Make your own healing balm with the incredible properties of calendula infused olive oil, castor oil, tallow and emu oil. If you have subscribed to Our Nomadic Homestead, you already have my e-book on these ingredients and know how incredible they are! (If not, subscribe and get yours now!)

Ditch “You NEO Who”
Did you know that in 2021, Neomycin was rated “allergen of the year?” And in years past, bacitracin received the same award. Those are two of the “triple antibiotics” that the mainstream ointment boasts, as well as petroleum and sulfates. I’m not going to do a deep dive into why those are all things we want to stay away from— I’m assuming you’re here looking for an alternative because you are already wary of this ubiquitous ointment! Instead of hammering on the evils of this toxic go-to, I’m going to pour some glorious light over the gifts that God has given us in nature for an alternative.
First Up: Beautiful Calendula!

Calendula Infused Olive Oil
You cannot look up “natural wound care” without being inundated with calendula infused oil. The first several pages of google are full of this dream, and for good reason! Skipping past everything that could potentially be opinion, I searched the National Library of Medicine and found confirmation. It’s even influencing mainstream medical practice. What!? This humble flower has triterpene saponins and alcohols, as well as flavonoids, which make it anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial. Those make calendula the queen of healing wounds, soothing eczema, and relieving rashes. It even helps with the collagen production, and promotes new tissue growth for scar repair.
Olive oil is one of the biggest power houses of antioxidants, and actually amplifies whatever you infuse into it. So take all that I just said about the benefits of calendula and magnify that since we are infusing it with olive oil. Aside from that, olive oil has vitamin E and K, so it comes to play all on its own!
To infuse, pack a jar as full as possible with dried calendula flowers. Pour olive oil over the flowers in the jar, and set aside in a cupboard for 4 weeks. To help me remember, I set an event on my calendar so that I get an alert when it’s ready! Once it is ready, strain the flowers out of the oil. Apparently it’s an incredible boost for your chickens to get the spent oily flowers! If you’re wanting to make the ointment today, you can still absolutely make it with regular olive oil, but get some calendula oil infusing for your next batch!


Next Up: Castor Oil
I can’t get enough of this stuff! It seems like whatever ails, castor oil is somewhere on the list for being the remedy! According to National Library of Medicine: Castor oil is deemed to have strong anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-nociceptive, [had to look that one up… here’s the definition: the body’s response to potentially toxic stimuli, like harmful chemicals, mechanical injury (e.g., cutting, crushing), or adverse temperatures (heat and cold) by the sensory nervous system.] It is also an analgesic (pain reliever), antioxidant, and has vaso-constrictive properties to help slow the blood flow. With a reputation like that, I had to include it in a healing balm.
Finally: Tallow
Shocker! Just kidding… but if you’ve been around here at all, you know I’m a fan of tallow! (Check out how to render your own!) It is an incredible source of skin-healing vitamins. Vitamin A: encourages the production of your own collagen, elastin and healthy skin cells. Vitamin D: rejuvenates the skin and protects against free radicals that cause premature aging. Vitamin K: soothes inflammation and promotes speedy healing, smoothes texture. Vitamin E: deeply hydrating, repairs and actually reverses free radical damage. Vitamin B1: anti-inflammatory for red, irritated, acne-prone and dry skin.
Optional: Emu Oil
If you have made my Nourishing Tallow Cream and have some emu oil laying around, you cannot go wrong in adding some here! It is loaded with antioxidants and vitamins. Because of its painkilling effect, antioxidant levels, and ability to reach deep into the skin, I like to add emu oil to my healing balm. *It is a more obscure ingredient, so if you’re not using it for other purposes, you can replace it with tallow and reduce the beeswax by one teaspoon.
Beeswax
Beeswax is a beautiful, non-comedogenic wax that thickens ointments while still allowing your skin to breathe.
Essential Oils
Rosemary is proven to be effective in wound healing because it is high in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial. The compounds in rosemary help it inhibit the growth of pathogens, reduce inflammatory responses in the body, and protect living tissues.
I add geranium to help stop bleeding. It causes blood vessels to contract which helps stop blood flow and it speeds up clotting of blood. If there is a lot of bleeding, dropping geranium directly on the wound first is a HUGE help! My friend has an incredible testimony of this helping to stop the bleeding in an injury that required stitches!
Lavender increases collagen expression and speeds up protein activity in wounds— all verifying its reputation of being moms’ go-to for their babies boo-boos!
Frankincense boosts the healing properties of whatever oil it is paired with and is a major anti-inflammatory.

