloe vera at reducing diaper rash — a form of dermatitis with similar characteristics to eczema. While research specifically on atopic dermatitis is still limited, the anti-inflammatory, barrier-supporting, and antimicrobial properties of calendula make it a strong botanical option for managing eczema-prone skin.

I want to share two stories from my own customers, because they capture what I see over and over again.

One of my regular customers from the farmers market came to me with a terrible outbreak of eczema all over her hands — red, scaly, painful to look at. Nothing had helped — not prescriptions from her doctor, not over-the-counter creams. She bought my Skin Relief Cream with some skepticism. Two weeks later, she came back to the market just to show me her hands and how much they’d cleared up for the first time in months. She’s been a regular customer ever since.

I had another woman with a similar story — her husband had terrible eczema on his arms that wouldn’t go away. She came back about two weeks after her first purchase and bought five more jars, some for friends and family and some for her husband. She said it was like a miracle cream.

I share these stories not as promises — every person’s skin is different — but because they speak to how often calendula shows up when nothing else has worked.

3. Nourishes lips and tender spots

How I use it

My Chapped Lip Balm with Peppermint carries calendula-infused olive oil as its base. It’s a small thing, but a good lip balm with real herbal support can make a surprising difference on chapped, wind-burned lips.

4. Comforts working hands, feet, and even pet paws

Calendula shows up in my Paw Balm as well — a balm I make for dogs’ paws and rough noses. (Paw Balm is not online yet, but it’s available at markets and locally.) The same qualities that comfort human skin — gentle, nourishing, softening — are why it works so beautifully for our animals too.

5. Gentle enough for babies and new mothers

Calendula is one of the very few herbs I trust completely for the most delicate skin. I am currently in development on a calendula-based diaper rash cream and a nipple cream for nursing mothers. These aren’t available yet, but they’re on the formulation bench because calendula is, to my mind, the ideal plant for this stage of life — gentle, non-sensitizing, and deeply comforting.

6. Protects against everyday environmental stress

Your skin faces free radicals from sun exposure, pollution, and dry indoor air every day. The carotenoids in calendula — including beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene — are potent antioxidants that help neutralize free radicals before they can damage skin cells. This doesn’t replace sunscreen, but a calendula-based cream provides your skin with ongoing antioxidant support throughout the day.

How I extract calendula — my double-extraction process

Most recipes you’ll read online tell you to steep calendula in oil for a few weeks on a sunny windowsill. That works — but it only captures part of the plant. Here’s what I actually do:

I use a double extraction. First, the dried calendula petals soak in grain alcohol for 24 hours — about 0.75 oz of alcohol per 1 oz of herb. Then I add olive oil at a 1:6 herb-to-oil ratio and gently cook it at 110°F for 24 to 48 hours. The alcohol pulls out the water-soluble constituents, the oil captures the fat-soluble ones, and together they give you the full medicinal spectrum of the plant.

There’s a reason I go to all this trouble. Studies have shown that calendula extract promotes the proliferation and migration of fibroblasts — the cells responsible for building new connective tissue. In animal studies, wounds treated with calendula showed significantly more collagen production at both the 4-day and 7-day marks compared to untreated controls. My double extraction captures both the water-soluble and fat-soluble compounds responsible for these effects.

The olive oil I use for my Skin Relief Cream and Chapped Lip Balm with Peppermint is made this way. It’s slower and more involved than a simple infusion, but the finished oil is noticeably richer in color, aroma, and herbal character — and that carries through to the final products.

Is calendula safe?

Calendula is considered one of the gentlest herbs used topically. As with any plant, people who are allergic to others in the daisy family (ragweed, chamomile, chrysanthemum) should patch-test first. Outside of that, she is one of the most skin-friendly herbs I know.

A word from Amy

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For me personally, calendula is one of the most giving plants you can have in your medicinal garden. She has the energy of a mother — the more you take from her, the more she gives. It doesn’t matter how many blooms you harvest, she’ll put up twice as many as you take. She is gentle, nurturing, and safe, but don’t mistake that for weakness — she is an unbelievably strong herbal medicine. Bright, steady, and resilient. All the things we think of when we think of a truly wonderful mother.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.