This DIY dandelion salve recipe uses just three simple ingredients, including a dandelion oil infusion made with fresh dandelions picked right from your own backyard!
It’s an herbal healing salve that works wonders for sore muscles, helps to heal minor cuts and scrapes, and can be used as an all-natural moisturizer with so many benefits for a variety of skin conditions!
Why Dandelions?
Dandelions are incredibly beneficial in so many ways. While many people have been trained to see dandelions as a pesky weed in their otherwise well-manicured lawns, dandelions were actually intentionally brought to North America by European immigrants centuries ago because they knew how beneficial these little medicinal plants really are!
First of all, dandelions are actually really good for lawns and gardens. Their long taproots help aerate the soil and their colourful flower heads are some of the first blooms to attract pollinators to our gardens in the spring!
Second, dandelions are a nutritious and completely edible plant. In fact, every part of the dandelion plant is edible from the roots to the leaves to the flower heads. You can make dandelion root tea, dandelion leaf salad and even fried dandelion flowers!
But perhaps most impressive is the fact that dandelions offer a huge range of health benefits from strengthening bones and fighting diabetes to detoxifying your liver and nourishing your skin in all sorts of ways.
While you can eat and drink dandelions to reap their health benefits, they can also be turned into topical, medicinal balms, homemade salves, creams, infused oil, lotions and astringents.
Dandelions are also anti-inflammatory as well as high in antioxidants, and when applied topically they can help nourish and clear skin, fight skin infections and help relieve sore muscles and joint pain, including pain caused by arthritis.
That being said, my favourite way to use dandelions is by making an infused oil and then turning that oil into a healing salve. I use only 3 ingredients: Dandelion-infused oil, coconut oil and beeswax. I also like adding in skin-nourishing essential oils like lavender, tea tree and frankincense, but these are completely optional.
The salve is really quick to make once you’ve got your infused oil (about 20 minutes is all you need), but first you will need to spend a little time making your dandelion oil infusion.
How to Make Dandelion-Infused Oil
- Pick dandelion flowers when they’re fresh and in season. For this salve you’re only going to use the flower heads. *Make sure dandelions haven’t been sprayed with herbicides! This is a common “weed” that many people use RoundUp and other chemical sprays on. Also steer clear of dandelions near busy roadways or in public parks where they might have been peed on by dogs!
- Let dandelion flowers dry out for a day or two because infused oils may start to grow mold if you use fresh flowers that still have excess moisture in them. But don’t let them dry out too long because dandelions may go to seed. Just a day or two max.
- Once dandelions have dried, pack them into a jar. Pack as many flowers as you can in there and then top with a liquid oil. I usually use olive oil, which is a good skin moisturizer and is something you probably have sitting in your pantry already. But you could also use jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, fractionated coconut oil or any other liquid oil you choose.
- Let the oil infusion sit for 2 to 6 weeks. You can set your jar in a warm, sunny location to make a “solar infusion”, or simply leave it on your countertop or even in a cupboard. And you can really leave the flowers in the oil for as long as you like (I once made a fresh batch of salve with some dandelion oil that still had the dandelions in it from last year!) But a few weeks is enough to extract the beneficial properties from dandelions.
- Once you’ve infused your oil, pour it through a sieve or some cheesecloth and use a pestle, a muddler, or the back of a wooden spoon to press on the flowers and squeeze out as much oil as possible. Reserve the dandelion oil and compost the flowers.
How to Make DIY Dandelion Salve
A salve is basically a healing ointment or balm. This all-natural homemade dandelion salve blends dandelion-infused oil with coconut oil and beeswax to create a healing, moisturizing and soothing salve that can be used all over the body. Here’s how to make it…
Ingredients
1 Cup dandelion-infused oil
1 oz beeswax (grated or pellets)
2 oz coconut oil
Essential oils (optional)
Directions
- Use a food scale to measure out your dandelion oil, beeswax, and coconut oil. Measure in or transfer to a heat-proof melting/pouring pot.
- Create a double boiler by placing the melting pot in another pot with a couple inches of water in it and heat on medium until all of the ingredients melt together. Stir with a wooden spoon or other utensil to mix well. (I use a wooden stir stick for all of my homemade candles and salves. I always wipe it off immediately after string with a rag or some paper towel so the wax doesn’t harden on and build up. If using a kitchen utensil, you might want to consider dedicating a specific wooden spoon or tool to your homemade personal care products in order to keep wax out of your food and food out of your wax!)
