How to Make Dandelion Lotion Bars Using Dandelion Oil Plus Benefits

These DIY hard lotion bars are a solid form of homemade lotion. They are easy to use and perfect for travel. This natural body moisturizer recipe is made with moisturizing shea butter and dandelion infused oil to nourish your skin. While the inclusion of wax makes not only give this lotion a solid form, it also enables it to double as a natural skin protectant, similar to how a healing salve works.

Dandelion Lotion Bars

If you need to moisturize and protect skin, then lotion is a popular choice. Dandelion lotion bars are a fun way to care for skin. Not only can you forage for some of the base ingredients needed to make this solid lotion, you can also enjoy the benefits of dandelion for skin.

This dandelion lotion bar has the benefits of dandelion infused oil and shea butter to moisturize your skin. However, unlike regular lotion, solid lotion bars are easier to make at home. Dandelion oil is rich in vitamins and minerals that nourish your skin. while shea butter is high in vitamins and fatty acids to soften dry skin. The addition of beeswax, or an alternate plant based wax, also helps to hydrate skin, lock in moisture and protect your skin from the elements.

Use this lotion bar recipe all over your body. This homemade lotion is especially suited for your hands and feet as it’s very moisturizing. There’s also no water in this recipe, so it protects skin in a similar way to a salve. Additionally, this means you won’t have to worry about your lotion going bad or using a preservative.

Another benefit of hard lotion bars is that you can place these solid lotion bars in a tin and carry them in your purse. They are easy to use on the go without the fear of a lotion bottle spilling, busting or leaking in your favorite bag or purse.

While I used beeswax to harden my dandelion lotion bars, you can also use vegan beeswax alternatives. Keep reading to discover how to make dandelion oil to incorporate into my easy hard lotion bar recipe. I also share information on how to make substitutions for beeswax using plant based wax. This allows you to follow the same directions in order to adapt the recipe based on your chosen wax. In addition, I also share some of my other favorite solid lotion bar recipes that you can make for your natural skin care routine.

What is a Hard Lotion Bar?

A hard lotion bar serves the same purpose as a bottle of lotion to moisturize and hydrate skin. It contains the same oil and fat ingredients that regular lotion does, however there’s no water included in the recipe. Not only does this make a lotion bar recipe easier to make than traditional lotion, it also makes a very concentrated oil and butter lotion that delivers the ingredients without diluting them. This makes hard lotion bars especially suited for very dry or damaged skin. You’ll find it works similarly to how lip balm works for lips.

In addition, lotion bars are an eco-friendly alternative to regular lotion which comes in a plastic bottle.

What is Dandelion Lotion Good For?

This dandelion lotion bar recipe is good for any natural skin care routine in which you need to moisturize and protect skin. You’ll find that dandelion lotion also offers the following benefits:

• It has the same benefits of dandelion oil, including vitamins and minerals to promote skin health.
• Dandelion lotion bars are easier to make than regular lotion. You don’t need a preservative since there’s no water in the recipe.
• A solid lotion bar won’t spill, so it’s perfect to take on the go.
• A lotion bar recipe is easy to use. Simply rub it on your skin and it melts upon contact with your skin.
• Dandelion lotion moisturizes, hydrates and nourishes skin.

How to Make Dandelion Oil

To make dandelion oil for this recipe, you need to first learn how to make dandelion oil. This requires safely foraging and harvesting dandelions, drying the dandelions and then infusing the plant material in a carrier oil. You can find complete details for making dandelion infused oil here. This post includes information on how to harvest and dry your dandelions. I also provide four methods for infusing botanicals in oil as well as how to store your dandelion oil infusion.

(Alternately, I also provide a list of places to buy pre-made dandelion oil.)

However, here is a brief overview of how to make dandelion oil for these hard lotion bars using the solar infusion method:

• Begin by sterilizing your mason jar. Once sterilized, fill the jar halfway with dried dandelion flowers. Now pour the carrier oil of your choice over the calendula flowers until the oil is an inch above the dried herbs.
• Mix the oil and dandelion flowers together using a dry, sterilized spoon in order to evenly coat all of the flowers, and so no air bubbles remain.
• Now place a square piece of wax paper over the mason jar you’re using for the oil infusion. (Alternately, you can also use a plastic mason jar lid.) Screw the lid onto the jar and gently roll the jar or turn it to mix the ingredients.
• Once you’ve screwed the lid onto the jar for your oil infusion, place the jar inside a brown paper bag. (You can also wrap the jar in an opaque cloth.)
• Now place the jar in a sunny window. You should leave the herbal oil infusion in direct sunlight for a period of 1-2 weeks, mixing the ingredients, every few days.
• After which time, strain the oil and bottle in a sterilized glass jar.

For more information on the methods used to make infused oils as well as proper safety precautions, I recommend the online herbalism courses from The Herbal Academy. You can also get an introduction to becoming an herbalist with this free intro course.

