How to Make a Calendula Oil Hair Mask for Damaged Hair

A calendula oil hair mask is one ingredient, and the useful questions are about everything around it: why the hair is damaged, which oil is actually doing the work, and how to keep the mixture safe. We make a calendula infusion and we can speak firsthand about what is in the bottle. We cannot promise it repairs hair, and the one well-known study on oils and hair damage points to a different oil than most infused oils use.

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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Step one: find the cause before reaching for a mask

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) lists the habits it sees damaging hair: heat from blow dryers, hot combs and curling irons; coloring, perming and relaxing, especially stacked back to back; tight styles like ponytails, buns and cornrows; and brushing hair while it is wet. A mask applied on top of those habits is working against them. If your damage comes from, say, weekly bleach, the single most effective change is spacing out the chemical service, not choosing a better oil.

The AAD's day-to-day advice is plain: use low or medium heat and a heat protectant, wrap wet hair in a towel or t-shirt rather than rubbing it, and detangle wet hair with a wide-tooth comb instead of a brush, because wet hair is delicate. Fine or straight hair needs conditioner only on the ends. Do those first; a mask is an add-on.

Which oil does what: the finding that complicates this

The most-cited experiment on oils and hair damage is Rele and Mohile (J Cosmet Sci, 2003), which compared mineral oil, sunflower oil and coconut oil as pre-wash and post-wash grooming products on undamaged and damaged hair. Coconut oil was the only one of the three that reduced protein loss, for both hair types. Sunflower and mineral oil did not reduce it at all. The authors tied this to composition: coconut oil's lauric acid is a small, straight-chain fatty acid that can enter the hair shaft, while sunflower oil's bulky structure does not penetrate. The study measured protein loss from hair in the lab, and it did not test calendula.

What follows for us, as the people who make a calendula infusion: reasoning from how an infusion is made (petals soaked in a carrier oil), the way the finished oil behaves on hair will be set mostly by its carrier, not by the petals. We do not state the carrier in marketing copy, but the batch paperwork lists it, and you can email the lot number to [email protected]. Anyone planning a mask around penetration into the hair shaft should read that paperwork rather than assume. We also cannot say how our carrier would behave in Rele and Mohile's tests, because it was not tested.

The calendula contribution is a separate question. We searched PubMed for studies of calendula on hair, scalp, dandruff and hair loss and found nothing relevant. So there is no study to cite for "calendula repairs damaged hair." If you want more on the growth claims that circulate, our article on the baldness claim goes through them.

A simple mask, and why we keep it simple

If you want to try calendula oil on your hair anyway, the version we are comfortable describing is a single-ingredient oil mask:

  1. Patch test first. Calendula is a daisy-family (Asteraceae) plant and the EU herbal monograph lists hypersensitivity to Asteraceae plants as a contraindication, noting that skin sensitization has been reported. The scalp is skin; use the process in our patch test guide before putting oil on it.
  2. Start with a small amount, on the ends. A few drops warmed between your palms is enough to try. This follows the AAD's point that fine hair needs conditioning product on the ends only, not the roots. Keeping oil off the roots is also a practical choice (our judgment, not a studied point).
  3. Apply to dry or slightly damp hair before shampooing. Rele and Mohile tested pre-wash and post-wash use; pre-wash is the simpler routine because the shampoo removes the excess.
  4. Leave it for a modest time, then shampoo. We have no data on an ideal contact time and will not invent one. Keep it away from your eyes: the Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel found calendula-derived ingredients may be mild ocular irritants.
  5. Judge it after a few uses. If hair feels coated or the scalp itches, stop.

If you want to add things: the food-in-the-bowl problem

Recipes for hair masks often mix oil with egg, yogurt, honey, banana or aloe. Those contain water, and that changes the safety picture. A 1995 review of cosmetic preservation notes that the cosmetics that most need preservatives are those that contain water, and that the only limit to microbial life is the availability of liquid water. FDA likewise warns that cosmetics can become harmful when contaminated or poorly preserved. Reasoning from that, any mask with fresh food in it should be mixed for one use and discarded, never stored. Our oil contains no added preservatives, which suits oil-only use, but it does not make a water-containing mixture safe to keep.

Where this is not the right answer

How an oil mask feels is a matter of preference; whether it changes the damage itself depends on the carrier and the hair, and for calendula specifically there is no study. Fix the heat, chemical and handling habits first, and regard the mask as an optional extra. For the wider hair question, see our overview of calendula oil for hair.

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