- Remove from the heat and let liquid salve mixture cool in the pot for about 5 minutes. At this point you can add some essential oils if you like. About 20-30 drops will do. I like to use a mixture of lavender, tea tree and frankincense oils in my salves as they are all really beneficial for skin.
- Carefully pour mixture into pots or jars and let cool for a few hours until they are completely solid.
- Stick a cute label on the lid and you’re done! *Download my free printable labels for this project from the “labels” section of my Free Resource Library.
How to use dandelion salve
Use dandelion salve on dry, cracked hands, feet, elbows and knees (it’s especially moisturizing and nourishing on hands after a day of gardening!).
Use on arthritic hands and stiff joints, on scrapes and rashes and as a general moisturizer or muscle rub.
Jars of homemade dandelion salve also make great gifts! I always stash few away for birthdays, Mother’s Day and Christmas gifts!)
Make sure to label them whether you’re giving them away or keeping them for yourself, because if you’re anything like me and you make other similar looking products (like this Rosemary Hair Pomade, for example), it is REALLY easy to mix up your products and forget what’s what if there’s no label. Trust me.
> To download the labels I use for this dandelion salve (plus gain access to many more downloadable labels and awesome freebies), Click Here to gain access to my Free Resource Library! <<
DIY Dandelion Salve for Healing
Ingredients
- 1 Cup dandelion-infused oil
- 1 oz beeswax (grated or pellets)
- 2 oz coconut oil
- Essential oils (optional)
Instructions
- Use a food scale to measure out your dandelion oil, beeswax and coconut oil. Measure in or transfer to a heat-proof melting/pouring pot.
- Create a double boiler by placing the melting pot in a pot with a couple inches of water in it and heat on medium until all of the ingredients melt together. Stir with a wooden spoon or other mixing utensil to mix well. *I use a wooden stir stick for all of my homemade candles and salves. I always wipe it off immediately after string with a rag or some paper towel so the wax doesn't harden on and build up. If using a kitchen utensil, you might want to consider dedicating a specific wooden spoon or tool to your homemade personal care products in order to keep wax out of your food and food out of your wax!
- Remove from the heat and let liquid salve mixture cool in the pot for about 5 minutes. At this point you can add some essential oils if you like. About 20-30 drops will do. I like to use a mixture of lavender, tea tree and frankincense oils in my salves as they are all really beneficial for skin.
- Carefully pour mixture into pots or jars and let cool for a few hours until they are completely solid.
- Stick a cute label on the lid and you're done! *Download my free printable labels for this project from the "labels" section of my Free Resource Library.
To growing and thriving together,
I like the idea of turning dandelions into something useful rather than treating them only as garden weeds. The process of infusing the flowers into a salve is particularly interesting, especially for anyone exploring traditional, plant-based DIY projects. Have you tried making this with other common garden plants?
I made this & put some on after I poured into Jars. After it cooled it was still runny. I weighed the ingredients. I didn’t add any fragrance so I reheated everything, adding more beeswax & coconut oil. We’ll see.
UPDATE: The extra wax & coconut oil made it more if a Lotion. This stuff is awesome!! We have been doing a lit of yard work. My husband’s hands were like sandpaper but he put this on before bed & in the morning his hands were smooth again. I’m making this again!!
Such a lovely DIY salve! Unfortunately we do not have a completely organic yard, although I wish we did. Maybe I can find some wild dandelions.
Hi, this might be a dumb question, but how much does this make (8oz or 10oz)? I’m making a skin salve with dandelion, plantain and purple dead nettle. Thank you for your recipe!
Hi Maranda – it will make approx. 10oz as that’s the total oil volume. Enjoy!
I put mine in the dehydrator and they started turning white and puffy. Not the entire flower but the base did. Can they still be used?
Yes, mine do that too. But it’s better than letting them dry naturally because the longer they take to dry, the whiter they get (because they’re trying to go to seed and reproduce before they die). The medicinal properties are still present.
They didn’t turn into powder afterwards? Or how were they to the to the touch? More importantly, to work with?
I’m sorry if I replied twice. I didn’t see my comment upon looking back so I’ll send again. they didn’t turn to powder afterwards? How were they to work with?
Can I use organic coconut oil in place of fractioned?
