I’m a big fan of body butter, and even my homemade rose lotion, but I needed something lighter for my hands. This dandelion-infused hand lotion is a luxurious way to get some extra moisture to your hands without being overly greasy.
Creating a Hand Lotion
With a preschooler and all the cooking and product making I do, I end up washing my hands a lot. Now I’m not against washing your hands, but all that soap can really dry your digits out! You need to add some moisture back in and hand lotion is the way to do it.
You can read the post I wrote detailing the differences between body butters and lotions here on Scratch Mommy, but basically lotion contains water so it’s lighter. Even though it’s not as heavy as a body butter, if you use the same lotion on your hands that you use on your body, it’s going to take a lot longer to absorb. By tailoring the oils you use to lighter ones it cuts down on the greasiness without sacrificing moisture.
Dandelion-Infused Hand Lotion Ingredients
I also added dandelion to this recipe for several reasons. It really ups the healing and protection power of any moisturizer. It improves vascular resistance to aid in blood circulation and is very high in Vitamin A, among other nutrients. (source) Vitamin A is used by the body to soothe skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, acne, and sunburns. It can even help reduce wrinkles! (source)
Rosehip seed oil is also known for it’s ability to help prevent and reduce wrinkles. Because it’s considered a dry oil, it soaks quickly into the skin. It’s also gentle enough to use undiluted, but I prefer to combine it with other oils.
Sweet almond oil is one of my favorite carrier oils to use in skincare. It’s very moisturizing and high in Vitamins A and E which are great for skin. Not only is it nourishing, but it offers a moderate level of moisture without getting overly greasy.
I’ve also included rose hydrosol in this since it smells lovely and is so great for skin. You could also use rose water and can even grab Jess’s handcrafted Rose Water here. If you don’t have a hydrosol or Jess’s Rose Water on hand you can also use regular distilled water.
Infusing Your Oil
There are several ways to infuse an oil, but I typically use the 3 day crockpot method, which you can see how to do below. However, the traditional way is to use the simple tool of sunlight.
- Fill a glass jar half full of dried dandelion tops and pour enough oil on top to completely cover the plant matter. For this recipe we’re using sweet almond oil. You can learn all about different carrier oils options in our detailed post here.
- Let the jar sit in a sunny place for 2-4 weeks, shaking occasionally.
- Once the dandelion has fully macerated use cheesecloth or a super clean, old t-shirt to strain the herbs from the oil. Really squeeze the dandelion as those last bits of oil are the most potent.
- Give the herbs a last run through a coffee filter to remove any small pieces of flowers.
- The used dandelion is great for the compost pile!
- 105 grams (about ½ cup) dandelion-infused sweet almond oil (organic, unrefined almond oil)
- 5 grams (about 1 tsp) rosehip seed oil (organic, cold-pressed reship seed oil)
- 8 grams beeswax (sustainably-sourced beeswax)
- 4 grams vitamin E oil (non-GMO vitamin E oil)
- 10 drops essential oil (optional) - my favorites are geranium and lavender for their skin soothing properties
- ½ cup distilled water or rose hydrosol (or Scratch Mommy's Rose Water)
- 1 tsp vegetable glycerin (non-GMO vegetable glycerin)
- Place a small saucepan on your scale and hit the tare button so it's at zero grams. Add the beeswax until your scale shows 8 grams, then hit tare again before adding the sweet almond oil. Measuring this way is easy and doesn't dirty a bunch of dishes!
- Melt over the lowest heat possible, stirring constantly until melted. Using a clear bowl for the beeswax and almond oil and placing it on top of a saucepan as a double-boiler is preferred,
- Turn off the heat and add the vitamin E, rosehip seed oil, glycerin and essential oils if using.
- Pour the liquid into your blender and allow it to cool in the fridge until its white and semi-solid. You don't want it hard, but more like the consistency of shea butter.
- Turn your blender on medium high and sloooowly drizzle in your rose water, hydrosol, or distilled water. You can use a stick blender, though it's trickier to pour while you're mixing. I've also had success with a stand mixer, but the lotion was more prone to separation after a few weeks.
- Store your lotion in a sterilized glass jar and make sure your fingers are clean before dipping some out. Enjoy the soothing feel on your hands!
Not feeling DIYish? Check out Jess’s beautiful handcrafted organic lotions and organic butters over in the Organic Skincare Shop.
- Herb-Infused Body Lotion
- Body Butters (in 2 scents)
- Face Lotion
Comments 4
I love all the amazing recipes I see here! I am new to making my own and hope to be this great at it! You’ve helped me so much!
<3 Thank you. So glad that you have found Scratch Mommy!
This is going to come in handy in a month or so when my lawn is yellow. 😀 Thank you for sharing it at Savoring Saturdays!
This looks amazing! I always have a plethora of dandelions that I want out of my grass so I need to make this. And my hands always need more moisture, it is so dry where I live and my hands take a beating in the kitchen, cleaning, and taking care of the kids.