Calendula Soap Recipe: Cold Process Soap Recipe with Calendula Oil (2024)

Learn how to combine herbs and essential oils to create a cold process calendula soap recipe to soothe problem skin and promote skin health. This natural soap recipe is formulated with neem oil, calendula infused oil, cocoa butter and a simple essential oil blend to create a hydrating soap that not only improves skin’s appearance, but also eases symptoms of everyday skin issues including acne, dry skin and eczema. Keep reading for more information on the skin care benefits of calendula and to learn how to make natural calendula soap from scratch.

Explore More Ways to Use the Ingredients & Essential Oils from Simply Earth

You may recall from past posts me writing about some of the many essential oils recipes that can be found in the monthly Simply Essential Oil Recipe Box. Along with those recipes, you also receive three great essential oils, an essential oil blend, and other ingredients to create essential oil recipes for health, home and beauty. However, there’s SO much more you can create using Simply Earth essential oils. Therefore, for the June box, I wanted to do more than just reshare the essential oil recipes included in the box this month. Instead, I want to show you how to take their recipe for making calendula infused oil and incorporate it into a calendula soap recipe. This not only gives you the opportunity to explore new ways to use their ingredients, but also a chance to take on intermediate projects once you’re past the easy recipes.

Recently I shared a wonderful, natural soap recipe for making an eco-friendly, zero waste solid dish soap. This cold process soap recipe featured two of the essential oils I received from past Simply Earth recipe boxes – mandarin and lime. My new recipe for calendula soap, which I share below, highlights not only the dried calendula flowers that come with the June box, but also the lavender essential oil. In addition to lavender essential oil, I also used the Simply Earth patchouli essential oil that was included in a previous shipment.

What’s Inside the June Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box

But first, I just want to highlight what you’ll find inside this June Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box. Every month there are new essential oils and new recipes to try. So it’s a great way to get started using essential oils. It’s also an affordable way to expand your existing essential oil collection. This month’s box includes the following essential oils:

• Cardamom essential oil
• Timber essential oil
• Lavender essential oil
• Bumps & Boo-boos essential oil blend

In addition, the box also include the following ingredients:

• Aloe vera gel
• Dried calendula flowers
• Essential oil stickers & labels
• 6 essential oil recipe cards

The recipe cards included recipes to make:

• Calendula Solar Infused Oil
• No Stress Essential Oil Blend
• Digest Help Roll On
• Sleek & Smooth Shaving Butter
• Skin Healing Gel
• Burn Salve

In total, the June Simply Earth essential oil recipe box is valued at over $137. However, by subscribing to Simply Earth, you not only get this box for just $39, you’ll also receive a free bonus box (valued at $40) filled with essential oil bottles and additional ingredients. You’ll also receive a coupon for $40 off absolutely ANYTHING your heart desires (to use on your next purchase) when you use coupon code: SOAPDELIFREE at checkout when you subscribe.

Each monthly essential oil recipe box you get from Simply Earth is always guaranteed to have a value of $100 or more. (Like a lot of your favorite beauty boxes!) So it’s a great way to explore new essential oils, try out new recipes and save money all at the same time. Sign up now.

What Are the Skin Care Benefits of Calendula?

As the June Simply Earth box features a recipe on how to make calendula infused oil using the solar infusion method, I thought it would be wonderful to highlight calendula infused oil in a cold process soap recipe for calendula soap. First, however, I want to share with you the skin care benefits of calendula.

Calendula exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It also has strong antibacterial and antifungal properties. Studies have illustrated that calendula is effective against broad spectrum and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This in turn helps to promote healing of wounds, and can also aid with acne prevention. While its anti-inflammatory skin care properties make it a suitable therapeutic treatment for soothing and calming acne, sunburns and even skin redness. In addition, as calendula is a naturally occurring antioxidant, evidence shows that topical applications of calendula can help prevent skin photoaging and UV-B induced skin cancer. Therefore, calendula may help to protect against pollutants and photoaging caused by sunlight.

How Do I Make Calendula Infused Oil for Calendula Soap?

You can make calendula infused oil in the same way you make dandelion infused oil, using the warm infusion method.

Warm Infusion Method for Making Calendula Infused Oil

To make a calendula infused oil using the warm infusion method, you will need a large glass mason jar, dried calendula flowers and a carrier oil of your choice. For the purpose of making calendula soap, I chose to use pomace olive oil. (Alternately, you can also use regular olive oil if you’d like to use your calendula infused oil for other applications, such as my herbal calendula balm recipe.)

