Diaper Rash and Calendula Oil: What Trials and Regulators Say

Our honest answer is that calendula oil is not what we would reach for first for a diaper rash, and we do not recommend putting our oil on a baby's rash without asking your pediatrician. That is not a safety scare about the flower. It is that the evidence for calendula on diaper rash is thin and uses ointments and creams, the EU regulator does not recommend calendula skin products for children under 6, and the pediatric advice that does have solid footing is about something else. Below is what to do, what the trials actually found, and where a calendula oil could fit.

Calendula oil bottle

Calendula Oil

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

From $13.99

Shop Calendula Oil →

What to do first: the pediatric basics

The American Academy of Pediatrics' guidance on diaper rash (page updated December 2024) is mostly about diaper habits and barrier protection (AAP, HealthyChildren.org). In its words and in order:

  1. Change diapers frequently, since a wet or soiled diaper left on too long irritates skin.
  2. Clean with water and a gentle non-soap cleanser, or with wipes free of alcohol and fragrance. For a severe rash, rinse with a squirt bottle instead of rubbing, then pat dry and let the skin air-dry.
  3. Apply a thick layer of barrier paste. The AAP says zinc oxide and petrolatum are both good choices, fragrance-free is best, and "there is no such thing as too much diaper paste."
  4. Choose a highly absorbent diaper and avoid a tight fit, especially overnight.

The AAP also says not to use over-the-counter antibiotic ointment for diaper rashes, because ingredients in those products can worsen skin irritation. It advises calling the pediatrician if the rash does not improve or gets worse after two to three days, or if it has pimples, peeling skin, blisters, pus-filled, oozing or crusty sores, if your baby has a fever, or if the rash is especially painful. A bright red rash with red spots at the edges while a baby is on antibiotics is another reason to call.

Why an oil is a poor stand-in for the barrier

Reasoning from the AAP's advice, the job of the product on a diaper rash is to sit as a thick, water-resistant layer between skin and moisture. A thin liquid oil is not built to do that the way a zinc oxide or petrolatum paste is. This is reasoning, not a test result; we found no study comparing an infused oil with a barrier paste. Both calendula-labelled diaper products we looked at put the barrier job on zinc oxide. Weleda's calendula diaper cream lists 12% zinc oxide on its product page (Weleda US), and Burt's Bees Baby's diaper ointment lists zinc oxide at 40% as the active ingredient, with calendula flower extract among many minor inactive ingredients (Burt's Bees Baby). We have not tested either product; the point is how they are built, per their own pages.

What the calendula trials found

There are a handful of small trials, all with ointments or creams, and none with a placebo or untreated group. Diaper rash often resolves on its own, so improvement in both arms of a trial is hard to credit to either product.

The trials disagree: calendula beat aloe, lost to bentonite, and tied olive ointment. A 2023 systematic review of herbal products for children's skin problems, 17 studies including three on diaper dermatitis and calendula among the herbs, rated 8 of the 17 low quality and highlighted evening primrose oil and comfrey, not calendula, as showing signals (Kloter et al., Complement Ther Med, 2023). So what the trials give you is not a recommendation but a pattern: calendula ointment was not worse than some comparators and was beaten by another.

What the regulators say about children

The EU herbal monograph says use of calendula flower on the skin in children under 6 years is not recommended and "has not been established due to lack of adequate data," and lists hypersensitivity to Asteraceae (daisy family) plants as a contraindication. It says skin sensitization has been reported, with frequency unknown (EMA/HMPC, 2018). The age cut-off reflects missing data, not documented harm, but it is the reason we will not tell you to put an oil on an infant. The AAP's general line on natural products is that they are not safe just because they are natural, and to check with your child's doctor first (AAP, Natural Therapies and Children). The longer question is in our article on babies and calendula oil.

Where our oil could fit, and where it does not

Our oil is an infused oil: calendula extracted into a carrier, with nothing else added, and every batch tested by independent third-party labs with documentation on request. That is a fact about how it is made, not a statement that it is right for an infant's skin, and we make no claim that it is "baby safe." If your pediatrician says it is fine for your child, patch test first on a small area, and do not apply it to broken, weeping or blistered skin. The baby's rash itself, especially anything with sores, a fever or no improvement, is a pediatrician's call. For older children and adults the EMA cut-off does not apply, but the same patch-test steps do: see how to patch test.

If you want to compare options for a baby's skin more broadly, calendula oil vs coconut oil for baby skin sets out why neither is a diaper-rash product. For a rash that lasts more than two to three days, call the pediatrician and bring the product you have been using.

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