Calendula Oil and SPF: Does It Really Protect Against UV Rays?

No, and we would not sell ours as sun protection. The calendula SPF numbers that circulate online (8, 15, 18) come from laboratory measurements on distilled calendula essential oil, not on an infused oil like ours, and none involved a person in the sun. We have no SPF test data for our oil and make no SPF claim. If you are choosing between our bottle and a sunscreen for a day outdoors, choose the sunscreen.

Calendula oil bottle

Calendula Oil

Our own small-batch calendula oil, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.

From $13.99

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Where the numbers come from

Three laboratory papers report in vitro SPF values for calendula essential oil, measured by spectrophotometer:

StudyWhat was measuredReported SPF
Lohani et al., J Cosmet Dermatol, 2019hydrodistilled calendula flower essential oil8.36 (geranium oil: 6.45)
Mishra et al., J Young Pharm, 2012cream containing Clevenger-distilled flower oil14.84 +/- 0.16
Lohani et al., Biomed Res Int, 2021cream with encapsulated calendula essential oil18.54 (geranium: 10.26)

All three are screens in a test tube. The authors of the first propose the oil "can be employed in sunscreen formulations," but that is their suggestion, and the abstract does not describe a test on skin. We found no human sunburn or in vivo SPF trial of calendula in any form in the sources we reviewed.

Why those numbers do not carry over to an infused oil

It is a different material. Distillation gives only a small yield of volatile oil (0.2-0.3% of the herb in the 2008 EU assessment report, 0.9% in one lab study) dominated by sesquiterpenes, and in Salome-Abarca et al. (Botanical Sciences, 2015) hydrodistillation gave oil without the pigments. An infused oil is petals soaked in a carrier oil. We made that distinction in calendula essential oil versus infused oil. Reasoning from it, a number measured on the first tells you nothing reliable about the second.

A spectrophotometer is not a person. The FDA explains that SPF values come from a test that measures protection against sunburn, and so primarily indicate UVB protection. The in vitro screens above are a different kind of measurement, and the 2019 study is an in vitro screen, not a human test.

A rating needs a regulated product. The FDA regulates sunscreens as nonprescription drugs, and notes that products regulated as cosmetics elsewhere, sunscreens among them, are drugs in the United States (FDA, Cosmetics & U.S. Law). Our oil is sold as a cosmetic oil, which is a second reason we do not put a number on it.

How we would read an SPF claim on any oil

Ask three things. Which product was measured: the finished product being sold, or an ingredient in a test tube? Which method: standardized testing on people, or a spectrophotometer reading? And who ran it? The FDA also says there is no such thing as "waterproof" sunscreen and that water-resistance claims require testing, so a plain-language promise on an oil bottle with no test behind it is a warning sign. We found no source supporting an SPF figure for a plain infused oil of any kind, and the 2 to 50 spread in the Pinterest recipes below shows what unmeasured numbers look like.

What homemade sun protection looks like in practice

Do-it-yourself recipes are the usual destination for these numbers. A 2019 study in Health Communication (Merten et al., summarised by Nationwide Children's Hospital) reviewed popular Pinterest recipes. Of the pins sampled, 95% presented homemade sunscreen as effective, 68% recommended recipes that would give insufficient UV protection, and about a third made SPF claims running from SPF 2 to SPF 50. It reviewed the pins and did not lab-test the recipes. The researchers advise an FDA-regulated broad-spectrum SPF 30+ for anyone 6 months and older.

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher, reapplied about every two hours and after swimming or sweating. For infants under 6 months, ask a pediatrician about sun avoidance, since the sources above stop at 6 months.

Is calendula oil safe in the sun, and does it help after?

Safety first. The EU assessment report found "no evidence for phototoxic activity" for calendula flower preparations (EMA/HMPC, 2018), and the 2010 Cosmetic Ingredient Review found calendula-derived ingredients not photosensitizing in animal or clinical tests (Andersen et al., Int J Toxicol). That is absence of a reported problem, not a guarantee, and it covers calendula, not whatever else is in your bottle. If you add citrus oils to a blend, check them: the Tisserand Institute says expressed citrus rind oils can be phototoxic because of furanocoumarins, that distilled citrus oils are not, and that sweet orange is generally thought not phototoxic even when expressed.

After the sun, the evidence is thinner than the marketing. The EU herbal committee lists calendula flower for minor skin inflammation "such as sunburn," on the basis of long-standing use and not clinical trials (EMA/HMPC, 2018). Memorial Sloan Kettering's herb page describes sun-protective effects as coming from preclinical work (MSK, 2023), and the one UVB study we found gave calendula extract by mouth to hairless mice (Fonseca et al., J Ethnopharmacol, 2010), not on skin. So a cosmetic oil on skin that is already sun-exposed is a comfort choice, not a studied one. A blistering or widespread sunburn is a question for a doctor, and anyone allergic to daisy-family plants should skip calendula altogether: the EU monograph lists that allergy as a contraindication.

If you want our oil in a summer routine, the sunscreen goes on first and the oil comes after the day outdoors. For that side of the question see calendula oil after sun, and for how to check a first reaction, how to patch test.

Calendula oil bottle

Calendula Oil

Nature's Golden Botanical, bottled: small-batch calendula oil in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.

From $13.99

Shop Calendula Oil →

Sources & Further Reading