Begin by sterilizing your mason jar. Once sterilized, fill the jar halfway with dried calendula flowers. Now pour the carrier oil of your choice over the calendula flowers until the oil is an inch above the dried herbs.

Mix the oil and calendula flowers together using a dry, sterilized spoon in order to evenly coat all of the flowers, and so no air bubbles remain.

Now place a square piece of wax paper over the mason jar you’re using for the oil infusion. Screw the lid onto the jar and gently roll the jar or turn it to mix the ingredients.

Set the jar in a warm, dark location, such as a kitchen cupboard. (It should be kept out of direct sunlight.) Allow the calendula flower to infuse in the oil for four to six weeks, shaking the mixture every few days to mix.

Once the four to six week mark for making your warm infusion has passed, strain the dandelions from the oil using a cloth lined strainer, such as cheesecloth. Alternately, you may also use a finemesh strainer for this purpose. It’s now ready to used in my calendula soap recipe, which can be found below, or other natural skin care recipes of your choosing.

How to Make Solar Calendula Infused Oil

Simply Earth gives you directions for making solar infused calendula oil. To make a calendula oil infusion using this method, you would follow the same instructions, as outlined above, for making a warm infusion.

Once you’ve screwed the lid onto the jar for your oil infusion, place the jar inside a brown paper bag. (You can also wrap the jar in an opaque cloth.)

Now place the jar in a sunny window. You should leave the calendula oil infusion in direct sunlight for a period of 1-2 weeks, mixing the ingredients per above, every few days. After which time, strain the oil and bottle in a sterilized glass jar.

There are also other ways you can make a calendula oil infusion. These methods include using a double boiler, stovetop or crockpot or an oven. Like the solar infusion method, these methods are also heat infusion methods for making herbal oil infusions. You can learn about these other methods for making herbal oil infusions, as well as discover tips and tricks on how to make herb infused oil here. You can also learn more about the different methods of using botanicals in your natural skin care recipes, with over 200 herbal recipes to try through the Botanical Skin Care Course. (You can find a review of the Botanical Skin Care Course here along with a sample recipe.)

Once you’ve created you calendula infused oil, you’re all set to utilize your herbal oil infusion in my cold process calendula soap recipe!

Cold Process Calendula Soap Recipe with Calendula Oil & Essential Oils

© Rebecca D. Dillon

Ingredients for Calendula Soap:

3.2 oz. castor oil (10%)
3.2 oz. 76°F melt point coconut oil (10%)
3.2 oz. cocoa butter (10%)
3.2 oz. neem oil (10%)
3.2 oz. palm kernel flakes (10%)
16 oz. calendula infused pomace olive oil (50%)

10.55 fl. oz. distilled water (33% of oil weight)
4.3 oz. sodium hydroxide (6% superfat)

.65 oz. patchouli essential oil
.45 oz. lavender essential oil
dried calendula flowers, to suit (optional)

Tools & Materials:

Digital scale
Non-aluminum heat safe containers
Immersion blender
Silicone soap molds
Glass measuring cup
Measuring spoons
Loaf mold
Thermometer
Spatula

Calendula Soap Making Notes:

I do not recommend my calendula soap recipe if you’ve never made cold process soap before as it is not a beginner soap recipe. If you need it, you can find a basic refresher course on how to make cold process soap here. I also have a simple beginner cold process soap recipe here if you’re just getting started.

My calendula soap recipe does contain neem oil. If you’ve never used neem oil before, you may be in for a bit of a shock the first time around. Neem oil, quite frankly, stinks. However, neem oil has numerous skin care benefits, especially for those with problem skin. Therefore I chose it as an integral part of my recipe for making calendula soap. Be assured, that once your calendula soap has cured however, the scent is significantly diminished, and takes on a more earthy aroma.

If you decide you do not want to use neem oil, you can infuse calendula in any soap making oil of your choosing. Then simply use the calendula infused oil in a recipe that calls for that carrier oil to make your own version of calendula soap. Also, keep in mind, that if you make any substitutions or changes to my calendula soap recipe, you must run the recipe back through a lye calculator. (Learn more on how to use a lye calculator for soap making here.)

