Why Do You Need to Make Your Own Dandelion Salve?

The past three days, we have finally begun seeing the promises spring and sunshine! I probably seem weird being so excited about sunshine as a sign of spring, but here lately, we have been experiencing a lot of rain and dreary weather. Still, one of the reasons I am so excited about spring is that I can start collecting dandelions again! In our family, there seems to be a lot of teasing that a few of us are more concerned with weeds than spring. In a way, this is very true! Especially when considering the benefits of dandelion and the multitude of uses.

Dandelions yield a number of amazing health benefits:

• Anti-microbial
• Anti-fungal
• Anti-oxidant
• Anti-Inflammatory
• Germicidal
• Detoxifier
• Works as a liver cleanse
• Assist with bloating
• Helps relieve constipation
• Assists with weight loss
• And so many other wonderful benefits

So, once it becomes apparent that dandelions are so beneficial, it can become difficult not to become excited about the appearance of these wonderful "weeds."

Acknowledging this, I admit, I will probably be delving into a variety of wonderful uses of this amazing plant, but to become better focused, I want to take a moment and cover the value of utilizing a salve and then providing an awesome recipe our family creates when the plants are in season. This amazing salve is an all-natural, cheap, beneficial, and easy to create salve wonderful for your "natural medicine" cabinet !

The reason for creating this salve is because it works for an amazing pain-reducing cream on joints and as a wonderful treatment for dry, cracked skin! Another interesting aspect I have discovered is when I use it (during the winter I experience extremely dry skin) most people are always complementing my "new perfume." In those moments, I only smile to myself because I am only using the salve for healing my skin.

Truthfully, you are creating two products when you begin preparation! The first step is creating a dandelion infused oil, which also works wonderfully! It is a great massage oil for use on stiff joints and tired muscles! Similar to the salve, it can be used for dry and chapped skin (but I am not a fan of the oily residue that remains on my skin). It is a wonderful base in a multitude of DIY products (lotions, salves, lip balms, etc). The oil can help with detoxifying and cleansing pores on your body. The high dose of Vitamin C assists in accelerating healing processes, as well as reducing inflammation and helping reduce the appearance of scars!

Recognize, this is perhaps the longest part of the production process, and the oil will take two weeks to become infused! Having explored this, it is now a great time to begin exploring how to create this amazing oil!

1. Gather the heads of dandelions, and since they are normally found out in the yard, you will need to wash them and then lay them on a towel and allow them to wilt overnight. (If you choose to purchase dried dandelions, then this step can be skipped!)
2. Next, our family utilizes a quart (or even a half gallon) canning jar and fill it up with the dandelion flowers, then we pour olive oil over the top of the dandelion flowers, filling it up! (Almond oil, safflower oil, and others are excellent options)
3. Place the cap over the oil and select a darker area to place your dandelion/oil combination for the next two weeks! This will allow the oil to become completely infused with the wonderful benefits of this plant!
4. After two weeks, it's time to remove the dandelions from the oil. We normally utilize a cheesecloth or mesh strainer to separate the flowers from the oil to move it into a clean jar.
5. Now it is ready for use, either alone or to move ahead to creating your salve (or other products)!

An important thing to remember is that you need to make sure to separate the dandelion and the oil after two weeks! The reason for this is that the dandelions can begin to mold, destroying the oil!