Make Your Own Chest Rub: adult & kid versions

Vicks vapor rub, that classic 90’s cure all. I know it’s been around forever, but who else remembers growing up & your Mom put that on you for every complaint! 🙋‍♀️ Don’t forget that little dash under your nose 😂 I can remember that burning sensation like yesterday haha!

Like most home remedies or cure all’s, we have our own stories of how it helped, or why you swear by it. I realized that I could make my own & remove the camphor ingredient, which is pretty toxic if you read up on it!

I’m sharing what we make & how you can make it “kid friendly” – there are plenty of recipes out there that stick pretty close to the store bought stuff. However, I like to play it safe when it comes to making things for my almost 5 year old. This recipe is effective but in a more gentle approach. Instead of using camphor or eucalyptus I made conscious swaps.

Make Your Own Vapor Herbal Chest Rub

✨ Pine + Fir infused oil, I typically use avocado oil for this. Also, since you never know when sickness will hit, I use the crockpot method for heating & extracting all the wonderful properties from these evergreens. They take the place of eucalyptus in most recipes for chest rub, but still offer strong benefits to help relieve; cough, congestion, open up airways for breathing, and act as an expectorant. These two can also be used on kids 6 months & up.

✨ Mentholated crystals, these tiny clear crystals pack a PUNCH. Essentially they are compounds from a distillation process of peppermint. Menthol has that unique cool rush feeling. When added to a chest rub, the strong aroma acts like a carrier for all the other vapors when inhaled. Perfect for stuffy noses. However, I do omit this ingredient when making a kid friendly batch. It can be aggravating to children’s respiratory systems.

Recipe:

✨ 4 ounces of pine + fir infused oil, if you don’t have the plant material you can swap for essential oils. If in a pinch I will do this using – 5 drops Pine EO & 10 drops fir EO

✨1 tablespoon beeswax

✨ 1 teaspoon menthol crystals, omit if making a kid friendly version

✨ melt all ingredients in a double boiler, pour into jars & let solidify.