Dandelion Scrub Bar Soap Recipe (2024)

Dandelion flowers, which are wonderful for treating rough, dry skin, are infused into skin-softening olive oil, then combined with bubbly coconut and nourishing sunflower oil to make this soap.

This dandelion soap isperfect for scrubbing away dirt and grime from hands, making it a wonderful gift for the gardener or farmer in your life!

It can also be used as an all-over, gently exfoliating body bar.

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Recipe Notes

If you’ve never made soap before, stop and read my article, Soap Making 101: How to Make Soap (+printable checklist) and research the craft further before proceeding.

For troubleshooting common soap problems, check out my article, What’s Wrong With My Soap? {troubleshooting cold process soap problems}.

If you don’t want to use lye when making soap, you may enjoy my article, How to Make Herbal Soap Without Handling Lye. (The melt & pour method.)

Dandelion Scrub Bar

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Ingredients Needed

• 4.19 oz (119 g) sodium hydroxide (lye)
• 8.5 oz (241 g) distilled water
• 16 oz (454 g) dandelion-infused olive oil (see THIS ARTICLE about making dandelion salvefor directions to infuse dandelion oil)
• 3 oz (85 g) sunflower oil
• 8 oz (227 g) coconut oil
• 3 oz (85 g) cocoa butter
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) lemongrass essential oil
• 1/2 tbsp (5 g) poppy seeds

Directions to Make

1. Wearing protective gloves and eyewear, carefully stir the lye into the water in a heatproof plastic or stainless steel container until completely dissolved.
2. When mixing lye into water or another liquid, it gets very hot fast,and strong fumes will develop for a few moments. Don’t breathe these fumes in directly. Work near an open window, outdoors or under an exhaust fan.
3. Set the mixture aside in a safe place out of reach of pets and household members for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the temperature is around 100 to 110°F (38 to 43°C).
4. While the lye solution cools, weigh out the dandelion-infused olive oil and sunflower oil and pour them into your soap-making pot or bowl. In a double boiler, heat the coconut oil and cocoa butter on low until completely melted.
5. Pour the melted butter combination into the other oils and check the temperature. If needed, heat the oils to around 90 to 100°F (32 to 38°C).
6. Pour the lye solution into the warmed oils. Hand stir with an immersion blender (powered off) for about 15 seconds, then turn the immersion blended on and mix the soap batter, alternating every 15 seconds or so with hand stirring to prevent the immersion blender’s motor from burning out.
7. Continue mixing until trace is reached. This can take anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes. (Trace means the soap batter is thick enough to leave a faint, fleeting imprint when it’s drizzled across itself.)
8. At this point, you can choose to make hotprocess soap or cold process soap.

For Cold Process Soap

Add the lemongrass essential oil and poppy seeds, then stir until they’re fully incorporated. Pour the soap into a prepared mold. Let it stay in the mold for 24 to 48 hours, then remove and slice into bars. Let the bars cure in the open air for at least 4 weeks before using.

For Hot Process Soap

Pour the soap batter into a slow cooker turned on low heat. Cover with the lid and let cook for 1 hour, checking and stirring at least every 15 minutes. After the hour has passed, stir in the poppy seeds and lemongrass essential oil, then spoon the cooked soap into a prepared mold. Allow it to firm up overnight, then remove from the mold and slice into bars. You can technically use hot process soap right away, though it’s vastly improved by curing 3 to 4 weeks first.