Hi Teresa,
Fractioned coconut oil is a liquid form of coconut oil which is why Anna mentioned it as one of the alternative oils to use instead of olive oil for infusing the dandelion flowers.
However, if you are referring to the salve recipe that calls for “coconut oil”, (to be melted and mixed with the dandelion infused oil and bees wax) then organic oil would be a good choice for this salve recipe. I have used it with great success in many of my salves.
Is it good for psoriasis? My son has it really bad
It certainly doesn’t hurt! I gave my cousin some of this salve for her psoriasis and while it didn’t cure it, she said it did help to soothe the dry cracked skin on the parts of her body where she was suffering.
Can you use a dehydrator for the dandelions? I washed mine and I think they’ll sit out for too long waiting to dry naturally.
Disregard, i see your comment below 😀
Yes you can! I actually like to dry mine in my dehydrator as they dry quicker without going to seed:)
I read that you can use fresh flowers if you use a coffee filter or thin cloth for lid – will this work?
When working with oil infusions it is always best to use dried herbs/flowers -always. The moisture left in the fresh herbs/flowers can make the oil go bad (rancid or mold). I would not recommend doing that as it is not considered to be a safe practice.
However, if you wish to use fresh flowers for something homemade and tasty, I use fresh flowers in a vinegar infusion for dressings and you will get similar benefits from the flowers/herbs as long as they are safe to eat. I currently have vinegar infusions of dandelion and wild violet I picked over the weekend. Both have wonderful cleansing properties and also contain vitamins we all need. And, I have to say, the violet vinegar is such a pretty pink/purple color also.
Please help !! My dandelion infusion is molding ! I haven’t made my salve yet.Do I have to throw it out and start over ?
Hi Pamela,
I’m so sorry to hear that! The same thing happened to me the first time I made this because I put fresh flowers in the oil. This is the reason why I say you should dry them out for a couple days first. If you let them sit and dry for too long they can go to seed, which you don’t want. But usually a day or two is enough to dry them out sufficiently without them going to seed. If you have a dehydrator, I like to use the dehydrator because you can dry them out quickly without them seeding. However if you’ve already got a moldy infusion, I would suggest tossing it and starting a new batch. Just make sure the dandelions are sufficiently dried first before making your oil infusion.
Is it normal for the dandelions to shrink up considerably after letting dry? I picked 4 cups and the next day they had shrunk to about 2 cups.
Yes, Josh, that is completely normal.
However, they will swell up again when you infuse them in the oil. For this reason, you want to keep an eye on that infusion for the first few days to be sure you didn’t accidentally fill the jar too full of oil.
Enjoy!
Thanks, looking forward to the finished product.
I filled the jars with the dandelions and the oil. Why does the oil keep coming out after the lid was put on.
If your oil is seeping out then you probably have too much oil in the jar. When you dry any flower or herb at all, it will absorb some of the liquid it is put in and expand or swell. You just need to pour off a little bit of the oil, wipe off the jar rim and replace with a clean lid.
Let us know if you have any other questions. Enjoy!
What could I use instead of beeswax? I have a sensitivity to honey/ beeswax.
Hi Deb,
You could also try substituting soy wax for the beeswax. Salves typically a combination of oils and wax (usually beeswax), but soy wax or carnauba wax should work well too:)
Can I purchase this already made? Would help me quite a bit to buy.
Hi Grace,
I don’t currently sell these ready-made simply because I don’t make enough of the dandelion salve to make mass quantities. Maybe one day though!
Hello. How many oz. Will you use for dandelion oil? You said one cup but then you said weigh it.
Hi Ally,
The scale is actually used for the solid ingredients (beeswax and coconut oil) to measure it by weight and the oil is measured in a liquid (volume) measuring cup. That is the way I measure it out as well and works great for me. I can see how that can be a bit confusing the way it is worded but I know that the intent is to measure the solids by weight and liquids by volume.
Thanks for helping to clarify that. Enjoy your salve!
So excited to start using mine!! Thank you!!
Can the whole flower be used in this or just the yellow part. Thanks
Hi Shirley,
Yes, you can use the whole flower. I just pop it off at the base right where it connects to the stem and use the whole bud:)
I’m getting ready to make this for the first time. Wish me luck! Lol. I know in an above statement is said to put the dandelions in a jar and then add oil. But if the dandelions expand and they’re no longer covered in oil, can I add more oil as the days progress?
Yes you can add more oil. The dandelions should always be covered by the oil. Good luck!