Calendula is more than just a garden beauty; it also has a long-standing reputation as a natural anti-inflammatory skincare treatment. These lotion bars are made with grapeseed oil infused with calendula petals to give them a beautiful golden hue and all the delightful skin properties of calendula. These summer lotion bars glide on your skin easily, are absorbed quickly, and don’t leave you with a greasy feeling.
Why Make a Summer Lotion Bar?
During the summer, we put our skin through a lot. We expose it to the sun’s rays. We spend days at the beach swimming in salt water which is drying on skin, and we generally spend a lot more time playing outdoors, which is wonderful but can lead to more scrapes, bruises, and minor cuts than usual. Calendula-infused lotion bars heal and moisturize skin without the heaviness of my winter lotion bar recipe that I use during the colder months.
Calendula for Skin Care
Throughout history, calendula has been used in ointments, salves, and poultices to treat burns, wounds, bruises, and inflammation of all kinds. Calendula speeds up the growth of tissue, which means that it does wonders for healing minor cuts and scrapes quickly. It is also moisturizing and extremely gentle, so it is a good choice for children or those with sensitive skin. This lotion bar harnesses the healing and moisturizing powers of calendula and is perfect for summer skin.
Oils for Lotion Bars
There are a number of oils that can be used to make lotion bars. I like this combination for the texture, hydration, and quick absorption.
Grapeseed Oil
Grapeseed oil is a by-product of winemaking made by pressing the natural oils out of grape seeds. The oil doesn’t have much of an aroma and is very light, quick to absorb into skin, and is full of antioxidants. Grapeseed oil is good for facial products and those with oily skin since it is so light and will hydrate skin without feeling greasy.
Coconut Oil
Coconut Oil contains a high amount of fatty acids, has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, and it smells like a tropical vacation. It is especially effective at moisturizing the skin when combined with other ingredients. Coconut oil is good for hydrating sun-damaged skin and helps to prevent the look of aging. Unrefined, virgin/extra virgin coconut oil is best for use in homemade skincare products.
Cocoa Butter
Cocoa butter comes from (you guessed it!) cocoa beans. It is an edible fat and is the main, essential ingredient in chocolate, which is why it smells so delicious. It is wonderful for hydrating skin and it contains antioxidants which you can absorb through your skin.
It is a solid at room temperature, but heating it will transform it into a liquid so that it can be combined easily with other ingredients for a beauty recipe. Cocoa butter has a strong, chocolate aroma that holds well in recipes. If you don’t care for the scent, it can be purchased in a processed form that has the scent removed. The recipes in this book use organic, raw cocoa butter that adds a mouth-watering aroma to the end products.
Calendula Lotion Bars VIDEO
If you aren’t sure if you can make these lotion bars this gorgeous at home, have a look at this video by Erin from the Impatient Gardener website and YouTube Channel.
Erin made the recipe on camera and it’s fun and hilarious to watch. Erin is self-proclaimed to be not crafty at all, so she is a bit out of her element, and you just have to watch the video to the end to see her reaction!
Read more about Make & Give Home Apothecary here.
Calendula Lotion Bars Recipe
Now that you have seen in the video, it’s surprisingly easy to make these lotion bars. Let’s walk through the step-by-step instructions with photos to help you out as well!
Ingredients
Makes eight 57.5 gram bars
- 200 g calendula-infused grapeseed oil (see how to make it)
- 100 g virgin coconut oil
- 100 g beeswax
- 60 g cocoa butter
- A pinch of dried calendula petals (optional)
- 2 ml (40 drops) lavender essential oil (optional)
Materials
Make it!
Infuse the grapeseed oil with calendula petals as described in this post.
Weigh your ingredients and add them to the top pot of a double boiler.
Stir the ingredients in the double boiler until they have all melted together.
If you’re adding calendula petals and lavender essential oil, stir them in at this time. Pour the ingredients into the silicone mold, dividing the contents equally.
Leave the lotion bars undisturbed until they are set. If you are making them in a warm room, move the silicone tray into the fridge to firm up.
Remove from the mold and store them in the refrigerator when not in use.
Give it!
Package up one lotion bar in a metal tin on a bed of shredded paper and calendula petals. Create a 2.5” round craft paper canning lid label on a printer and use a 2.5” hole punch to cut out a perfectly round circle. Add the label on to the top of the tin and the lotion bar is ready to give.
hello Stephanie:
I made my first batches yesterday and I tried both formulas, the winter and summer lotion bars. I love the summer one because it does not melt so easily and ley look so pretty!
I was wondering if you could substitute the grape seed oil for sweet almond oil and the calendula for lavender in the infused oil part… I’d love to upload some pics for you to see…
THANKS A LOT!
Hi Adriana, How wonderful! Yes, you can absolutely switch the oil to lavender infused sweet almond oil for the next one. Please do send me pictures by email to hello (at) gardentherapy.ca. or tag me on social media….my links are either at the top or bottom of every page on my website (depending on if you are on mobile or desktop).
Hello Stephanie, I made lavender lotion bars using your recipe and it came out great! Considering I’m not a ‘crafty’ person. May I know what are your metal tin dimensions? I used the exact same mold as you and bought 2oz 2.5 inches diameter tin but it can’t fit!