In addition, my calendula soap recipe does trace fairly quickly and it gets pretty hot. I found there was plenty of time to pour this soap with no issues. However, I do recommend soaping at colder temperatures, around 100°F because of this. Further, if you use a loaf mold, I absolutely recommend you refrigerate this soap as soon as its poured. Otherwise, your soap will likely overheat, which can result in heat tunnels, cracking or separation.

I popped my soap in the refrigerator as soon as I noticed this and didn’t have any further issues. Using a silicone soap mold with individual cavities can help avoid this outcome. Be aware though that refrigeration, even with a silicone mold versus a loaf mold, may be necessary due to the properties of the soap making oils used to create this cold process soap recipe.

Further, as lye, or sodium hydroxide, is caustic, you do need to take care when making soap. This includes wearing eye protection, gloves and avoiding use of any and all aluminium containers, molds and utensils. Learn more about safely working with lye here.

Directions on How to Make Cold Process Calendula Soap:

Using a digital scale, begin by weighing out the soap making oils and cocoa butter called for in my calendula soap recipe. Place the ingredients into a heat safe container, such as a non-aluminum stock pot, to heat on the stovetop. You can also use a crockpot or another heat safe container if you choose not to melt your oils on the stove.

Heat the soap making oils over medium-low to medium heat until melted on the stovetop (or using your preferred method) in a stainless steel pot. Once melted, remove the oils from the heat and set aside to cool.

In the meantime, measure out the water into a separate heat safe container. (You don’t want to use Pyrex to mix the lye, therefore a stainless steel pitcher or heat safe plastic container is recommended for mixing.) Then, using a third container, weigh out the lye.

Slowly pour the lye into the water in a well ventilated area. Mix well to combine, until all of the lye has dissolved. Set the lye-water aside to cool.

Now weigh out the essential oils next. Set aside.

Once the lye-water and the melted oils both reach a temperature of around 100°F to 110°F, you’re ready to make your calendula soap. (Ideally you want both the lye-water and soap making oils to be within 10°F of one another.)

As this soap traces quickly, I recommend adding the essential oils to the melted soap making oils prior to adding the lye water. Then mix the oils and essential oils together briefly using an immersion blender.

Next, carefully pour the lye-water into the soap making oils. Mix with the immersion blender until you reach a light to medium trace. (You’ll know you’ve reached trace when you drag your blender across the top of the soap and it leaves a trail behind it. It will be similar to the consistency of pudding.)

Working quickly, pour the soap into the molds of your choice using a spatula. (In this instance, I use this wooden loaf soap mold with a silicone liner. However, as indicated above, you may want to use two silicone soap molds with individual cavities to prevent overheating.) Also, as a reminder, this soap will trace and set up fast. So have your mold ready to go.

Then add dried calendula flowers to the tops of the soap you just poured. (This step is optional.)

If you are using a loaf mold, immediately place the soap in the refrigerator. Otherwise, keep a close eye on your soaps to watch for signs of overheating.

Allow the solid calendula soap to set up in the mold overnight. You can then unmold your calendula soap the next day.

Once you unmold the calendula soap loaf, cut the soap into bars using either a Chef’s knife or a soap cutter. Then allow your soaps to cure in a cool, dry location over a period of four weeks prior to use.

Once the cold process calendula soap bars have cured, they are ready to be used!

If you like my calendula soap recipe, be sure to pin this natural cold process soap recipe to Pinterest for later. You can also follow my Pinterest boards here.

More Cold Process Soap Recipes for Problem Skin

If you like my cold process calendula soap recipe with essential oils, then also be sure to try my . A traditional remedy for relief of a variety of skin conditions including psoriasis, eczema, dandruff and skin inflammation, this cold process pine tar soap recipe also helps with common seasonal issues such as itchy bug bites and poison ivy. Get the recipe here. Or try one of these other cold process soap recipes that help with common skin issues such as acne, dry skin and eczema.

• Brazilian Triple Butter Soap Recipe for Dry Skin & Eczema
• Natural Calendula Soap Recipe with Exfoliating Loofah
• Hydrating Bastille Soap Recipe for Dry Skin & Eczema
• Easy Unscented Goat Milk Soap Recipe for Dry Skin & Eczema
• Homemade Coffee Soap Recipe for Dry Skin & Eczema
• Coconut Milk Soap Recipe for Dry Skin & Eczema
• Coconut Oil Facial Soap Recipe for Acne Prone Skin
• Homemade Tomato Soap Recipe for Acne Prone Skin
• for Acne Prone Skin

Or explore more of my cold process soap recipes here.

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