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My first Covid shot reaction of itches made me think of my Calendula Salve! I was out of it so it was time to whip up a batch. First, I had to make the Calendula-infused olive oil. (See my previous post about “Making Calendula-infused oil”). That takes a whole day so I set it up on Monday, the day of the second shot. I knew all I had to do was monitor the low simmer on the stove. I wasn’t sure exactly what reaction I might have from the second shot, but the first one gave me an itchy arm. I wanted to be ready!

This recipe (from the internet) says that calendula oil can be purchased. I didn’t know that. I have never seen it available. However, it isn’t hard to make it yourself!

Once again, place your oil and beeswax into the glass cup in a saucepan of hot water. Let it simmer until it is all melted.

Once melted, remove the cup from the hot water and stir in the Vitamin E oil and lavender essential oil.

Have your jars or containers ready to fill. I always have a few extra just in case I need them! Let them cool before sealing. At the last minute I decided to include some container that could be used for deodorant and lip balm. They might make it easier for some folks to apply the salve this way.

And of course, I always make a card to go with the products so folks know what is in the item. The back of the card has a statement about how to use the product.

Now…I’m ready for any itchy reactions, plus I’m ready for summer!

I put the extra calendula-infused oil in the refrigerator, ready to experiment with Dog Paw Protection Balm/wax next! Stay tuned!

Please leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net!

Enjoy!

NOTE:

For Topical Use: Do a skin patch test to ensure you’re not allergic to any new skin care product like this one. Apply a small amount of the product to a small patch of skin, like your inner wrist. Wait for 24 to 48 hours. If you see or feel irritation in that area discontinue use.

Calendula officinalis or Pot Marigold is a favorite of herbalists. Do not confuse it with the common variety of marigold of the Tagets genus, planted in many gardens.

We planted Calendula in our garden last year and it did well. I wanted to dry the flowers so I could use them in my salves and soaps. They are small plants and the flowers are quite “sticky” so the flowers needed to be picked at their peak, otherwise tiny bugs collected on the petals.

When I realized the amount of work involved to get enough flowers for my projects, I finally ended up ordering a bag of dried flowers from STARWEST Botanicals online (www.starwestbotanicals.com). This company also has dried lavender, which I also use, and many other herbs. Great resource!

Calendula flowers are used externally for a wide range of skin problems and inflammations. An infusion (like tea) made from the petals can be used in a compress to help slow-healing wounds.

As part of a cream or lotion, Calendula-infused oil is good for many problems involving inflammation or dry skin wounds, dry eczema, scalds and sunburn.

Calendula oil has antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties that might make it useful in healing wounds, soothing eczema and relieving diaper rash. It’s also used as an antiseptic.

Calendula oil is made by infusing flowers in a carrier oil. I use organic extra virgin olive oil. This Calendula-infused oil can then be used on its own or to make ointments, creams or salves.

Here’s one of my favorite books about using herbs:

Making Calendula-infused oil

Here are the basic instructions:

First, I filled a quart jar with dried Calendula flowers. This 1 lb. bag of dried flowers will probably last me the rest of my life! After the challenge of growing, picking and drying the flowers myself, this was a great compromise!

Then I poured olive oil over them and filled the jar. I used a long-handled spoon to gently poke the flowers to distribute oil. I set the jar into the sauce pan of water. I brought the water up to a boil and then lowered the temperature so it would just simmer for about 6 hours. I did have to add water to the sauce pan every hour or so as it evaporated.

Then, I poured the oil/flower mixture through the strainer, disposing of the flowers. I strained it again by lining the strainer with cheesecloth to make sure I didn’t have any crumbs from the dried flowers.

I ended up with almost 2 cups of lovely calendula-infused olive oil. This strained oil will be used in my next two projects…the Calendula Salve and a Dog Paw Protection Wax…which will be described in the next two posts.

Check the next post about using this oil to make a wonderful salve. I’m counting on it to soothe my itches!

Leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net! Enjoy!

NOTE:

For Topical Use…do a skin patch test.

Do a skin patch test to ensure you’re not allergic to a new skin care product like this one. Apply a small amount of the product to a small patch of skin, like your inner wrist. Wait for 24-48 hours. If you see or feel irritation in that area after that time frame, discontinue use.

For Internal Use…not recommended without consulting a health professional.

In the last post, I shared a kit that makes just one lip balm at a time. Great to know how to do it but I’d much prefer to spend almost the same amount of time and a few more ingredients to end up with more than one of something!

If I’m going to spend the day making bread, I’d sure rather have 6 loaves than just 3. I think it’s because I like to share a loaf with my neighbors! Same issue with lip balm, lotion bars and soap! Of course, that means I end up with stuff to share all the time. So be careful if you stop by, I might hand you a lip balm, a nifty bar of soap or a loaf of bread!

