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Have you ever thought to try homemade vapor rub? Sound like too much work?

It really isn’t but perhaps we should look at why we should skip store bought vapor rub in the first place.

Vapor rub, it’s an old stand-by used by millions of people to help ease congestion and coughs. However, even Vapor rub is full of yucky ingredients; mainly petrolatum and turpentine oil. Turpentine oil? Really? Both of these ingredients are not good for the body.

Petrolatum, which is actually banned in EU cosmetics, is linked with organ toxicity.

Turpentine oil is an immune system toxin, organ toxin, and is an irritant. It’s toxic to children in as little as 3 teaspoons! Why anybody would put turpentine oil in a product is beyond me. There are tons of safe alternatives.

 

The good news is that homemade vapor rub is incredibly easy to make!

You do need to invest in a few essential oils but they are good to have on hand any way and only cost $3-5 for a bottle that will last quite a while so long as you don’t add them to any and everything like I do.

The joy of this recipe is that it’s simple. It doesn’t bother with beeswax like a salve would. Salves are great but they are a bit more time consuming. For this vapor rub all you need to do is mix and you are done.

Now this recipe is listed for ages 10 years and older. Why? Because some of the essential oils used are actually not safe for kids.

Essential oils should always be used safely. I like to be extra cautious when it comes to little ones so this recipe is just not for them. Never fear, I have a kid safe vapor rub recipe!



Homemade Vapor Rub - Skip the yucky ingredients in VapoRub and make your own! Just 4 ingredients an you can breathe easy. #vaporrub #vaporub #decongestant #coughs #naturalremedies #essentailoils

Homemade Vapor Rub

1/4 cup Coconut Oil – melted
5 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil
10 drops Rosemary Essential Oil
10 drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil


Directions: 
Place oil into a small container and add in essential oils. Mix well.
 
Then just rub on chest, under nose (carefully) and even feet. Rubbing on the feet and then covering with socks is said to be one of the safest and most effective areas to use a vaporub.

This has quickly become a favorite product in our family when we are dealing with a cold. As I said, this is such an easy recipe to make and it can be used by anyone. So ditch the store bought, chemical laden stuff and start making your own!


Please note that Rosemary essential oil is not recommended for children under 6 years old and Eucalyptus is not recommended for children under 10 years old. Here is a kid friendly vapor rub