From the garden to our armpits – the marigold and its journey into our products

It is one of the most well-known garden and cultivated plants, has been valued in natural medicine for centuries, and is simply beautiful to look at. Where it blooms, the bed glows in rich orange tones – and that with astonishingly uncomplicated care. We are talking about the marigold.

Towards the sun

Luminous orange, radiant yellow and an unerring sense of the sun - the marigold is a true summer flower. Similar to the sunflower, marigold blossoms react strongly to the sun but do not turn their heads with the light. In rain and humidity, they retreat and close their petals.
Therefore, it is best to harvest on a sunny day, ideally around midday - when the blossoms are in full splendor: wide open, dry and at the peak of their bloom.

Belongs in the medicine cabinet

It's easy to see why calendula is also found in our deodorants. A look at its properties is enough: it has a soothing and supportive effect on external skin irritations. Its ingredients – including saponins, triterpenes and flavonoids – make it a proven companion when something is bothering you. Calendula also helps with razor burn. Its effects are no coincidence: calendula belongs to the daisy family. This also includes arnica, a flower probably more well-known in naturopathy.

However, a plant does not simply become such an important raw material just like that. From the garden to our production, several careful steps are required – and we will now take a look at exactly these.

From cultivation to processing

When producing our deodorants and Alpine natural cosmetics, we rely on locally grown marigolds and suppliers. We also grow marigolds in our own gardens. This way, we can ensure that no harmful pesticides are used and that transport routes remain short. Good to know: In addition to marigold oil, we also produce other extracts from ingredients grown and collected ourselves, such as edelweiss, mountain houseleek, and mallows.

The blossoms are checked again by us in Frutigen, directly from our own and surrounding gardens. Damaged heads are sorted out during this process.

Drying & Storage

After harvesting, the freshly picked blossoms are placed in our drying cabinet. Special mesh drawers ensure even air circulation. At a constant temperature of 35 to 38 degrees, the blossoms rest for two days – slowly and gently, their moisture is thus extracted.

There is a reason for this gentle process: It is the only way to preserve the valuable ingredients and the vibrant color of the blossoms – so that they can later unfold their full effect in our Alpine natural cosmetics. Until further processing, we store the dried blossoms in our cold room: at a constant temperature, dry and dark.

From Flower to Oil

Manufacturing
We make our own marigold oil from the dried flowers. The basis for this is Swiss organic sunflower oil, which is rich in vitamin E. This natural vitamin strengthens the skin barrier and preserves naturally. To make the marigold extract, the roughly chopped flowers are bathed in oil at 70 degrees for at least two hours. The marigold oil is filtered several times to ensure that the extract is free of flower residues. Bottled in a dark glass, it is now ready for processing.

We compost the remaining marigold flowers.

processing
And what comes next? The marigold oil is now ready for further processing in our factory. Marigold oil is an important ingredient in our deodorant cream. Together with baking soda, beeswax, wool fat (lanolin), organic corn starch, zinc oxide, healing clay and natural essential oil, our four deodorant creams are created.

From Oil to Our Alpine Natural Cosmetics

We develop, mix, stir and fill - despite modern facilities, we rely on manual work.

In addition to marigold oil, we also produce other extracts from ingredients we have grown and collected ourselves. For example, edelweiss, mountain houseleek and mallow. We use these first-class essences exclusively in our own natural products.

More than a name on a list

Calendula is more than just a pretty summer flower – it's a piece of nature that we carefully nurture from the garden all the way into our natural products. And that's exactly what Alpine natural cosmetics means to us.