DIY DandeLion Balm for Sore Muscles and Joints
The dandeLion balm is skin nourishing and useful for easing sore muscles, chapped skin, joint pain, headache, chest congestion, and other common complaints.ย The dandelion balm is nourishing and protective.ย You need this Lion Balm in your home apothecary to roar against pain and inflammation.
When I was in high school a friend, Lillian, an immigrant to Canada from Hong Kong, offered me a small salve tin of white Tiger Balmยฎ for my headache.ย Tiger Balmยฎ is a proprietary mixture of petrolatum and essential oils (1:1 ratio of petrolatum and essential oils) that is useful for relieving muscle pain, headache, joint pain, and backache.ย On that first introduction, my friend suggested I put it on my temples, which I did.ย The effect was immediate, cooling, opening, and pain-relieving.
After that first encounter, I found Tiger Balmยฎ in the local Chinese corner grocery store. In Vancouver in the 1970s, there was one on almost every street corner.ย Today rather than stocking Tiger Balmยฎ I make my own salves and liniments for sore muscles, headaches, and even chest congestion, free of petroleum products and rich in natural botanicals.
If you have a source of unsprayed dandelions you can make a batch of this in about 15 minutes of hands-on time and a bit of waiting for the infused oil to steep.
Dandelion flower benefits
This version is better than the proprietary brand name because it begins with dandelion-infused oil.ย The dandelion infused oil is made with dandelion flowers which are rich in flavonoids and polyphenols are known for their skin healing, pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory anti-oxidant, anti-tumour properties. Dandelion is a rich source of vitamins A, B complex, C, and D, as well as minerals such as iron, potassium, and zinc. The rich yellow colour comes from the antioxidants quercetin, luteolin, luteolin 7-glucoside, carotenes, lutein, and zeaxanthin, all nourishing and healing flavonoids.
To make this dandelion balm start by making a dandelion flower-infused oil.ย While you can make an infused oil with fresh dandelion flowers, itโs somewhat hit and miss.ย Dandelion flowers are high in water content and can quickly make the infused oil give off a rotten smell — thanks to the coumarin compounds in the flowers.ย This can be avoided completely by first drying the dandelions in a dehydrator or low oven.ย When the infused oil is made with dried dandelion flowers it is safe for salve making as well as for cooking.
To make dandelion flower infused oil
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients:
1 cup of dandelion flowers, dried
2 cups of virgin olive oil or sunflower oil
Directions:
In a pint-size Mason jar, place the dried dandelion flowers and the olive oil.ย Stir to remove any air bubbles.ย Ensure that the flowers are fully covered by olive oil.ย Cap tightly.
Put aside in a dark cupboard.ย Shake the jar daily for 4 weeks.ย When itโs ready the oil is a deep golden yellow colour with a faint fragrance. It should smell pleasant.
Strain.ย Discard the flowers and retain the dandelion-infused oil. ย Use dandelion-infused oil for the dandelion balm recipe below.ย The dandelion flower-infused oil can also be used as a massage oil for sore muscles and as the basis for a salve for dry, chapped skin.ย The high antioxidant and nutrient profile of dandelion blossoms makes it an ideal all-around skin-nourishing ingredient for salves and ointments.
DandeLion Balm
Yield: 6 ounces
- 2 tablespoons dandelion infused oil
- 2 tablespoons shea butter
- 2 tablespoons (24 grams) beeswax pastilles
- 2 teaspoons menthol crystals
- 10 drops peppermint essential oil
- 2 drops vetiver essential oil
- 10 drops rosemary essential oil
Directions:
- Make a double boiler using a glass measuring cup and a saucepan.ย Fill the saucepan with water so that it comes halfway up the side of the glass measuring cup.
- Place dandelion-infused oil, shea butter, and beeswax in the measuring cup.ย Simmer the saucepan over medium heat until the beeswax melts.ย Remove from the heat.
- Stir in menthol crystals, peppermint, vetiver, and rosemary essential oils.ย Stir to fully incorporate.
- Pour into salve tins.ย Allow the salve to harden before putting the lid in place.ย Label and date.
