I remember when I first found out that eucalyptus essential oil was a big no-no for kids under 6… the Eucalyptus globulus variety that is. I’d been using the stuff on my kids anytime they had a cold or were congested.
I’d gently diffuse it in their room. I’d add it to the steam vaporizer. I’d slather their little chests with vapor rub.
I didn’t realize I was doing something that could have been potentially harmful to my kids. I mean, isn’t eucalyptus and menthol the stuff they use in the vapor rub you buy in the store for your kids? Why yes, it is.
Once I realized that it could be dangerous I knew I needed to find a replacement for it, and fast. I use vapor rub quite often. In fact, it’s probably one of the things in my medicine cabinet that gets the most use. Little colds, runny noses, and slight congestion are quite common in small children, and seeing how I’m surrounded by them at this season of my life, someone always needs some vapor rub.
So I began to search online for other natural options only to come up with vapor rubs that contained… you guessed it. Eucalyptus essential oil. Everything out there seemed to contain it or be designed for older kids. It’s like I couldn’t find anything for really young children.
I finally came across a DIY recipe for congestion for little ones, but it seemed like every time I needed it I had to run to the computer, look the recipe up, mix up two different blends to fit the age ranges in my home, and then make my vapor rub from them. Now don’t get me wrong, I did it, and I used it. It was a great replacement for my standard eucalyptus vapor rub, but now I’ve found something even quicker and easier. Halleluyer! (Said in my best Madea voice.)
Today I’m going to share how I make a super easy kid-friendly vapor rub that is safe for kids ages 2 and up and the best part is you don’t have to search for essential oil recipes or blend anything together. It’s already done for you!
The Easiest Kid-Friendly Vapor Rub In The World
Makes 1 – 2-ounce twist top tube.
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces (57 grams) olive oil
- .2-ounces (6 grams) of beeswax
- 50 drops of Sniffle Stopper KidSafe synergy blend
- 1 twist top tube
Directions:
- Place beeswax in a small saucepan over high heat to melt beeswax.
- Once beeswax is melted, add olive oil, mix well, and turn heat off.
- Pour oil/wax mixture into twist top tube.
- Add 50 drops of essential oil to oil/wax mixture in your tube. Stir with a toothpick or skewer to mix oils together.
- Let sit until salve hardens. Put the lid on, label, and store.
To Use:
Rub vapor rub into the chest and back or on the bottoms of the feet to aid in symptoms of a cough and congestion. You can also place a small amount of vapor rub under the nose to help with a stuffy nose.
So there you go. An easy-to-make, easy-to-use vapor rub that’s safe for little kids. It’s quick to make and convenient to grab and use when your kids are feeling under the weather.
Also, from my understanding, you can even use something like this on kids under two IF you use less of the essential oils in it. Like around 10 drops for this whole recipe.
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Thanks for reading today’s post, and be sure to pin it on your natural medicine cabinet board on Pinterest or share it with your natural mama friends on Facebook!
This post was underwritten by Plant Therapy. All opinions are mine. Plant Therapy offers 100%, pure, undiluted essential oils sourced from some of the top essential oil suppliers in the world. They have single oils and synergy blends as well as a line of synergy blends specific to children. Not only do they offer high-quality essential oils, but they also offer carrier oils, hydrosols, and other essential oil accessories to help you keep yourself and your home naturally healthy.
Thanks for this great recipe, Meagan!! My youngest 3 kids have a snotty/coughy thing going on, and have been frantically trying to figure out which oils would be safe on them, so I came to your site to see what recipes you had! 🙂 I just LOVE Plant Therapy and their KidSafe synergies, so thankful to have safe & effective oils to use on my babies 🙂 I am going to make this right now!!
I hope it serves you and your little one well Steph! Thanks for sharing, and as always, thanks for thinking of Growing Up Herbal!
Where do you get the twisty top? This looks awesome. Thank you
I got it from the Plant Therapy website along with the KidSafe essential oils, Katherine. Love this easy DIY!
is that really .2 oz of beeswax!? that seems hard to measure! excited to try this. just ordered all the goods needed!
