Homemade Chest Rub

A few blogs ago, I said I was not sure how natural Vicks Vapor Rub was.  So, I looked into it…  and technically, it is somewhat of a natural option.  It is actually made from quite a few essential oils with a base of something similar to Vaseline.  However, I am plagued with the do-it-yourselfitis…  and so I found several recipes and then kind of made my own from what I saw.  Google is definitely feeding my addiction.  Besides, at our house we use a lot of Vicks, so this way I can replace it with something that I made knowing full good and well what is in it.   

When my kids see me pull out the Vicks, they actually willingly bring me their socks so that I can rub it on their feet before they go to bed.  It’s like candy for the toes. 

Homemade Chest Rub recipe

Base-

• 1 cup of olive oil
• 1 ounce of beeswax (buy local!)
• 1 ounce of cocoa butter
• 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil

Scent-

• 15- 20 drops Camphor essential oil (If you have a hard time finding this, you can substitute Pine essential oil)
• 15- 20 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
• 15- 20 drops Peppermint essential oil
• 15- 20 drops Rosemary essential oil

Other optional scents-

• Lavender
• Tea Tree
• Sweet Orange
• Lemongrass

Base instructions- in a double boiler, melt the beeswax and cocoa butter completely on a medium heat.  Turn the heat down to low so that your mixture does not turn solid too quickly, and add in the olive oil and vitamin E oil.  Mix with a whisk until even.  Then take off the heat and add your blend of essential oils.  Pour into a container and set it aside until you need it.  Personally, I prefer a half pint mason jar.    

Use the scents as you can tolerate them.  Not everyone is going to have the same threshold as the person next to them or the same preferences…  so figure out what works best for you.  Personally, if I already have the essential oils available and the base made, it would take very little effort to play around with these scents a little and come up with a few kind of different rubs.  Like a Peppermint and Lavender rub sounds really good.  Peppermint is so refreshing on the feet and legs. 

But it is totally up to you!  That is the great part.  Once you start to become familiar with the ingredients, it is so easy to make something that fits exactly what you want than having to settle for what is offered.  I think that is what I like best about homemade.  Not only did I make it, but I made it perfect.