This website uses affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission from your purchase - at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more details.

DIY Dandelion Salve (+ Dandelion Oil)

Let’s turn dandelions into skincare and make an easy DIY dandelion salve from homemade dandelion infused oil.  Last year I collected rose petals from my backyard rose bush, and showed you how to make rose infused oil and then a DIY rose lip balm and rose salve for skin – and you can use that same technique to make DIY dandelion infused oil salve!

DIY Dandelion Infused Oil Dried Dandelion FlowersDIY Dandelion Infused Oil Salve

Ingredients for DIY Dandelion Salve:

How to Make Dandelion Salve

Supplies for DIY Dandelion Salve:

DIY Dandelion Skin Care

Find a condensed how-to for making dandelion oil and dandelion salve, below, and keep reading for more detailed instructions and photos!  The first step of this process is to collect and dry dandelion flowers to make a dandelion flower infused oil.

How to Make DIY Dandelion Infused Oil:

  1. Pick 2 cups of dandelion flowers that are fresh, dry, and free of chemicals (and dog pee!).
  2. Dry the dandelion flowers for a few days – I dried mine on a paper towel lined basket.
  3. Fill a mason jar with the dried flowers, leaving 1/4″ at the top.
  4. Cover with carrier oil.
  5. Let sit in a dry, cool place for 3-4 weeks.

Pick fresh dandelion flowers that are dry, because moisture can ruin an infused oil.  Pick the flowers on a sunny day and not after a rainfall or during heavy humidity.  The drier the better!  Then lay them somewhere they can dry out even more.  I used a shallow basket, lined with a paper towel, and let them dry for 2-3 days.

How to Make Dandelion Oil

I placed the dandelion flowers in a mason jar and covered with my oil of choice, making sure to cover all of the flowers because uncovered flowers can grow mould.  The amount you make is up to you.  If you’re just getting started, a cup or so of oil will go a long way.  Store the dandelion oil infusion in a cool, dark place for 3-4 weeks.

Dandelion Oil Infusion

I waited 4 weeks for my dandelion infused oil and then strained it into a bowl using cheesecloth covering a colander:

How to Strain Infused OilsUse Cheesecloth to Strain Infused Oils

What is Dandelion Oil Good For?

Dandelion oil can be rubbed right onto the skin and can supposedly can help with soreness or stress relief.  It’s also very moisturizing, especially with the carrier oil, and can be applied to skin for a burst of hydration.  Dandelion infused oil can also be used to make a DIY dandelion salve – recipe below – which can also be applied to lips or skin, and is enjoyed for its moisturizing properties.

How to Make Dandelion Infused Oil

With my dandelion infused oil complete, I was ready to make my own DIY dandelion salve with shea butter!  I made this while I was making my rose petal salves and experimented with combinations of four basic ingredients: shea butter, my infused oil, beeswax pellets, and essential oils.  Essential oils are optional – the natural scent of this dandelion oil is very mild and somewhat fresh/green.  It’s difficult to describe, and also the carrier oil changes the smell as well, but it’s very…summery.  It’s mild enough that any essential oil I added immediately changed the smell, so feel free to scent it as you like or use unscented.

DIY Dandelion Salve Recipe:

  • 1.5 ounces dandelion oil
  • .5 ounces beeswax
  • .5 ounces shea butter
  • 15 drops essential oils

This formula isn’t overly fragranced and is gentle on the skin – my skin is easily irritated and I find this very soothing.

How to Make DIY Dandelion Salve:

  1. Melt beeswax on low-medium heat, in a double boiler.
  2. Add the oil and stir.
  3. Add the essential oils last.
  4. Pour into small container.
  5. Set aside to harden.

I don’t have a real double boiler, so I set up my makeshift double boiler: a large glass measuring cup in a pot – with about an inch or two of water in the bottom of the pot.

How to Make Skin Salve

I turned the heat to low-medium – just enough to melt the ingredients in my measuring cup.  I added the beeswax and infused oil and stirred occasionally with a spatula while it melted into a liquid.  It will melt quite nicely from the warm water – NO need to boil the water.

How to Make Hard Lip SalveDIY Double Boiler Hack

Then I added the essential oils, stirred a few times to mix well, and poured into my little pots (which are actually from a little sample box of tea Hubby was gifted).  I also used an empty soap tin – it’s covered in Lily of the Valley, which is very confusing, lol, but I love to re-use what I have on hand!

Small Tins for DIY Skin CareDIY Dandelion Infused Oil Salve

Unlike my DIY rose petal salve and rose petal lip balms, this homemade dandelion salve reflects the color of the flower.  It has a fairly bold yellow tint:

DIY Dandelion Infused Oil Salve

What is Dandelion Salve Used For?

I’ll be honest, I don’t really notice the supposed properties of dandelion oil: pain relief, stress relief, etc.  But I will say that it smells fresh and is deeply moisturizing for both the skin and lips.  This salve is so perfect for tucking into my purse because I never have to worry about liquid skin cream spilling.  It helps relieve deeply dry, chapped skin (and lips) and feels very nourishing.  I also like that I made it myself!  I feel like a real homesteader: collecting my chicken eggs, gardening, using rose petals and dandelion flowers in my homemade skincare…  My Mom loved these salves I made so much she absconded with quite a few before I could even snap photos, so that’s a testament to how lovely they are!  They also keep well – I made this last year, actually, and have been using it all year and I have a couple of tins left that are still perfect (the surface texture just looks a touch different).  Just like with my homemade rose petal beauty products, I made little labels using my Cricut Joy.

DIY Dandelion Infused Oil Salve What to Make with Dandelion Flowers Dandelion Oil Skin Care DIY

P.S. Don’t Forget to Pin for Later!

DIY Dandelion Infused Oil Skin Salve and Lip Salve

Share:

2 Comments

  1. MissBoots
    July 5, 2022 / 1:28 pm

    Thanks for the recipe! I will give this a try. Do you think rose hips would work as well as rose petals for your rose oil salve?

    • July 5, 2022 / 2:03 pm

      I haven’t tried it myself, but yes, you can use rose hips to make a homemade rose hip oil and then use that in a salve as well. The amount is 1 cup of dry rose hips with 1.5 to 2 cups of oil. They have to be dried rose hips, not fresh. And then the process is otherwise the same.

Dans le Lakehouse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. If you click on a link that leads to Amazon, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases - at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!