Chest rub (for colds etc)

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Hello all

I had a bit of a search here but didn't find anything on this subject - making a chest rub for helping fight colds and so on (like a Vicks sort of thing, but different)
My thoughts are:
Soft oil 49,5%
Beeswax 5%
Hard oil 45%
Scent mix 0,5%

Looking for something that is easy to rub in, so the "hard" oil would be Babassu most likely.
We have something from a beekeeper and the ingredients are:
Olive oil
beeswax
eucalyptus eo
Thyme eo

This is making me think that the amount of hard oil should drop and the soft oil should be higher. As it is a rub on product and my wood/leather treatment has 20% beeswax, I can't see the beeswax here being much above 5%, maybe 10% max, or it wouldn't really rub on very well, would it?

What are your thoughts? Am I way off base here?

 

[DeeAnna]

Your beekeeper's balm reads a lot like the salve I make. They're using only beeswax and liquid oils, as I do. To work right, there has to be a fair bit of beeswax in this type of mixture to firm it up.

If you have a lip balm recipe you like, give some thought to adapting it into a salve by increasing the liquid fat to make a spreadable texture.

The recipe below is adapted from an antiseptic salve I make for family use -- it gives some idea of the proportions for a simple liquid oil and beeswax blend. You can use any liquid fats you like in place of the meadowfoam and jojoba. One advantage of both is they have really long shelf lives. The meadowfoam lightens the skin feel and makes the salve absorb more easily. The jojoba is soothing to irritated skin. For a chest rub, neither of these fats might be all that important for your purpose -- high oleic sunflower or an olive oil with a mild odor might be plenty fine.

If you haven't used thyme EO before, be aware the scent can be overwhelmingly strong and not in a good way. You might have to experiment with it until you know the amount that works best for you and your family's noses.

Beeswax	17%​
Meadowfoam	55%​
Jojoba	25%​
EO blend (I use a 1:1 blend of lavender and thyme EOs)	3%​

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Your beekeeper's balm reads a lot like the salve I make. They're using only beeswax and liquid oils, as I do. To work right, there has to be a fair bit of beeswax in this type of mixture to firm it up.

If you have a lip balm recipe you like, give some thought to adapting it into a salve by increasing the liquid fat to make a spreadable texture.

The recipe below is adapted from an antiseptic salve I make for family use -- it gives some idea of the proportions for a simple liquid oil and beeswax blend. You can use any liquid fats you like in place of the meadowfoam and jojoba. One advantage of both is they have really long shelf lives. The meadowfoam lightens the skin feel and makes the salve absorb more easily. The jojoba is soothing to irritated skin. For a chest rub, neither of these fats might be all that important for your purpose -- high oleic sunflower or an olive oil with a mild odor might be plenty fine.

If you haven't used thyme EO before, be aware the scent can be overwhelmingly strong and not in a good way. You might have to experiment with it until you know the amount that works best for you and your family's noses.

Beeswax	17%​
Meadowfoam	55%​
Jojoba	25%​
EO blend (I use a 1:1 blend of lavender and thyme EOs)	3%​

Thank you very much. I was right in my latest YouTube video - you are not only knowledgeable, but generous with the knowledge and able to put it over in a way which is easy to understand! You are amazing.

Jojoba isn't an issue, I have some of that. Might try wheatgerm as the other oil.

My original idea was a variation of a recipe which started as a leather treatment for shoes, then I realised that it also works well on wood, finally it isn't miles away from standard lip balm recipes! But I don't use the same jar for my shoes and my lips, in case people wonder..........

 

[DeeAnna]

Thank you, Gent!

The jojoba will definitely extend the shelf life of the wheat germ, so that might be a good combo.

On a related note --

There is an expensive "miracle" face balm being marketed to women of a "certain age". When I realized the product was nothing more than a beeswax and olive oil salve dressed up in a fancy package, I decided my meadowfoam-jojoba-beeswax lip balm was every bit as good (or better) and cost only a tiny fraction of the fancy stuff.

So when I make my lip balm -- which is quite similar to the salve I shared above except different EOs and a slightly firmer texture -- I pour some in mini deodorant tubes so it's easier to apply to my hands and face. Works nice!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

DIY VAPOR RUB