How to Make Natural Vapor Rub

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Sometimes despite my best efforts to keep my family and I from getting the colds that are going around, one of us gets sick. This time, it was me. Over the weekend I missed my best friend’s annual holiday party! Normally, I try not to take over the counter medications because they always make me feel groggy and tired. I have three kids, ain’t nobody got time for that! For this particular cold, I had a sore throat, runny nose and a cough. My sore throat was easily remedied by some hot ginger tea but for my cough I wanted to try and make vapor rub.

What you’ll need to get started is beeswax, a carrier oil and some essential oils. I chose to work with almond oil for the sole reason that I had a lot of it on hand. There are several carrier oils that would work – olive oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, etc. The essential oils that I wanted to use were peppermint, rosemary and eucalyptus oil. Each one is known to have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, as well as effectiveness in relieving respiratory ailments such as cough, congestion and sinus issues.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c almond, coconut or olive oil
• 1 tbsp grated beeswax
• 25 drops peppermint essential oil
• 15 drops rosemary essential oil
• 15 drops eucalyptus essential oil
• small glass jar

Directions:

Melt beeswax in a double boiler with your oil of choice (I used almond oil). If you don’t have a double boiler, you can boil water in a sauce pan and put the mixture in a heat safe bowl over the pan.

Once melted, remove from heat and add essential oils.

Stir and then pour into a small glass jar.

Let the mix cool before placing the lid on top. Store in a cool, dry place.

The consistency is much like your over the counter vapor rub but less greasy. The smell of the essential oils was not overwhelming, which was nice. Sometimes the menthol smell is so strong my eyes start to water! I used a small amount on my chest and also on the bottom of my feet before bedtime followed by cotton socks. Why my feet? Well, the skin on your feet is not as sensitive as the rest of your body so if you have an aversion to any oil it is less likely to occur if applied to on your feet. Also, even though the skin on your feet is thick it is very porous so the oils are absorbed by your skin and carried to your blood stream quicker than if applied to any other part of the body which will in turn makes the effects of the oil work faster.

To go along with the ginger tea and homemade vapor rub, I picked up some Kleenex tissues at Target to soothe my runny nose. My husband and I are big fans of the tissues with lotion…so soft! If you happen to catch this seasonal bug and need tissues for yourself be sure to print out this coupon to save yourself $1.00 on your purchase at Target!

What’s your secret to treating cold symptoms?