Naturally Frugal Tip: Make your own Vapor Rub

Last winter we had a horrible virus work its way through our home. It left us all congested and miserable, but none more so than my daughter who has asthma. She was already on lots of medications, so we didn’t want to add another one to her system, so we used a vapor rub to help with the congestion.

Normally I keep Badger  Aromatic Chest Rub on hand, but the last time I needed it I couldn’t find it. Then I remembered that the chest rub contained eucalyptus and mint and I had both of those essential oils in my cupboard.

I already had essential oils on hand, but I didn’t have  beeswax pastilles or cocoa butter, so I simply combined my essential oils with coconut oil which is solid at room temperature, but easily “melts” as it is rubbed into the skin to create my own aromatic chest rub.

Easy Homemade Vapor Rub

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 9 drops Eucalyptus Oil
• 3 drops Peppermint Oil

Directions:

1. Place the coconut oil to a small jar.
2. Add the essential oils to the coconut oil and mix well.
3. Apply a small amount to the chest or add it to the medicine well of a vaporizer.
4. Store in lidded container for future use.

Because we all have different things in our cupboards, I am sharing several chest rub recipes below so you can find a combination that works with the items you have on hand or be inspired to experiment and create your own.

More Homemade Chest Rub Recipes

Homemade All Natural Vapor Rub for Kids – A gentle salve that combines  cocoa butter and almond oil with Eucalyptus Oil, Peppermint Oil, and Lemon Oil.

Homemade “Vick’s Vapor Rub” – This recipe combines olive oil and beeswax with Eucalyptus Oil, Rosemary Oil, and Lavender Oil.

How to Make a Natural Vapor Rub – This chest rub is created by combining olive oil and beeswax with Eucalyptus Oil, Peppermint Oil, Rosemary Oil, and Cinnamon Oil.

Melissa of Fireflies and Mudpies recommends reducing the amount of Essential Oil in Vapor Salves by half if you are going to apply it to a child’s chest. I do not put homemade vapor rub on my kids’ skin. Instead of putting the vapor salve on their chest, I put some in our Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier and let it creating a soothing vapor for the  kids to breathe in.

More Natural Health Remedies:

Natural Sore Throat Remedies

Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer

You can find more Naturally Frugal Tips here.

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