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Calendula

Cottage-garden marigold with diaper-cream credentials

Calendula officinalis

A parent dabs balm on a child’s scraped knee under a giant calendula flower.
Illustration

The short version

Calendula, or pot marigold, is a bright garden annual. The dried flower heads are infused or extracted for balms, creams and dressings. People use it to calm upset skin and support the barrier.

Family
Asteraceae
Part used
Flower heads (infused oil, extract)
Comes from
Thought to originate in southern Europe and the Mediterranean; widely cultivated

Good for?

You’ll find calendula in diaper creams, barrier balms and gentle moisturisers. A small controlled trial suggests it can boost hydration and help a stressed skin barrier recover. Lab and animal work points to soothing, antioxidant and collagen-supporting actions. It also appears in modern hydrogels and films that help manage moisture on wounds.

Does it actually work?

Real trials.

Controlled trials on people back it up.

Evidence grade 4 out of 5.

“Human evidence is small but suggestive.”

What the studies say

Human evidence is small but suggestive. In a double-blind randomised trial with 20 volunteers and irritant contact dermatitis, a cream containing 1% supercritical CO2 calendula extract improved hydration and reduced transepidermal water loss versus the base emollient. In mice, topical calendula extract sped wound closure, increased fibroblasts and hydroxyproline, and lowered inflammatory markers. Many hydrogel and nanoparticle dressings that include calendula look biocompatible and helpful in models, but they also contain other actives, so calendula’s specific role is hard to pin down. Antimicrobial results are mixed: calendula nanocapsules showed limited activity against normal skin microbes, while an in‑vitro study suggested activity against Demodex mites. Overall, encouraging signals, but studies are few and small.

A gardener drops calendula flower heads into a jar of oil to infuse.
Illustration

What's inside

  • Varies by solvent; often abundant in ethanolic flower extractsFlavonoids (e.g., quercetin and isorhamnetin glycosides)Linked to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in vitro.
  • Enriched in non-polar and supercritical CO2 extractsTerpenoids (notably triterpenes and derivatives)Associated with pro-collagen and soothing signals in preclinical models.
  • Common in polar extracts; levels varyPhenolic acids (e.g., caffeic, chlorogenic)Contribute to antioxidant capacity.

Read this first

Small human studies and preliminary skin measurements did not flag notable irritation with topical calendula formulations. If your skin is very reactive, patch test a new product first. Data in infants and with long-term daily use are still limited.

The stories

1 in the Journal

Origins · Calendula

Calendula: the marigold in your diaper cream, examined

Calendula officinalis (pot marigold) has long been used on wounds and rashes. Recent laboratory and animal work is extensive; human trials are small and formulation-dependent, so clinical conclusions are tentative.

  • Skin
  • Body

Reviewed

Sources

  1. Development and Characterization of Carrageenan-Based Hydrogels Enriched with Calendula officinalis Extract for Topical Skin Applications. — Kozlowska J, Bakula A, Noryca K. · Polymers · 2026
  2. Cationic curdlan-based hydrogels loaded with Calendula officinalis-decorated silver nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization and in vitro biological properties. — Suflet DM, Popescu I, Luca A, Butnaru M, Rîmbu CM, Horhogea CE, Constantin M. · Carbohydrate polymers · 2026
  3. An Update of Phytotherapeutic Advances of Marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) in Wound Healing. — Deligiannidou GE, Papadimitriou K, Poulios E, Kontogiorgis C, Papadopoulou SK, Giaginis C. · Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
  4. The Efficacy of Calendula Officinalis Extract on the Mortality of Demodex Folliculorum. — Rokaya N, Chaichalotornkul S, Saiwichai T. · Kathmandu University medical journal (KUMJ) · 2025
  5. Hyaluronic-Acid Nanocapsules with Plant Extracts: Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity Against Skin Microbiota. — Lenart-Boroń A, Ratajewicz A, Czernecka-Borchowiec N, Kopacz A, Schejbal Z, Khachatryan G, Khachatryan K, Krystyjan M, Bulanda K, Stankiewicz K. · Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
  6. Double-blind randomised controlled trial of an emollient cream with and without 1 % supercritical CO2 extract of Calendula officinalis in contact dermatitis. — Crnčević MŠ, Durdov T, Rušić D, Ramić L, Ćosić A, Bukić J, Jokić S, Aladić K. · Acta pharmaceutica (Zagreb, Croatia) · 2025
  7. A Systematic Review of Recent Developments in Wound Healing and Skin Regeneration Properties of Plant-Extract-Based Hydrogels for Skin Delivery: A Focus on Asteraceae and Lamiaceae Families. — Michalak M. · Pharmaceutics · 2026
  8. Calendula officinalis extract enhances wound healing by promoting fibroblast activity and reducing inflammation in mice. — Ozturan YA, Akin I. · Cutaneous and ocular toxicology · 2025
  9. Calendula glycolic extract enhances wound healing of alginate hydrogel. — Possa GOK, Chopek S, Pereira AV, Koga AY, Oliveira MRP, Costa MDM. · Acta cirurgica brasileira · 2024
  10. Analysis of the Impact of Ethanol Extract of Calendula officinalis L. on Human Fibroblast Cell Cultures Using the PANsys 3000 Device for Breeding and Visualization of Cells. — Nowak-Terpiłowska A, Nowak I, Feliczak-Guzik A, Wyganowska M. · Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
  11. Metabolomic Fingerprinting and UHPLC-ESI-HRMS/MS Profiling of Five Medicinal Plants Associated with Wound Care. — Davkova Stojanovski I, Gašić U, Mišić D, Trajkovska Matevska A, Stoilkovska Gjorgievska V, Todorov F, Cvetkovikj Karanfilova I, Stefkov G, Karapandzova M. · Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
  12. Polyurethane-based bilayer wound dressing with snail mucin, Calendula extract, and zinc-doped carbon dots for enhanced therapeutic and antibacterial performance. — Amirsoleimani A, Bahrami Z, Abdoos H, Kafshdouzan K. · International journal of biological macromolecules · 2025
  13. Toward Natural Wound Healing Therapy: Honey and Calendula officinalis Loaded κ-Carrageenan Films with Promising Hemostatic Potential. — Vuković JS, Perišić S, Nikolić A, Milošević I, Mirilović M, Bolka Prokić B, Lužajić Božinovski T. · Pharmaceutics · 2025
  14. Production and Characterization of Plant Extract-Based Cell-Friendly and High Mechanical Strength Nanofiber Wound Dressings by Electrospinning Technique. — Sivri C, Sakarya G. · Biopolymers · 2025
  15. Antibacterial and antioxidant okra-based hydrogels enhanced with Ag@HKUST-1 as a next-generation wound dressing. — Tahmasebi S, Farmanbordar H, Mohammadi R. · International journal of pharmaceutics: X · 2026
  16. Study the Effect of Calendula officinalis Extract Loaded on Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle Cream in Burn Wound Healing. — Hashemi SS, Pakdin A, Mohammadi A, Keshavarzi A, Mortazavi M, Sanati P. · ACS applied materials & interfaces · 2023