Calendula is a bright orange and golden flower with a warm, slightly resinous scent. It’s one of the gentlest, most comforting botanicals we work with, and one of the easiest to love in the garden.

What is calendula?

Calendula, also known as pot marigold, is a hardy annual flower native to the Mediterranean region. Its bright orange and golden flowers have been grown in gardens and used in traditional skin care for centuries.

We grow calendula abundantly in our gardens on Cortes Island, BC, harvesting the flowers throughout the growing season for slow oil infusions that we use throughout our skin care formulas. Slow infusion allows us to gently draw the botanical qualities of the flowers into the oil, creating a rich, plant-infused ingredient for our creams, serums and body care.

Calendula benefits for skin

Calendula contains naturally occurring antioxidants and plant compounds, including flavonoids and carotenoids, which contribute to the flowers’ vivid colour and antioxidant activity. It’s traditionally valued for its soothing and comforting qualities, helping to calm the feel of dry or stressed skin and ease the appearance of redness.

Calendula is particularly lovely in formulas made for skin that feels dry, weathered or depleted. Its gentle nature also makes it a beautiful botanical for everyday facial and body care, where it can be combined with nourishing plant oils and butters to support soft, comfortable skin.

How to use calendula

Calendula is most often used in skincare as an oil infusion. The dried or fresh flowers are steeped slowly in a carrier oil, allowing the oil to take on the botanical qualities of the plant. Calendula-infused oils can then be used in creams, balms, facial oils and body care.

At home, calendula-infused oil can be smoothed over dry hands, elbows and other areas that need extra nourishment. Calendula flowers can also be added to a warm bath for a simple botanical bathing ritual.

Calendula in Twigroot skin care

Calendula is one of the botanicals we grow most abundantly at Twigroot, and its place in our formulations begins in the garden. We harvest the flowers and slowly infuse them into plant oils, creating our own botanical extracts to use throughout our skin care.

It brings a calming touch to our Light Facial Cream, Nourish Facial Cream and Radiance Antioxidant Serum.

For the body, you’ll find calendula in our Shinrin Yoku Body Oil, Blossom Body Cream, Summer Nights Body Cream and Herbiary Hand Cream. It also brings its soothing botanical qualities to the skin beneath the beard in our Adonis Beard & Scalp Oil.

For us, calendula is a perfect example of why we love growing our own botanicals. From bright flowers in the garden to slow-infused oils in our formulations, it allows us to carry the character of the plant all the way through to the finished product.