ย 
To Use:
Use a small amount of the dandelion balm and massage into sore muscles, joint pain, strains, or sprains.ย To use it for headache pain, apply a small amount to the temples, avoiding the eye area.ย Rub it on the chest to ease breathing with chest congestion.ย ย This is also useful to relieve the itching of mosquito bites and other itchy rashes.
Other dandelion salves
Dandelion salve for chapped skin from The Nerdy Farm Wife
Dandelion lotion bars also from The Nerdy Farm Wife, Jan Berry.
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I don’t have rosemary, what does that add to the mix and could I use lemon balm instead? It not I will pop down to the store and get some.
Julia
The rosemary adds some anti-inflammatory and analgesic actions to the mix.
I just made this and it came out really hard. Is it supposed to do that? My shea butter came in a slab so I cut 24 grams (like the beeswax) and used that. Did I need more than 2 tablespoons of infused oil?
Can you remelt and add more oil? Try adding 1 more tablespoon of dandelion infused oil to the recipe. It sounds like you added too much shea butter. These bars should be solid at room temperature but melt on skin contact. If yours isn’t melting on skin contact, adjust the recipe by adding more liquid oil. Alternatively you could make a soft salve by changing the ratio of ingredients. It would look like this:
1 tablespoon beeswax (12 grams)
6 tablespoons dandelion infused oil
1 tablespoon shea butter
Continue with the other ingredients as written.
This will give you a soft, spreadable salve more like vasoline or tiger balm.
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
This is so cool! What a fun summer activity to do with kids!
I dryed dandelion on low in oven they went to seed. Why? can they still be used?
This seems to claim to do a whole lot of things. Unfortunately, that makes me think that it probably isn’t exceptional at any of them.
Here’s what I want to know. Is it REALLY as effective as Tiger Balm? Because Tiger Balm is one step away from miraculous. If it can beat that, I don’t care about the other nonsense. It’s worth all of that time and effort just on that one point.
I’m frankly shocked that nobody mentioned willow bark. Supposedly that salicylic acid found in willow bark and other stuff is Tiger Balm’s secret ingredient. I’m just not sure that I believe it’s better without it.
I was wondering if I could use coconut oil instead of olive oil or sunflower oil to help keep the oil from going rancid…possibly, I would not require the bees wax…I may experiment with this.
Yes, coconut oil works. You’ll need to keep it at a high enough temperature to keep it liquid or use fractionated coconut oil during the herbal extraction. Solid coconut oil won’t allow the constituents to move through the oil as easily. Olive oil has a 2 to 3 year shelf life, about as long as coconut oil.
Can you add other things known for inflammation like nettle to the salve?
Yes, definitely.
Where can I purchase the moulds which create the bee shape/mould. Thank you
I got mine at Brambleberry Soap Supply.
Elaine – thank you SOO MUCH for your reply. I had tried googling also but couldn’t find any specific info. I am amazed thou that Joybilee Farm has replied to all other comments on this page apart from mine…
I have never heard of vetiver oil. What is it and is it necessary. I have everything else.
You can leave it out if you want. You only use a few swirls.
Vetiver is an essential oil from the roots of Vetiver grass. It is a โbase noteโ oil and emotionally grounding. Lovely oil.
Hello. Can you tell me, must it be the True dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) or are the other species that look very much like dandelion’s ok to use – such as the ‘False dandelion’ (Hypochaeris radicata)??
I ask because I’m on 1ha & just went for a walk around my block (here in Australia) & I only have the False dandelion…
What is your take on using that please??
I googled that,it said it’s similar medicinally but not as potent.
When the dandelion blossoms are dehydrated, do you separate the petals from the green base?
Thanks!
I don’t separate the green from the petals for this.
Are the menthol crystals essential for the recipe? I do not have any and can’t access them where I am.
No but it is the menthol crystals that give the cooling sensation to numb pain. The dandelion balm works without it.
What about using eucalyptus essential oil for the menthol ingredient if we can’t find the menthol.
I haven’t tried that, but it’s certainly worth a try.