Homemade Lotion with Calendula + Aloe

Ah, swimming, surfing, sailing, strolling and sitting in the great outdoors. We love summer! But it’s also the season for bug bites, sunburn and the rest. Cybele, a beauty therapist and aromatherapist from Blah Blah magazine, whipped up this light, soothing lotion that’s a lifesaver for summer bummers, like forgetting the bug spray or being caught out in the sun for way too long.

Homemade Lotion with Calendula and Aloe

This homemade lotion is a great moisturizer, especially if you tend to be a bit sensitive. My hands can get a bit irritated when I wash them a lot, so I now use this as a hand lotion, too. However, for rashes and reactions, it’s important to follow the advice of your healthcare practitioner. Regular use won’t suit everyone, because the lotion leaves the skin a bit tacky to touch when first applied. This is actually a good thing, as it means the lotion’s staying in place to penetrate the area from the surface down.

Calendula

This anti-inflammatory and healing wonder of a plant is bright yellowy-orange because of its high carotenoid content, which makes it an awesome skin regenerator (and why we love it in diaper cream). It’s also easy to make your own calendula oil, too.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is amazing at soothing and cooling. It’s also thought to speed up healing by increasing the amount of collagen (the skin’s scaffolding) wherever it’s applied, according to this study. It’s important to buy from a good source, as all bottled aloe vera contains preservatives, some natural, others nasty.

Raw Honey

Raw honey is an anti-inflammatory that is thought to stimulate a good immune response, reduce infection and enhance healing in burns and other wounds. The manuka honey, harvested from bees that love tea tree flowers, is even more serious about antibacterial action.

Chamomile

Chamomile shares a lot of its soothing, calming and anti-inflammatory properties with lavender but is thought to be a little bit gentler.

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5 from 1 vote

DIY: Summer lotion

An easy to make homemade lotion with calendula oil and aloe vera healing and soothing bug bites, sun burns and dry skin.

Prep Time5 mins

Total Time5 mins

Course: Bath and Body, DIY Beauty

Cuisine: DIY

Keyword: moisturizer

Yield: 4 ounces

Author: Stephanie Gerber

Cost: $5

Equipment

• Bottle with lid

Materials

• ½ tablespoon raw honey ideally manuka
• ½ tablespoon aloe vera
• 3 tablespoons calendula oil
• 10 drops Chamomile or lavender essential oil

Instructions

• Pour all the ingredients into a very clean or sterile bottle and shake to combine.

Notes

To use, test in a discrete spot to check for irritation. Wash the affected area, shake bottle to combine ingredients and gently apply the lotion (if treating sunburn, wait until the heat has cleared from the skin before using this lotion).

Store in the fridge, as the cool temperature will help soothe, too.

The raw honey means this is not suitable for babies under one year of age.

Bele Masterman can be found pottering around on Blah Blah Magazine. Once upon a time, she trained as a beauty therapist and aromatherapist and turned into a journalist, chronic DIYer, lover of beautiful things, mother of two bouncing boys and wife.