Yes… it is .2 ounces. The reason is because the tube is a small 2-ounce tube and there’s no need to make more than that. This lasts a good long while in our house, and I have four kids. I use a kitchen scale that measures to the tenth of an ounce so that makes it much easier. I zero the scale, put the beeswax pastiles on until the scale reads .2 ounces, and then add it to the oil to melt. Hope that helps. If you’d rather have it converted to grams (which I prefer sometimes) it would be 57 grams of olive oil and 6 grams of beeswax. Hope that helps!
Could you do this with coconut oil instead of olive oil? I live in Florida so it would probably have to be stored in the refrigerator between uses. I wasn’t sure if that was okay with the oils or not.
Yes! You could definitely use a different carrier oil, Haley! Hope that helps, and thanks for the comment.
[…] 1/11/16: I recently learned that eucalyptus is not safe for use with young children. Â I now use Plant Therapy’s Kidsafe Sniffle Stopper essential oil blend instead of the […]
Suggestions for oils for someone allergic to pines and firs?
Well, for a child, depending on their age or course, I love using cinnamon leaf, clove, and sweet orange. If you’re referring to an adult, you can go with eucalyptus, rosemary, or camphor. Hope that helps!
The directions don’t indicate whether or not the EOs should be stirred into the wax mixture. It just says to drop in 50 drops. I would think it would need to be mixed well to ensure the oils were evenly dispersed into the final product. Yes?
You can totally take a toothpick or a skewer and stir the oils in once you drop them in, but EOs disperse well in warm oils so most of it will spread out. They don’t settle or anything. At least as far as I know they don’t, but if you have any info on why you should always mix them in, I’d love to hear it. I will totally change the directions if need be. Thanks Jeanne!!
Hi Meagan. Thanks for your reply!
Although I’m no expert, and I haven’t obtained my aromatherapy certification yet, I am currently taking courses through Aromahead Institute and have completed a few essential oil classes through Vintage Remedies.I have my herbalism certificate through Herbal Academy of New England, and although their classes focus mainly on herbs, they do teach essential oils during their courses as well.
What I took away from those classes was that to ensure the oils were dispersed evenly throughout your final product, you should always stir the oils in well after adding them. At that point, salves and balms set up very quickly, so you wouldn’t have to worry about the final product containing “spots” with higher concentrations of oil.
I hope that makes sense.
Many blessings <3
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! I’ll definitely change that in the post and be sure to always do that from now on. Thanks again, Jeanne!
You’re very welcome!
By the way, I absolutely love your blog. I have now followed you on all social media sites that you’re on. 🙂
Thanks, Jeanne!
Thank you for this Meagan! I just made 3 of these today and I know they are going to be very helpful for this winter season. Plus, I love the way they smell! Thanks again for all of your great information. <3
You’re very welcome!!
Why is eucalyptus dangerous for babies? Are their other oils you would recommend in an oil burner? Is thyme or olbus oil ok? Thankyou, I am so loving your blog and excited to get making ?
I know this is an old comment, but no,you shouldn’t use Olbas oil (EO blend) on littles. It’s great for adults and teens, but there are a few oils that aren’t kid safe in the mix. Since Plant Therapy has a large selection of safe oils, I would stick with one of those. They also work for adults, so you don’t need to make 2 separate batches. HTH
PS: they also have a lot of free printables related to safe usage on their site.
Thanks so much for sharing this helpful comment!
Hi Meagan. The links in the recipe aren’t working…..Can you help please?
5
I am trying to find a twist tube to work (link in post doesn’t work and I can’t find one on plant therapy site) and some people noted in reviews that they leak when you pour liquid in them. What kind do you use and how do you prevent it from leaking out? So excited to try thanks for this safe balm for kids!
I’ll check on that link, Kira. In the past, I’ve used the Plant Therapy twist tubes and not had an issue with leaking (that I can remember). You can probably get them from Amazon, but I don’t know if there will be leakage issues or not. Another option is to try the paper push tubes or even deodorant containers (You can buy these on Amazon, and they work well.) and use those. Best of luck!