Dandelions For Skincare: Drying the Blossoms
Lise
In case you're wondering, this is not a picture of weeds (I've added some helpful text to give you a clue).
Long ago, I would to think only one thing when seeing a meadow full of dandelions: 'pretty, but just weeds'.
No more.
Today, we're going to do a bit of preparation for some honest-to-goodness botanical magic, so grab a basket and get ready to harvest a few dandelion blossoms!
Not convinced why you should be picking 'weeds'?
Then read on to discover what this little treasure of a plant has to offer!
What Makes Dandelions Special
Dandelion (INCI: Taraxacum Officinalis) may be the bain of many gardeners and homeowners, but this widely available plant has so very much to offer.
The 'Officinalis' part of the Latin name is a giveaway that dandelions have a history of medicinal use. Apart from a plethora of different applications for soothing and helping us heal, dandelions are edible (and nourishing) from tip to root.
And there's even more.
My interest in this common plant is due to their natural content of cichoric acid.
And why is this exciting?
Because cichoric acid does a really cool thing: it inhibits the enzyme that breaks down hyaluronic acid in the body. Read: it protects collagen from damage from free radicals.
So, if cichoric acid has the ability to protect our own hyaluronic acid from breaking down, then it might be fair to view dandelions as all-natural little fountains of skincare youth.
See why I'm a little excited?
You: Sounds very interesting Lise, but is all this tested and proven by science?
I love it when you ask me serious stuff!
So far, I am seeing initial conclusions like 'warrants further study' and 'looking positive', but scientific tests are still too few and far between for any conclusive evidence. The prospects have me interested enough to keep digging for more information.
Meantime, there's no reason to put off working with what's growing so abundantly, is there?
So, are you ready to get busy with dandelions?
Dandelion Picking Tips
Although you can use the entire plant, we're going to be concentrating on collecting and drying the blossoms for this exercise.
Where to Pluck Dandelions
Find an area away from roads and other possible sources of contamination (such as pesticides, urinating pets etc). If your own garden lawn happens to fit this description and is filled with dandelions, it's a perfect place to start.
When to Pluck Dandelions
In theory, you can pluck dandelions any time of day, but I find mornings both pleasant and the best time to get the freshest blossoms. Any newly blossomed plants are easy to spot in a lawn (I picked blossoms from my lawn over a period of 3 days). Every blossom I picked for this batch had appeared overnight.
How to Pluck Dandelions
Pinch off blossoms at the top of the stem.
How to Dry Dandelions
Spread out on a clean cloth and allow to wilt in the shade in open air for a few hours. This will give any resident tiny bugs a chance to find another place to reside.
If you have a drying net, use that. A drying net allows air all around the plant.
I started out using my garden table to wilt the flowers, then moved them to a paper towel indoors and placed them face down to finish drying.
Allow the blossoms to dry throughly. Depending on the climate you are in, this could be from a few days up to a couple of weeks.
If you don't have the space to let the blossoms air dry, spread them out on a tray and leave in the oven on very LOW HEAT (about 60°C) overnight.
If you have a dehydrator, even better. Set the dehydrator to between 8-10 hours at about 60°C
When the blossoms are thoroughly dry, pop them into a bag and store dry and dark until use.
A special thanks to Vivienne at The Herbal Hub for the original inspiration to take a closer look at these gems.
Do Tell
Do you work with dandelions in your skincare? How do you use them?
Links to Nerdy Stuff about Dandelions and Cichoric Acid
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf0258858
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24871659
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0031942295008659
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3982519/
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jafc.5b04533
http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/ra/c6ra25901d#!divAbstract
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