So, here’s the recipe to make a regular batch of Honey Lip Balm:

You will need a double boiler made with a sauce pan and a heat-safe measuring cup. This will melt the wax but keep it from getting too hot.

Some folks use the microwave, a few seconds at a time. It drives me nuts to open and close the door of the microwave every 10-20 seconds for several minutes and I can’t monitor the wax to make sure it doesn’t get too hot.

Before you start, decide what kind of container you want to put the finished melted lip balm into.

I purchased regular holders and I also have very small plastic containers. All can be purchased on Amazon. If you decide to use regular holders, make sure you also get the rack to hold them upright so you can pour directly into them.

Next, assemble your ingredients. I use white beeswax pellets, coconut oil, shea butter and oil. In this project I chose Almond oil.

Optional ingredients include: Vitamin E serves as a preservative; the Coconut essential oil gives it some flavor (you could choose citrus or vanilla); and a tiny bit of honey is always nice. All three of these ingredients are optional.

Before starting to melt the ingredients, attach the lip balm tubes to the holder, starting in the center so when the holder is flipped upright they are stable without having to be held. Open any small containers.

Measure the beeswax, coconut oil, shea butter and almond oil into the glass cup.

Place the cup into the sauce pan with several inches of water and bring the water to a gentle boil. Use the wooden stick to stir as needed.

When completely melted, turn off the burner.

Add the Vitamin oil and the Essential oil if desired. Stir well,

Add the honey. Mix thoroughly.

As you pour the wax into the holders, stop every now and then and stir again. The honey does not stay mixed easily.

While things are cooling, carefully wipe the wax out of your glass cup.

DO NOT POUR WARM WAX DOWN THE DRAIN. IT WILL CLOG YOUR DRAIN AS IT COOLS!

Once you have wiped out as much as you can, it is safe to put the cup in the dishwasher.

Let the holders cool for at least an hour. Use a paper towel to wipe off any drips around the holders.

The Lip Balm holders come with labels (or they are sold near the holders). Regular circular labels work well on the small round containers.

After I make a batch of any body product, I make a card to go with it listing the ingredients. Many folks are sensitive to certain ingredients and I don’t want anyone to have a bad reaction to something I make.

NOTE: If you decide to make things like this to sell at craft fairs, PLEASE do the research about legal requirements for labeling your products.

As always, if you have questions, leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

I headed to the bookstore yesterday…just for entertainment purposes you know! Right inside the door were assorted craft books and kits that looked interesting. This kit caught my eye:

Now, I already make lip balm (details in the next post), but I thought this kit might be good to try with my granddaughters when they come to visit. I could not find any information on the box about appropriate age level for the kit, but if nothing else I thought maybe I could reuse the tiny containers. The kit cost $14.99.

Inside, this is what I found:

A VERY tiny bag of VERY tiny beeswax pellets, 6 tiny egg shell-like plastic pieces, and an instruction manual.

The recipes also called for oil of your choice, a glass measuring cup, a stirring stick…which were not included, of course. There were 10 or so recipes with a list of other ingredients that could be added to the mix for flavor and coloring, like chocolate chips or essential oil. Seemed like a lot of extra supplies and work to make just one lip balm at a time.

I leafed through the manual and was instantly frustrated by the tiny type (must be old age!)

The measurements were in teaspoons and there was only one PVC mold. So basically, you melt enough ingredients to make 1 lip balm at a time with a wait/cooling time of at least 30 minutes.

So, I assembled the supplies and ingredients:

The only chocolate chips I had were vegan, but I assumed they would melt properly. I decided to use Almond oil for this experiment (forgot to take a picture of the oil and wooden stick!)

In my 1-cup glass measuring cup I put:

1 tsp. almond oil and 1/2 tsp. beeswax pellets.

I put the cup in the microwave, first for 30 seconds, and then 10 seconds at a time until melted. The glass gets hot…have a hot pad handy!

I added 3 tiny chocolate chips and stirred them in until melted.

I poured the mixture into the PVC mold.

After 30 seconds I placed the bottom section of the holder with the grid insert over the mold and pressed gently.

After 30 minutes, I flipped the mold over and pressed out the beeswax lip balm.

TA DA! My very own chocolate lip balm! Seemed like a lot of work to end up with just one! The plastic egg shell pieces don’t quite screw together tightly so I’m not sure I’d carry this in my pocket where it might warm up and melt a little!

Because of the hot wax and oil, I would recommend supervising the production and clean-up of these lip balms.

(Remember to wipe out the warm glass cup well with paper towels before trying to wash it. If the wax goes down a drain it WILL clog the drain as it cools!)

After making this single serving lip balm, I went ahead and made a batch of my own lip balm (check the next post!) Much more satisfying (to me) to have something to show for my time and efforts! Here’s one batch of my lip balm:

Please leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!