The blossoms of dandelions are bright and cheery and within those bright blossoms are Vitamin A, C and E to feed your skin. They are skin repairing, help UV damage, are wrinkle reducing, and calming for skin (anti inflammatory) and they grow freely and abundantly in the spring.
They are related to calendula and I like to think of them as calendula’s wild and free cousin, growing everywhere and anywhere they want too.
The first step in this body butter is too dry and then infuse dandelion blossoms into a carrier oil. I love using freshly dried herbs for recipes like this, I feel like they still retain some of the vital nutrition of a fresh blossom that gets lost over time being stored dried. Even though there is still plenty of plant medicine in dried herbs, there is something extra potent in using them when they are as close to fresh as possible.
Dandelion Oil
½ cup dried dandelion blossoms
1 cup Olive Oil (Almond and Apricot work also)
You’ll need to pick about a cup of fresh blossoms, they will shrink down as they dry. I usually pick more than I need and keep the leftover dried blossoms on hand in the cabinet for other bodycare recipes.
Pick blossoms that are fully open and dry. I have found that it's best to pick the blossoms that are medium sized because the larger blossoms are closer to going to seed. Pick blossoms from a clean place (away from trailsides or foot traffic) and that have not been sprayed with anything.
Lay a tea towel down on a tray or baking sheet and arrange the blossoms in a single layer with space in between them. Set the tray somewhere out of direct sunlight to dry for a day or two. You want the blossoms to be dry so that no water is introduced into the oil. But you also do not want them overly dry. They should still be a little fluffy but have a slight crunchy sound.
In my neck of the woods this takes about 24hrs-48hrs, but I live in a dry place. In a humid place it may take a few days longer.
When the blossoms are dry, place them in a crock pot and cover with oil. Turn the crock pot on the lowest setting. I use the warm setting on mine. The flowers need warmth to infuse but not a high heat. Do not let the oil simmer or get too hot to touch.
Infuse the dandelion oil for 4-6hrs and then strain through cheesecloth into a clean glass jar. Label the jar, because you will probably have a little oil leftover. This makes a great base for essential oil roll on recipes, lip balms and other bodycare recipes.
Now you have the dandelion oil you need to make Dandelion Body Butter.
Dandelion Body Butter
1 cup Shea Butter
¼ cup Coconut Oil
⅓ cup Dandelion Oil
2 drops of Vitamin E
1tbs Arrowroot Powder
Optional 10 drops Lavender or Geranium Essential Oil
1. Measure the shea butter, coconut oil and dandelion oil into a double boilers.
2. Once the coconut oil, shea butter and dandelion oil are melted together, remove it from the heat and add the Vitamin E. Once combined add in the arrowroot powder. Little clumps may form, just smoosh them around until they are dissolved.
3. Place in the refrigerator until solid. (about an hour)
4. Using a stick blender or hand held blender, whip until smooth, fluffy and silky. Blend it well so that all the ingredients are well combined and body butter is silky smooth.
5. After it's done whipping, add essential oils and whip again to combine them into the body butter.
6. Pipe or scoop into a clean jar with lid and label. Store in a cool place and use within 6 months for the best results.
Body butters absorb best into clean, damp skin. The body butter helps to seal water into the skin, and the water helps the oils soak in deeper. Some people even put them on before they towel off after showering.
Stay soft!
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Thank you if you do!