Homemade Vapor Rub Recipe with Essential Oils (2024)

This homemade vapor rub recipe with essential oils is a must have for your natural medicine cabinet.

Homemade vapor rub recipe with essential oils

I love knowing how to make my own natural remedies – especially something as essential like a homemade vapor rub recipe. It’s so reassuring having safe options to turn to when illnesses or injuries happen.

I think it’s so great being able to have a safe, natural remedy for all these things, rather than turning to commercial painkillers with questionable side effects.

Some of my other favorite natural remedies are elderberry syrup and magnesium lotion.

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My favorite versatile homemade vapor rub recipe

I love how versatile this homemade recipe is – it’s basically a vapor rub and tiger balm combined into one tin. There are just so many ways to use it!

Did you work too hard getting that garden plot ready for planting? If that happens to me, I rub some of this on for instant cooling/warming relief for sore muscles.

Is muscle tension giving you discomfort? I ease my tight muscles by rubbing on this salve.

Have a headache? This gives me much needed relief when rubbed on my temples.

Let’s not forget about coughs and colds. This homemade vapor rub works really well for us at relieving nasal and chest congestion. I like to rub some under my (or my kids’) nose and on our chests for quick congestion relief, and for soothing respiratory passages. It’s also very helpful for relieving coughs.

Have you had the kind of head cold where congestion isn’t so much of an issue, but your nose just burns and burns? Here’s a trick: I rub some of this vapor salve right under my nose. Instant relief! Now I can actually get some sleep, even with an annoying cold.

Homemade vapor rub recipe

Commercial vapor rubs are usually petroleum based. I definitely don’t feel good about using industrial by products on my skin! There are also a lot of other questionable ingredients in the drugstore vapor rub we’ve all heard of.

But let’s be honest: When coughs and colds are making us miserable, we need relief.

This homemade vapor rub works just as well as those well known store bought products. And, there’s no need to worry about ingredients you’d rather avoid.

When you make it yourself, you’re in complete control. You end up with a much higher quality product, for a fraction of the price! Win win.

Homemade vapor rub with tallow

It’s no secret! I love tallow.

Naturally, I turned to tallow when creating this recipe. When I’m making salves and balms, I like using tallow for the base, because of its amazing skin benefits. I wrote all about why grass fed tallow is so incredible for skin in this blog post here.

Don’t have any tallow? That’s okay! Keep reading for an alternative…

Homemade vapor rub without beeswax

When using tallow, you can leave the beeswax out and it will still be a good consistency, especially if your tallow is already firmer.

If you don’t have tallow on hand, and still want to make this homemade vapor rub, no worries. You can definitely use something else instead.

If there was no tallow available for this homemade vapor rub recipe, I would use coconut oil as a good substitute.

Following the rest of the recipe and still including the beeswax would still be a good idea if you use coconut oil. You want something that will be stiffer than just coconut oil would be on its own, and the beeswax will provide that extra stiffness.

Keep scrolling for my favorite homemade vapor rub recipe…

How to make homemade vapor rub for kids

Whether you are using this homemade vapor rub on yourself or your kids, there are ways to make it for everyone in your family. Make sure that you read the variations of essential oil drops to help you get the best rub for your family.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup grass fed tallow balm
• 2 tsp beeswax
• 24 drops essential oils (for kids 2-5) OR
• 72 drops essential oils (for kids 6 and older) OR
• 144 drops essential oils (for teens and adults)

Instructions:

1. Melt tallow balm over a gentle heat until it is liquid.
2. Pour needed amount of tallow balm into a quart mason jar.
3. Add the beeswax to the tallow balm.
4. Create a double boiler by placing the mason jar on a cloth inside a saucepan with water.
5. Heat the water until it comes to a low simmer.
6. Once beeswax is melted, stir to combine well.
7. Remove from heat and add essential oils. Stir to combine.
8. Pour hot mixture into tins or jars to store.
9. Allow containers to sit until salve is solid.
10. Put lids on containers and store in a cool, dark place.

How does vapor rub work?

Vapor rub is a magical concoction that can help relieve many symptoms. The rub sits on your chest so that the scent goes toward the sinuses, creating an instant relief.

Because it is rubbed onto the skin, I prefer to make my own simply for the advantage of less harmful chemicals applied to mine and my family’s skin.

What are the best essential oils to use?

There are a lot of different essential oils that can work well for relieving pain, tension, and congestion – as long as you use 100% pure essential oils.

For me, that means using essential oils from a company like Plant Therapy, where I know that their oils are 100% what they say that they are.

You can definitely use some freedom with this recipe. Feel free to experiment with what oils you happen to have on hand, or are known for being good for pain and tension relief or the respiratory system.

I decided to go with Plant Therapy’s Sniffle Stopper synergy. We have little kids in our home, and I love how Plant Therapy is so good about designating which essential oils are safe for use on young children. The oils in this blend are amazing for respiratory soothing and congestion relief, as well as pain and tension, so they’re perfect for a multipurpose salve like this one.

Another thing I love about Plant Therapy is that they’re very helpful in recommending which oils are pregnancy and nursing safe. There are several oils that are commonly used for respiratory or tension and pain, but that are not child/pregnancy/nursing safe. I feel very comfortable having the Sniffle Stopper synergy on hand in our home, since I know it’s safe for my little kids, and myself when I’m pregnant or nursing.

If you’d rather create your own blend using single essential oils, the possibilities are endless! Here is a list of essential oils that would be good to use in a homemade vapor rub.

• Lemon
• Lavender
• Peppermint
• Eucalyptus
• Tea tree
• Frankincense
• Rosemary
• Cinnamon
• Bergamot
• Cypress
• Thyme
• Geranium

These essential oils are not all necessarily safe for kids, so keep that in mind. Also, the homemade vapor rub works best if you can use multiple oils, so I recommend using a variety if possible (rather than just a single oil) if you’re coming up with your own blend.

Things to consider when making vapor rub for kids

It is good to keep in mind who will be using the homemade vapor rub when deciding how much essential oils to add. Small children will need less than bigger kids, while teens and adults will want a blend that is stronger yet.

For this recipe I’ve included measurements for small children two years and older, children 6 years and older, and a teen/adult version.

I personally would not use any vapor rubs on babies under two years. Instead, babies under two years, I like to diffuse a kid safe essential oil or blend, like Sniffle Stopper, in a diffuser.

Homemade vapor rub recipe video

More home remedy recipes

Black drawing salve recipe

Herb infused tallow healing salve recipe

How to make tallow balm

How to make magnesium lotion

What are your favorite remedies for coughs and colds? What about pain relief?

Share your favorite natural solutions in the comments; I’d love to hear them!

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Grass fed beef tallow

Organic beeswax

Plant Therapy Sniffle Stopper essential oil blend

1 oz. tins

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