Here’s an easy homemade vapor rub recipe with essential oils that helps you clear sinus pressure and get you feeling better when you have a head cold. This is how to make homemade chest rub to relieve your stuffiness.

It’s that time of year again!! Not only are the holidays arriving (fun) but head colds and the flu are hitting houses fast too! (cry) If you’re wondering how to keep allergies at bay, making your own homemade vaporub to keep your sinuses open then we have a simple recipe for you here today. (affiliate links present, originally published 12/21)
Homemade Chest Rub
It’s kinda’ great making homemade remedies and cleaning products like we did with these diy cleaning wipes which we literally use for everything around the house. Natural vapor rub can be made in multiple batches and kept in the medicine cabinet so when cold and flu season come you are prepared.
- Coconut oil
- Eucalyptus essential oil
- Peppermint essential oil
- Small airtight jars to store mixture in – these small glass jars work great
Of course you are free to use any variety of essential oils you like, but eucalyptus and peppermint mixed is ideal for making vapor rub…and clearing out those stuffy sinuses!
Here’s a peek of how you make homemade Vicks. It is simple enough to make for yourself when you need it and even share with others during cold season. Package it up into cute small mason jars, slide into clear cellophane bags with a little container of shea butter and cocoa butter lotion tissues. Everyone will love it and think you’re so clever.

How to Make Homemade Vapor Rub
Using a small bowl to mix them with a disposable spoon is my method but you could use the mason jar you’re intending to store it in too. Sometimes I make a mess mixing so I prefer to mix and then transfer to the storage container myself.
- First…if this homemade remedy idea is new to you, here is a basis essential oils 101 for beginners post. I wrote it when I was first beginning to explore the benefits of these little vials of scents. 😉
There are so many options out there but typically peppermint is what you would expect. That one is so good for so many things like headaches, muscle aches, joint pain and relieves itching too. If you experience some of these other issues you might want to buy a larger bottle of that one and try it beyond just this.

DIY Vapor Rub
It is quite simple. You only need a few ingredients and can add essential oils to make it smell better too and clear up your stuffy nose or head cold.
- (this is a home remedy and of course hasn’t been tested by FDA but seems to work just as well as Vicks Vapor Rub)
- Of course you can purchase ready made Vapor Rub here if you’d rather, either way it should really help your stuffiness!
The photo above is what it looks like once it is mixed well and ready to use.

VapoRub Recipe
It works really well as the hot water causes a steam of sorts from emerging and if you put a towel over your head you can breathe it in well. I wouldn’t recommend this for young kids but for adults it is a game changer for sure. Do it early on for best results. When you are feeling a tingle in your nose coming on do THIS to kick it out early!
It is more of a natural remedy versus pumping yourself full of medications to relieve the pressure. Let me talk about another one the two of us swear by, the SinuGator!! OH MY has this changed our lives too. There are little packets of salt you mix with warm water into the cordless machine. Set it on your nostril and it gently pushes water up.
Homemade Vapor Rub
Equipment
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Bowl
- 1 jar
Ingredients
- 1 c coconut oil
- 10 drops peppermint oil
- 20 drops eucalyptus oil
Instructions
- Scoop 1 cup of room temperature coconut oil into a mixing bowl. Add 20 drops of eucalyptus oil and 10 drops of peppermint essential oil into the bowl.
- Mix well. Scoop the chest rub recipe you made into a container with an airtight lid for easy storage. Store in a cool dry space without direct light.
- Apply to chest and feet as desired. Make sure to wash your hands after touching (will hurt if you rub eyes etc..afterward)
Open your mouth and it will fully irrigate your sinuses from one side to the other to get literally everything out of there. The salt solution helps to shrink the inflammation too which helps tremendously. If you use both I guarantee it will cut down your cold time in half, or less.
And then if y’all suffer from allergies on top of getting sick I would highly suggest an air purifier too. Put one in literally every room in the house, and definitely the bedrooms.

If you choose one with a UV filter it will kill germs before they get to you. It has helped our family so much that we actually put a purifier into the air system in our house. If you want to improve your home air quality too I would. It is worth every single penny to stay as healthy as possible and will increase the value of your home too.
Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!
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