Dandelion Salve – with 2 Ingredients!

With spring comes dandelions, but far from being an invasive weed, dandelion leaves can be eaten in salads, soups, or teas, its roots can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute, and it’s used for medicinal properties in animals. This includes properties as an anti-inflammatory, so it can help soothe your skin when made into a simple hand lotion, and can be used on sore muscles and joints, or for people with joint inflammation or arthritis.

WARNING: If you have allergies to dandelions, ragweed, or other weeds, don’t put this on your skin. It will be bad. Do not want.

Ingredients:

• Dandelion heads
• Pomace Oil or Olive Oil
• Beeswax Pellets (ratio of 6 parts Pomace Oil to 1 part Beeswax)

Step 1: Pick Dandelions

Pick off a bunch of dandelion heads and place them on a cookie sheet. Bake them at 200° for approximately 1 hour, until they’re wilted and dry to the touch. You want to cook out the water in the flowers, otherwise you will get a watery, runny salve.

Step 2: Puree

Put the dandelions in a blender or small food processor, cover them with the oil until they’re just covered, and blend until the dandelions are in tiny pieces.

Step 3: Cook

Place the oil mixture into a double boiler, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Let sit overnight, then pour through a fine sieve to strain out the dandelion bits. Return to oil to the double boiler, adding in the beeswax pellets. Cook on medium, stirring regularly until the pellets are melted. Pour into a small, wide mouth mason jar, and let cool.

The finished product should be a bright yellow colour, and should dry opaque and thick – about the consistency of a thick hand cream. It’s awesome to use after a day of gardening, and is gentle on dry hands with small nicks and cuts.