How to Make Hand Salve with Calendula and Jojoba
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I created this hand salve because homemakers’ hands are always in dishwater, doing laundry, or tackling another job. My sons helped me make a batch and were so excited to try it. I keep a small tin on the windowsill over the kitchen sink so I can reach for it after doing dishes.
My husband is a mechanic and has rough, hardworking hands, so I wanted a salve he could use, too. It feels slightly greasy at first, but absorbs quickly. On my dry or cracked areas, I find it especially smooth and quick to soak in. I also use it on rough-feeling heels, knees, and elbows.
This beeswax hand salve is made with shea butter, jojoba oil, coconut oil, calendula oil in olive oil, and lavender essential oil.
Table of contents
- Ingredients for calendula hand salve
- Putting Together Our Friends Farmers Market Party Gift Bags
- Equipment to Make Salve
- Printable Instructions
- How to make homemade hand salve
- How to use hand salve for cuticles and dry-feeling hands
- Storage and shelf life
- Frequently asked questions about hand salve
- Other handmade gift projects
Ingredients for calendula hand salve
- Unrefined shea butter: 8.82 ounces (250.0 g)
- Jojoba oil: 6.30 ounces (178.6 g)
- Coconut oil: 6.30 ounces (178.6 g)
- Organic, pharmaceutical-grade calendula oil in olive oil: 1 ounce (28.35 g)
- Pure beeswax: 3.654 ounces (103.6 g)
- Lavender essential oil: 0.126 ounces (3.6 g)
Together these ingredients weigh 26.2 ounces (about 742.8 g). The planned fill is sixteen 1.5-ounce tins, which uses 24 ounces total. That leaves a calculated 2.2 ounces before transfer loss because you’ll lose some of the salve to the bowl/funnel/spoons, etc.
A few ingredient notes
- The shea butter, jojoba oil, coconut oil, and beeswax are the base of the salve.
- The calendula oil is carried in olive oil; I added 1 ounce to the complete batch.
- Lavender essential oil is added after removing the melted mixture from the heat.
The calendula oil I used was labeled organic and pharmaceutical grade, made with olive oil. Check the label on the oil you have, since a different calendula preparation or carrier may not be identical.
Putting Together Our Friends Farmers Market Party Gift Bags
For our Friends Farmers Market Party, I wanted to make gift bags that felt like a mix of useful homemade treats and fun personal gifts. Ours included my calendula hand salve, citrus kitchen hand scrub, cutting board balm, homemade poultry seasoning, and a custom made tote bag. Other friends also brought jam, tallow balm, natural deodorant, fresh-milled flour cookies, custom T-shirts, and custom travel mugs. If I had more time to prepare, I would also consider making any of these projects:
I think of the salve as one of the practical self-care gifts: a small tin of calendula hand salve is easy to tuck into a bag and keep by the kitchen sink for after dishes. To put together a similar gift bag, mix a few kinds of items—something for hand care, a pantry treat, a useful kitchen or home item, and one fun personalized gift. A tote or basket makes it easy to gather everything, and simple labels help friends know what each homemade item is.
Host Your Own Friends Farmers Market Party
Want to host a handmade gift exchange with your friends? My email sign-up form includes three free Friends Farmers Market Party invitation templates. Sign up to get the templates, customize an invitation, and invite your friends to bring a homemade or personalized item to share. Then set the gifts out together and fill a tote or basket with a little mix of everyone’s projects.
A small tin of hand salve makes a thoughtful addition because it is easy to make, useful for hardworking hands, and simple to package alongside other homemade gifts. My sons helped me make our batch, and they were so excited to try it—one more reason this project felt right for a party centered on things made at home.
Equipment to Make Salve
- Digital scale that reads grams
- Double boiler or heat-safe bowl set over a saucepan
- Heat-safe pouring vessel
- Silicone spatula
- Clean, completely dry 1.5-ounce tins
Printable Instructions
Homemaker’s Hand Salve
Equipment
- heat-safe pouring vessel,
Materials
Ingredients for calendula hand salve
- 8.82 oz Unrefined shea butter 250.0 g
- 6.3 oz Jojoba oil 178.6 g
- 6.3 oz Coconut oil 178.6 g
- 1 oz Calendula Oil
- 3.6 oz Pure beeswax 103.6 g
- .125 oz Lavender essential oil 3.6 g
Instructions
- Weigh the shea butter, coconut oil, jojoba oil, calendula oil in olive oil, and beeswax into a heat-safe vessel. Set the lavender essential oil aside.