How to make your own healing balm:
- Infuse your calendula olive oil. In a jar, (whatever size you want) pack it full of dried calendula flowers. Pour organic extra virgin olive oil over the flowers. Set aside in a cupboard for 4 weeks. I set a reminder on my phone so I don’t forget about it!
- Once calendula olive oil is ready, strain the oil and discard the flowers.
- To a double boiler, add calendula infused olive oil, castor oil, tallow, emu oil and beeswax.
- Once all the oils are melted, remove from heat and add essential oils
- 60 drops total— I use 20 rosemary, 20 geranium, 10 lavender and 10 frankincense.
- Whisk well for 30-60 seconds to ensure all of the oils are well mixed.
- Pour into whatever container(s) you like (I love using pretty mint tins) and let cool
- Use for any/every owie that requires a little tlc.

Side note on my essential oils:
I was a DEVOUT Young Living-er for 16 years. I was offended when DoTerra started, and had complete undivided devotion to Young Living… until finally in 2019, I asked myself WHY. (My husband had been asking me for years!) I am still very thankful for Young Living and the light they shed on the adulterated oils that are out there. Thanks to them getting the ball rolling, we now have clean essential oil companies to choose from. However, YL is super expensive and incredibly new-agey. I was fatigued by all the claims of their excellence that we blindly had to take their word for.
In searching for something that settles better with me, I have landed on Eden’s Garden. First of all, it is a Christian company that donates to several Christian organizations, one that we love and support as a family. They post their 3rd party testing on every single origin, and my friend who reads GCMS tests for a living taught me how to read them. Eden’s Garden is CLEAN! Lastly, they are affordable as-is, and often have great sales. It is not a mlm, and there are no minimums. GLORY. So happy to have found them! Just wanted to share in case you’re looking for a solid oil company alternative from the dominant companies in the industry.
MAKE ULTIMATE HEALING BALM!
Ultimate Healing Balm

Make your own nourishing first aid ointment that is bursting with vitamins and antioxidants to promote natural healing.
Ingredients
- 1/8 C (4 TBS) Calendula Infused Olive Oil
- 2 TBS Castor Oil
- 1 TBS Emu Oil
- 1 TBS Tallow
- 2 TBS Beeswax
- 60 drops Essential Oil
Instructions
- Using dried calendula flowers, (also known as marigolds) pack as many as you can into whatever size of jar you want (at least an 8oz jar). Top with organic extra virgin olive oil and put in a dark cupboard for four weeks. Set an event on your calendar so you don’t forget about it!
- Once calendula infused olive oil is ready, strain the oil out and discard the flowers.
- In a double boiler, add everything but the essential oils.
- Once everything is melted, remove from heat and stir in the essential oils. I use 20 drops of rosemary, 20 drops of geranium, 10 drops of lavender and 10 drops of frankincense. Whisk well for at least 30 seconds to a minute to ensure that the oils are evenly dispersed.
- Pour into a 4oz jar, or a few cute old mint tins!
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
-
Shop 100% Pure Essential Oils | Edens Garden Essential Oils
-
Amazon.com: EPIC Beef Tallow, Grass-Fed, Keto Friendly, Whole30, 11oz Jar : Grocery & Gourmet Food
-
Amazon.com : Ultra Clear Emu Oil
-
Amazon.com: Sky Organics Organic Castor Oil (16 oz) USDA Certified Organic, 100% Pure, Cold Pressed, Hexane Free, Boost Hair Growth, Use with Castor Oil Pack : Health & Household
-
Amazon.com : Anthony's Organic Calendula Flowers, 12 oz, Whole Flowers and Petals, Herbal Marigold Tea, Caffeine Free : Grocery & Gourmet Food
3 responses to “DIY Ultimate Healing Balm”
-
It helps with my bumps on my arm
-
Can I order most of that stuff online? My son could use this for his really bad acne. His skin is so dry and bumpy too. I think I should give this a try. I just don’t have so of the oils and most other ingredients it requires.
-
I’m sorry I’m unable to sell my skincare (at this point… maybe someday if there interest is there) but if you get the ingredients, you can use them for endless purposes! I’ll continue to share recipes here that utilize the same base ingredients. I promise it will not be a waste to invest in them!
-


Leave a Reply