The Most Important Herb in Your Garden: Dandelions!

Your lawn holds a gold mine that can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in skin care lotions and creams. I’m talking about the lowly dandelion, which most people regard as a weed, but was brought to the new world intentionally as a medicinal herb.

Dandelions can grow strong and healthy without herbicides

While this article focuses on skin care, dandelions are an herbal pharmacopia from root to flower—the roots work as a liver tonic and the leaves provide a kidney detox when made into a tincture, vinegar, or glycerite.

Dandelions offer so many health benefits

 Dandelion flowers promote healthy skin.  They contain a significant amount of vitamins A, C, and D and are antioxidants as well. That means you are boosting collagen production, supporting skin cell regeneration, reducing oxidative damage, and preventing itchy, flakey skin.

a bountiful harvest

It is simple to pick the bright yellow blooms of the dandelion, infuse them in oil, and create a nutritive, moisturizing salve or cream that will do wonders for your skin. 

Freshly-picked dandelions in the dehydrator

 To make an infused oil:

 1)     Pick flowers:  Pick the bloom off the stem, including the bract. You can use the flowers fresh or dried, but fresh flowers have water content that will introduce spoilage.  Spoilage can be countered after infusion by adding antimicrobial essential oils, keeping the oil in the refrigerator, or using it within a year.

2)     Add oil:  Pack a mason jar halfway with dried blooms or all the way with fresh blooms.  Push them down to make sure they are packed tightly.  Add an oil of your choice to the top of the jar and store in a warm place out of sunlight for two weeks.

3)     Strain:  Place a cheesecloth or piece of muslin over a measuring cup and pour the dandelion mixture through the cloth.  A piece of muslin will strain all the tiny bits out of the oil, so is more effective than cheesecloth, but will take a longer time to strain.  A measuring cup is the best receptacle because of its spout for pouring the strained oil into its final bottle.  Label the bottle with the contents and date.

dandelion blooms ready to be infused

 An infused oil works well as it is, but if you prefer a different consistency, you can make a salve or cream.

To Make 5 Ounces of Salve: 

1)     Melt 2 tablespoons of beeswax or a plant wax in a double boiler.  I usually put a glass measuring cup in a large pan of water.

2)     Add 4 ounces of your infused oil.  Stir until completely melted.

3)     Remove from heat and stir in essential oils if desired. 

4)     Pour into glass jars and allow to cool before capping the jar. Keeps for about a year.

Dandelion salve

To Make 6 Ounces of Cream:

1)     Melt 1 tablespoons of beeswax or a plant wax in a double boiler.  I usually put a glass measuring cup in a large pan of water.

2)     Add 3 ounces of your infused oil and 2 tablespoons of a solid oil such as shea butter, coconut oil, or cocoa butter. Stir until completely melted.

3)     Remove from heat, pour into a blender, and let cool to room temperature.

4)     Pour 2 ounces of room-temperature water, and essential oils if desired, into the blender and blend until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.  You can substitute a hydrosol, liniment, or gel for water.

Note:  to avoid separation, add the oil mixture to the blender first, then the waters, and both should be room temperature.

pouring cream into jars

How to Make Healthy Hair Tea

I discovered this “beauty potion” in one of Rosemary Gladstar’s books. It’s easy to make with a variety of herbs that are readily found.

Healthy hair begins with healthy hair follicles. This herbal rinse involves steeping nutrient-rich herbs into a tea, then adding essential oils that prevent dandruff, reduce itchiness, and promote growth.

Step One: Gather Herbs

Scalp-loving herbs include bee balm, lavender, calendula, lemon balm, roman chamomile, thyme, and yarrow to name a few, but unless you grow these herbs, this tea might be difficult to make. Fortunately, there are several plants that are easily found growing in your yard or nearby parks that no one will mind if you pick: dandelion, white clover, plantain, and heal-all.

Step Two: Make Herbal Tea

Measure the freshly-picked herbs into a pot using a cup measure. If you are not able to make the tea right after you pick the plants, dry them in a hot, dry location out of the sun—garage, attic, or a paper bag put on the dashboard of a closed car. Add one quart (4 cups) of water for every two cups of herbs. Bring the water to simmering temperature—bubbles will just begin to form on the bottom and side of the pot. Do not boil. Turn down the temperature and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the herbs steep an additional 20 minutes.

Step Three: Strain the Tea

Strain the herbs out of the tea using a colander set in a bowl large enough to hold the amount of water you used. Remove the colander. If there are large bits of herb still in your tea, you can strain again by putting a coffee filter or paper towel into the colander, placing it into another bowl, then straining again. Let the tea cool.

Step Four: Add Essential Oils

After the tea cools, you can add essential oils in a 3% dilution (18 drops per ounce). If for a child or an elderly person, use a 1% dilution (6 drops per ounce). You do not have to add essential oils, but they add extra oomph to the tea by reducing dandruff (Tea Tree), soothing itching (Lavender and Tea Tree), and promoting growth (Rosemary and Cinnamon). There are other essential oils that address these same concerns, but this is my favorite blend in terms of aroma and safety.

Step Five: Bottle Your Tea

Find a bottle that you can use in the shower. If you have made several quarts, store the extra tea in a large container and refill your shower bottle when it runs low. You may want to hold off on adding the essential oils until you refill your shower bottle so that you don’t have to use such a large amount. Place a funnel over the bottle opening and ladle or use a measuring cup to pour the tea into the bottle. Stir up the mixture right before you bottle it—the essential oils separate from the tea.

Step Six: Use Your Tea

1) Shake up your bottle right before you apply the tea—the essential oils will rise to the top and you want an evenly-mixed application.

2) After shampooing, conditioning, and rinsing, apply about a tablespoon of the tea to your scalp.

3) Massage into scalp and leave in—do not rinse.