- Melt the mixture gently over a double boiler, stirring until the beeswax is fully liquid.
- Remove the vessel from the heat promptly. Let the mixture cool slightly while it remains fully liquid.
- Weigh in the lavender essential oil and stir for at least 60 seconds.
- Tare each tin on the scale and fill to 1.5 ounces (42.5 g) net weight.
- Leave the tins uncovered and undisturbed until completely cool and firm. Cap only when no warmth remains.
- Label the tins with the ingredients and batch date. Keep water out of the salve.
Notes
How to make homemade hand salve
- Weigh the shea butter, coconut oil, jojoba oil, calendula oil in olive oil, and beeswax into a heat-safe vessel. Set the lavender essential oil aside.
- Melt the mixture gently over a double boiler, stirring until the beeswax is fully liquid.
- Remove the vessel from the heat promptly. Let the mixture cool slightly while it remains fully liquid.
- Weigh in the lavender essential oil and stir for at least 60 seconds.
- Tare each tin on the scale and fill to 1.5 ounces (42.5 g) net weight.
- Leave the tins uncovered and undisturbed until completely cool and firm. Cap only when no warmth remains.
- Label the tins with the ingredients and batch date. Keep water out of the salve.
How to use hand salve for cuticles and dry-feeling hands
Warm a small amount between your fingertips and massage it over hands, knuckles, and cuticles as needed. I also use it on rough-feeling heels, knees, and elbows. Keep a tin somewhere handy, such as the windowsill near the kitchen sink, for easy reach after dishwashing.
It feels a little greasy when first applied, but in my experience that feeling passes as it absorbs. I find it particularly smooth on dry or cracked areas. Use this salve as a home remedy that you can make or gift. These are my personal observations; this salve is for external use only. Avoid eyes and broken or irritated skin, and stop use if irritation occurs.
Storage and shelf life
Keep the tins tightly closed in a cool, dry place. Use clean, dry fingers and keep water out of the salve. No tested shelf-life period is recorded for this batch because I plan to use mine quickly. Discard the salve if its odor, color, or texture changes noticeably.
Frequently asked questions about hand salve
How many tins does this recipe make?
The formula weighs about 26.2 ounces (742.8 g). Sixteen tins filled to 1.5 ounces each use 24 ounces, leaving a calculated 2.2 ounces before transfer loss. Confirm the number actually filled and any leftover amount when you make it.
Does homemade hand salve contain water?
There is no water in this ingredient list. Keep the tins and fingers dry when using the salve.
Can I leave out the lavender essential oil or change the scent?
That changes the formula. Lavender is the only scent version recorded for this recipe; other scent options have not been tested.
What if my hand salve feels too soft or too firm?
No adjusted version has been tested. Record the texture after the salve cools and again after 24 hours before changing the wax or oils.
How long does homemade hand salve last?
A tested shelf-life period has not been recorded for this batch. Store it tightly closed in a cool, dry place, keep water out, and discard it if its odor, color, or texture changes noticeably.
Other handmade gift projects
I have plenty of other tutorials that you could put together with this hand salve to make a hostess gift, gift basket, or just to make for yourself. Check out the other fun and thoughtful ideas:
- Make Homemade Hot pads
- make your own cloth napkins
- make reusable bowl covers
- make a jar cozy for sourdough starter, hot and cold drinks, and more
- Sew a quilted basket to gift it all in. Or try this one!
Kim is an adventurous mama of 5 who has been building new skills over 16 years of marriage. Over the past decade, she and her family have built a homestead from the ground up, starting with meat and egg chickens, growing into a large garden, and learning to preserve their harvest.
She taught herself to sew, crochet, and knit 13 years ago through books and early YouTube tutorials, and has been making handmade projects ever since.
Cooking from scratch became a necessity and a passion as her family learned to eat more nutritionally and live more frugally. She tests all of her sourdough and fresh milled flour recipes on the kids to ensure they’re delicious and nutritious.
At Plain Living, Kim shares what she’s actually lived — not theory, but the real skills she’s picked up through years of trial, error, and love for her family and home.