Dandelion Oil Benefits for Skin

Dandelion oil is one of the key ingredients for making dandelion lotion bars. Here are the benefits of using a dandelion oil infusion to make hard lotion bars:

• Dandelions are a great source of Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that fights free radicals to reduce the signs of aging.
• These wild growing herbs are a good source of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and potassium for skin health.
• Dandelions are high in Vitamin A, Vitamin K and Vitamin B6. These vitamins neutralize free radicals and promote skin health.
• They may help to reduce skin inflammation and skin irritation in addition to improving skin hydration and boosting collagen production.
• This flower also has natural antimicrobial properties.

How to Make Vegan Dandelion Lotion Bars

If you’d like to make vegan lotion bars using dandelion infused oil, then you will need to mese solid lotion bars without beeswax. This means that you need to substitute the beeswax called for in this lotion recipe with a plant based wax.

Plant Based Waxes

There are several types of plant based waxes you can use to make hard lotion bars with dandelion oil. They include the following:

• Carnauba Wax: Carnauba wax is a hard wax that comes from the leaves of a Brazilian palm tree. It has a melting point of 80 to 86 degrees.
• Candelilla Wax: Candelilla wax is commonly used as a vegan substitute for beeswax. It comes from the leaves of a Mexican shrub. It’s melting point is between 68 and 73 degrees.
• Rice Bran Wax: Rice bran wax isn’t sticky, so it’s a good wax to use in a dandelion lotion bar recipe. It has a melting point of 79 to 85 degrees.
• Sunflower Wax: Sunflower wax doesn’t feel sticky on your skin. It has a melting point of 74 to 80 degrees.

How to Substitute Vegan Wax for Beeswax

Unfortunately, you can’t substitute the same amount of a vegan wax with beeswax and get the same results. This is because beeswax has a different melting point than other waxes. Both carnauba wax and candelilla wax, for example have higher melting points than beeswax, which has a melting point of 144 to 147 °F. Therefore, you would need to use less of these waxes in your dandelion lotion bars when making substitutions for beeswax.

To determine how much vegan wax you need to substitute with beeswax, you need to do a little math. First determine the percentage of difference in the melting point from one wax to the other. If the wax you have chosen to use in place of the beeswax has a higher melting point than the beeswax, then you would decrease the amount of wax you are substituting by that percentage. If the wax has a lower melting point than the beeswax, then you need to increase the amount of wax in the lip balm recipe by that percentage. (A percentage calculator comes in really handy for this task.)

Dandelion Solid Lotion Bar Ingredients

To make this dandelion lotion bar recipe, you will need these ingredients:

• 3 oz. Shea butter (You can use your choice of either refined or unrefined shea butter.)
• 3 oz. Beeswax
• 3 oz. Dandelion oil infusion (Make your own or discover where to buy dandelion oil here.)
• Dried dandelion petals (optional)

Tools and Supplies:

You will also need the following tools and supplies to make these dandelion hard lotion bars:

• Flower soap mold
• Measuring cup with spout
• Kitchen scale
• Double boiler or microwave

How to Make Dandelion Lotion Bars

Follow these steps to make this dandelion solid lotion bar recipe:

1. Use a kitchen scale to weigh out the ingredients.

2. Sprinkle dried dandelion petals into the bottom of each of 4 cavities in the mold.

3. Add shea butter and beeswax to a large measuring cup. Heat until melted in a double boiler. (Alternately you can melt at reduced power the microwave in one minute intervals. Stir between each interval.) Heat until fully melted.

4. Now add the dandelion infused oil to the melted wax and butter. Stir well.

5. Pour the lotion mixture into the flower molds. (You should be able to fill between four and six of the mold cavities depending on the design you choose.)

6. Allow to sit for an hour, until the lotion bars harden completely. Unmold.

How to Store Solid Lotion Bars

To store your dandelion solid lotion bars, wrap them tightly in foodservice film. Alternately, you can also store these hard lotion bars in an airtight container, such as these plastic jars, or push pop tin.

More Ways to Use Dandelion Oil

For more ways to use dandelion oil, you can incorporate this ingredient into one of the following recipes:

• Dandelion Cleansing Balm: This homemade facial cleanser melts away makeup and oil to naturally clean your skin.
• Dandelion Soap Recipe: Use dandelion oil in this easy melt and pour soap recipe.
• Dandelion Lip Balm: Dandelion oil promotes skin health in this luxe lip balm recipe.
• Dandelion Body Butter: Dandelion infused oil promotes skin health in this non greasy body butter recipe.
• Dandelion Salve Recipe: Dandelion salve is excellent for dry skin.

More Hard Lotion Bar Recipes

If you love making hard lotion bars, then be sure to try these other recipes for making solid lotion:

• Aloe After Sun Lotion Bar
• Halloween Solid Lotion Bars
• DIY Dog Paw Balm
• Matcha Green Tea Lotion Bars
• Vegan Solid Lotion Bars
• Cranberry Chutney Solid Lotion Bars
• Snowflake Hard Lotion Bars
• Pain Relief Massage Melts
• Homemade Solid Lotion Bar Recipe
• Valentine’s Day Lotion Bars

Need more ideas for making body moisturizers? Also be sure to try my homemade body butter recipes as another way to moisturize and care for dry skin.

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