Learn how to dry rose petals, to use for rose petal baths, salt scrubs, and more with this step by step guide. The rose drying process is extremely easy and actually pretty fun to see how the petals change over time as they are drying.
If you’ve ever had a rose petal bath, you know that the fragrance alone makes bath time infinitely more enjoyable. But have you ever thought about how to dry rose petals to use for other things – like bath salts, scrubs, or even as natural confetti for parties?
As a flower person, who regularly buys fresh flowers to enjoy at home, I hate having flowers go to waste, once they’ve shriveled up and died. So, I use this petal drying method as a way of extending the life (and usefulness) of those fresh flowers when they’re on they’re last leg.
For example, after a holiday workshop, I had a bunch of extra flowers laying around. So, being that one of the things I’m working on this year is self-care, I removed the petals from the stems, dried them out, and turned them into a spa-inspired DIY.
As a result, from something I tried all those years ago, I’m now borderline obsessed with drying out flowers for pretty much everything. Want to make some DIY rose petal bath salts? Here’s what you need to make your own…
How to Dry Rose Petals
The process of drying rose petals is really straight forward, but there are handful of different techniques you can use, depending on how much time / effort you want to spend. I’ll start with my preferred method, which is also the easiest and least amount of active time…
1. For the most hands off approach, remove the rose petals from the stems and lay them out on a piece of canvas or drying tray for 4 or 5 days. The drying time will vary slightly, but you’ll know when they’re ready.
Tip: Lay out the rose petals in a single layer to get them to dry out faster.
2. (optional) Flip your rose petals over everyday to ensure they dry evenly and at the fastest pace. This is an optional step though. The petals will just take longer to dry without doing this.
Additional Ways to Dry Rose Petals
1. Microwave the rose petals.
This is by far the fastest option for drying rose petals, as it only takes seconds to complete.
Grab a microwave safe plate and paper towels. Add a paper towel onto the plate, then add a layer of rose petals (single layer). Followed by another paper towel and then another microwave safe plate on top of that. Creating a sandwich of sorts. Microwave on high for 30-40 seconds, making sure the plate is rotating during the time (you can do this manually if you don’t have a rotating tray in your microwave already). Remove the top plate to see if the petals are adequately dried out and if not, continue this process in 15-30 second intervals until they are fully dried out.
2. Pressing rose petals into a book.
This is another easy one – definitely a low effort technique. The only downside is this process is the longest for drying time, at about 1-2 weeks for the petals to fully dry out.
Open a heavy book to any page, place flower petals onto the page in a single layer, as flat as possible. Close the book and wait 1-2 weeks for the petals to become fully dried out and ready to use.
3. Dehydrate the petals.
Again, an easy drying technique for rose petals…
You can dehydrate rose petals by adding the fresh petals to a dehydrator rack and setting the dehydrator on a low setting until the petals are completely dried out.
4. Use a conventional oven to dry our rose petals.
If you dry out flower petals in the oven. you’ll need to keep a closer eye on them. But will otherwise is another easy (and the second quickest) option!
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and place rose petals on a baking sheet. heat the petals for 10 minutes and then flip the petals over and repeat this process in 10 minute intervals until the petals are dried out the way you like them. *Watch the petals closely to make sure they don’t start to burn and if they do, remove the baking sheet from the oven immediately.
5. Freeze dry rose petals.
This is not one that I would recommend because it’s a more complicated process best left to professionals. But is is an option for drying rose petals, nonetheless, so I wanted to share it.
Now that you know how to dry rose petals, let’s talk about ways you can use them. Let’s make bath salts….
Materials for Rose Petal Bath Salts
- 1 cups of epsom salt
- 1 tablespoons of baking soda
- 1.5 cups of himalayan sea salt (or regular coarse sea salt if you don’t like pink)
- rose essential oils
- glass jars
- mixing bowl (or even a pitcher, like I used)
- spoon or whisk
- blender or food processor
How to Make Rose Petal Bath Salts
1. Dry out rose petals.
Start by drying out 1-2 cups of organic rose petals, as I explained above. I had A LOT more rose petals than this DIY calls for, so you may want to dry out much less, based on the size of your bath salt batch.
If possible, use organic roses, since they’ll eventually be in your bathtub while you’re in it. If you’re not able to use organic roses, that’s okay too. Juts something to keep in mind as you’re making your bath salts.
2. Mix remaining ingredients.
Once the rose petals have dried out and look similar to mine, you can actually make the bath salts. And they’re super quick to make. So all of that waiting you did when the petals were drying is about to be worth it!
Mix the epsom salt, baking soda, and himalayan sea salt into a large bowl or container.
Then, add in the drops of essential oils. Depending on how fragrant you want the bath salts to be, add between 4–8 drops of essential oils.
3. Blend flower petals.
Next, pour your dried rose petals into a blender or food processor with sharp blades. And set the blender or food processor to the pulse setting until the petals resemble confetti.
This took a couple of minutes for me. I alternated between using the actually blender function and the pulse function on my blender and it worked great.
This is the blender I have in case you’re curious.
4. Add the blending petals to the salt mixture.
Once the petals are ready, pour them into the salt bowl and mix together with your hands or a spoon.
5. Pour into a decorative container.
Pour everything into decorative containers. One that has an airtight lid is best – my cork tops are mainly for show.
Add 2 ounces or so to your next bath and you’re feel like you’re hanging out in a fancy spa.
And that’s it for making rose petal bath salts. In decorative containers, like the ones I have, a batch of these salts would make a great gift for a bridal shower, birthday party, or spa day with friends.
They smell so good and look pretty too, with all of the flower petal confetti pieces.
Additional Uses for Dried Rose Petals
1. Use the dried petals to make your own flower petal confetti, also known as natural confetti. It’s biodegradable and good for the environment.
2. Use dried rose petals to make your own potpourri.
3. Make your own rose petal perfume or DIY room spray.
4. Use the petals to make your own cleaning products.
5. Make your own rose syrup and create a flower cocktail.
6. Use it as a garnish for champagne popsicles and other edible treats (like cupcakes and cookies).
7. Press and frame leftover petals to create a unique piece of wall art.
8. Make your own rosewater.
9. Use dried rose petals for DIY beauty products, like a rose face mask or a homemade body scrub.
Are you including self-care in your list of goals for this year? Think you’ll give this beauty DIY a try?
