Homemade Vapour Rub

September 17, 2013 by Alia 70 Comments

A few months ago, I made a homemade vapor rub. For some reason, I didn’t blog about it right away. Frankly, it was so easy that I think that’s the reason I forgot to share it with you all!

I had been planning on including it in the Gift Box of Goodies that I put together. Alas, there simply wasn’t enough room in the box. So, I ended up with two sinus-clearing tubs of vapour rub. Darn.

Vapour Rub Packed with Peppermint, Eucalyptus, and Rosemary

Crunchy Betty via Lightly Crunchy

I found the recipe on Heidi’s blog, Lightly Crunchy. If you’re ever looking for great information on how to live life in a sustainable way, check out her blog. I’m sure that you’ll love it, just as I do.

Heidi had blogged about her homemade vapour rub that was made with a recipe from the Crunchy Betty site. It looked pretty good, so I used the same exact one.

A Simple Recipe

Homemade Vapour Rub

2 tsp beeswax (grated)
1/4 cup olive oil (or experiment with an oil of your choice)
35 drops peppermint essential oil
15 drops eucalyptus essential oil
15 drops rosemary essential oil

Melt the beeswax and olive oil together until smooth. I did this in a pot on the stove, on the lowest heat setting possible. Stir iy once in a while to make sure it mixes well. I then took it off the heat and added in the essential oils. Once everything was mixed, I poured this into two small containers and let it set, uncovered, overnight. Store in a cool, dry place for up to a year (or more).

Does it Work?

Oh yes, it certainly does! The smell is quite strong, which is perfect in a vapour rub. It’s both sweet and refreshing. The large amount of peppermint has a great cooling effect. (For more information about the cooling effects of peppermint essential oil, check out my Peppermint Schnuts post).

Essential Oils

But, don’t take my word for it.

As it turns out, a friend of mine happens to use store-bought VapoRub every single night before bed. It’s the only thing that works to keep his sinuses clear through the night. I mentioned to him that I had made a homemade batch and he jumped at the opportunity to be a test subject. He’s been using it for a couple of months now. He reported back to me that it works just as good or better than the store-bought product. He also said that it lasts longer. While it took a week or so to get used to a slightly different smell, once he got over that, he was hooked!

I was so pleased to hear such a positive review.

This is one of the easiest things to make and it works. Sounds perfect to me!