Dandelion Scrub Bar Soap Recipe

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 is perfect 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.

Dandelion Scrub Bar Soap Recipe

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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

(To print, scroll down until you see a green “Print Friendly” button at the bottom of this post.)

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 salve for 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

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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 hot process soap or cold process soap.
Dandelions & Poppy Seeds for Dandelion Scrub Bar Soap Recipe

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.

Dandelion Scrub Bar Soap Recipe (palm free) - perfect for gardeners!
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33 Comments

  1. Beautiful recipe! I can’t wait to make this one. You know how much I love dandelions! :D

  2. I just infused a batch of dandelions in apricot oil. I might use that instead of the sunflower oil and see how it turns outs. This soap is so pretty Jan !!!!

    1. Hi Kelllie! I use a homemade wooden mold with inner dimensions of 8” x 3.5” x 3.5”, but a 3 lb mold would be about right for this recipe too.
      (30 oz oil + 8.5 oz water + 4 oz lye = 42.5 oz which = 2 lbs & 10.5 oz, so you’d go up to a 3 pound mold)

  3. Recently made this soap and I know it will be a favorite of ours! (Plus, having my grandchildren help pick the dandelions was such fun)! Thank you for all the great recipes and your willingness to share with us.

  4. This looks like a great soap recipe! I’ll have to see if the neighbors wouldn’t mind me picking a few of theirs since our chickens pretty much ate our backyard!

  5. I just saw your giveaway for your book at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth. I am so glad she sent us to your blog ;)

  6. Thank you for the lovely giveaway at Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth. I hope I win a copy of your book 101 Easy Homemade Products .

  7. Nice site! Thank you for offering your book on stangersandpilgrimsonearth blog!

  8. Hello, What a wonderful ministry to those that love all things natural! Your book will be a great success! Amazing photos and really just an informative blog! Blessings, Roxy

  9. jan, your soaps always look so lovely. one of these days i’m going to try soapmaking.

    i think there is possibly another typo on p. 130 in the tip bubble where it says to add another ounce of oil but says 14 grams. should that be 28 grams instead or am i just misunderstanding something?

    1. Hi Linda! Thanks so much for the kind words! I hope you’re able to get a chance to try soapmaking one day – it’s lots of fun! :)
      You are exactly right too – that’s another typo we missed! Thank you!! That’s really helpful to know. I’ll send a note to the publisher right away and hopefully they can get it corrected if the book hasn’t already gone to reprint.
      I appreciate the heads-up & would love to know if you spot any more!! :)

  10. oh! I’m glad I read this post. I already made the dandelion soap with just the 6 oz and my soap is crumbly and looks a lot different than your picture. I’m almost happy to know there was an error because I was thinking I’m not the best at making soap…ha..

    I just made the rose soap today and it looks pretty already. (just poured it into the mold now). I love your book!! I made the soap with the thyme the other day. Next will be lavender soap. Congrats on such a nice book! Andrea

    1. Oh no! I’m so sorry that happened to you! That happened to someone else as well so she rebatched the soap, adding in the missing oil, and thankfully it made the batch usable again.
      No matter how many editors the book went through and how many times I proofread the book, I can’t believe we missed such a major typo!! Thank you for being so gracious and understanding about it! :)
      So happy to hear that you’re enjoying the book. I appreciate the kind words & support! :)

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  13. When I am using dandelion infused oil, do I need to account for that when using the lye calculator?

    1. Hi Rachel! Yes, any oil that you use should be counted in the lye calculator to make sure you have just the right amount of lye for all of the oils. If you use dandelion infused olive oil, just input it into the lye calculator as olive oil. If you use dandelion infused coconut oil, just input it as coconut oil, and so forth. The dandelion part doesn’t change the amount of lye an oil needs. :)

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