We Grow Every Calendula Flower used in our Calendula Cream

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When California Baby couldn’t find enough high-quality and sustainably grown calendula to make our ultra-pure and potent extract, we didn’t settle. We started our own organic farm in Santa Barbara County, California to give you and your little ones all the calming benefits of calendula for the skin without pesticides, chemical fertilizers or low-quality flowers.

WHY WE GROW OUR OWN CALENDULA
More than a bright summer bloom to feed the bees (we host 10 hives on the farm!), calendula has been turned to for its skin benefits since Ancient Egyptians first used it as a skin rejuvenator. Modern science backs up those benefits, too. A 2004 study compared the effects of using a calendula extract to those of a topically applied drug used to treat acute dermatitis. The study involved women who were receiving post-operative radiation therapy as part of breast cancer treatment. The researchers concluded that the calendula extract was highly effective for the prevention of acute dermatitis.

Choosing this friendly flower as the soothing property in our formulas for babies’ sensitive skin was a no-brainer. Sourcing it, on the other hand, was not so easy. California Baby founder Jessica Iclisoy knew high-quality organic flowers would yield a purer, more concentrated extract, but her search turned up calendula flowers tainted with pesticides or bacteria, small in size and with low potency, or at a volume too low to keep up with our demand. The decision to grow our own pure, certified organic calendula became the obvious course.

FROM SEED TO EXTRACT, EVERY STEP COUNTS
Our growing standards and farming practices are designed to create a business and an environment with long-term viability for generations — not just this season, or this quarter, or this year, or this decade. From seed selection to hand-harvesting to extraction, we mindfully cultivate every step of the process to yield the best calendula for skin.

IT STARTS WITH THE BEST SEEDS
Medium-sized calendula flowers with a high petal count and deep orange or yellow pigmentation produce the best seeds for future harvests. These qualities indicate a healthy flower with concentrated oils and nutrients. The seeds that these successful flowers yield are used for next year's crop. Flowers that don’t meet our high standards are removed so that only the best continue to reproduce.

HAND HARVESTED AND DRIED
We hand-harvest our calendula to ensure quality control for each and every flower. Flower heads are hand-picked at the peak of their bloom so that our products contain the best of calendula’s potential. From here they make their way to a pesticide-free drying process that consists of closely monitored air-drying in a protected room. Carefully watching the drying process allows us to make sure air circulation is adequate so that no bacteria or mold can make a home in our drying flowers. The flowers are tested during and after this process to weed out anything potentially harmful to your baby’s skin.