How to Use Calendula Oil for Cracked Heels & Rough Feet

Calendula oil is not what dermatologists reach for first with cracked heels, and we say that as the people who make it. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) has a specific routine for dry, cracked heels, and an oil is not its centrepiece. Below is that routine, the one slot where a plain oil could reasonably sit, and the situations where you should not be experimenting with a bottle at all.

Calendula oil bottle

Calendula Oil

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

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The AAD routine, which is the baseline

The AAD's page on how to care for dry, cracked heels gives six steps, in these words or close to them:

  1. Limit baths and showers to 5-10 minutes, because long soaks dry skin further.
  2. Use a gentle, fragrance-free cleanser so the feet keep their natural oils.
  3. Moisturize within 5 minutes of bathing, using a cream that contains 10-25% urea, alpha hydroxy acid or salicylic acid, and reapply when heels feel dry.
  4. Before bed, apply plain petroleum jelly, and wear socks so it does not end up on the bedding.
  5. Put a liquid bandage over the cracks during the day as a barrier.
  6. Wear proper shoes: avoid open-heeled styles, worn-down shoes and shoes that do not fit.

Two things stand out for anyone shopping for a foot oil. First, the ingredients the AAD names are a urea, acid or salicylic acid cream and plain petroleum jelly, not a botanical oil. Second, the very first step is about bathing time. A long hot soak followed by oil is working against the first rule, which is why we do not recommend long foot soaks for rough heels.

What has been studied on calendula and heels

Nothing, as far as we could find. We searched PubMed for calendula with the terms heel, cracked, xerosis and dry skin and found no human trial. The only foot-adjacent calendula studies are on wounds and ulcers: a venous leg ulcer study, diabetic foot ulcer reports using a hydroglycolic extract spray, and a laser study that included a calendula oil group without reporting a separate result for it. Those involve open wounds under clinical supervision, not dry heels, and most were extracts rather than infused oils. They tell you nothing about whether our oil changes cracked heel skin.

The EU herbal medicines committee (HMPC, 2018) lists calendula for minor skin inflammation and minor wounds on the basis of long-standing use, not for dry or cracked skin, and says to see a practitioner if symptoms persist beyond one week. So the honest position is that calendula oil on heels is a comfort choice with no study behind it.

Where a plain oil can sit in the routine

If you like an oil, the sensible approach is to treat it as an add-on to the AAD routine, not a replacement for it. Reasoning from the AAD's steps, the available slots are the damp-skin moment after a short shower, or the bedtime step. The AAD names petroleum jelly for bedtime; we make an oil, and we are not claiming it does the same job. If you want the evidence-backed ingredient list in your routine, keep the urea or acid cream and the petroleum jelly, and add the oil only if you prefer the feel of it.

Some practical points from the maker's side:

Who should not do this at home

The AAD says that sometimes cracked heels are caused by a medical condition, such as diabetes, and advises seeing a board-certified dermatologist if your heels are severe or do not improve after following its tips. We would add the obvious corollary: if you have diabetes, poor circulation or reduced feeling in your feet, deep cracks are a matter for your doctor or a podiatrist before any home routine. Do not substitute an oil, ours or anyone's, for that conversation.

Allergy also applies. Calendula is a daisy-family (Asteraceae) plant, and the EU monograph lists hypersensitivity to Asteraceae plants as a contraindication, noting that skin sensitization has been reported with unknown frequency. In a 2001 Austrian patch-test series of 443 dermatology patients, about 2% reacted to marigold, though these were clinic patients and not a general sample. Cracked heels are a poor place to find out you are allergic, so patch test on healthy skin first, using the steps in our patch test guide. Stop if there is redness, burning or a rash; FDA's advice for any cosmetic is to stop using it and contact a healthcare provider.

What we would do first, in order

  1. Shorten your showers and switch to a fragrance-free cleanser.
  2. Use a urea cream (10-25%) on damp skin and plain petroleum jelly with socks at night, as the AAD describes.
  3. Fix footwear. Open heels are named in the AAD's list for a reason.
  4. If you want an oil on top for the feel of it, patch test and use a little.
  5. If there is no improvement, or the cracks are deep or sore, see a dermatologist.

If you want more on what our oil is and is not, see our overview of calendula oil for dry skin. For feet specifically, the answer is the AAD routine first, and an optional oil second.

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