There’s so much going on in life right now that’s it’s easy to feel stressed and overwhelmed.
I try to do what I can to keep stress, anxious feelings, and frayed nerves at bay, by …
- getting a good night’s sleep every night (with the help of these favorite sleep diffuser blends)
- taking calming, detox baths (15 easy DIY relaxing bath salt recipes)
- using roller bottle blends (find my favorite roller recipes for emotions here)
- keeping inhalers in my purse so I can use whenever needed to combat stress and anxiety (it’s really easy to make essential oil inhalers – here’s how)
- using this calming magnesium body butter
And a new favorite way for me to calm down, get balanced, and grounded is this Essential Oil Relaxation Rub.
There are only 3 ingredients, but it works great for me.
I hope it works great for you, too!
After you try it, please leave a comment below and let me know how it worked for you and any tweaks you may have made to the recipe.
What’s in this Relaxation Rub?
coconut oil – Acts as a carrier oil to dilute the essential oils. Diluting essential oils when used topically is beneficial because it both (1) makes it safer (less risk of skin reactions and overuse sensitivity) and (2) increases the effectiveness of the essential oils by slowing evaporation and improving absorption.
beeswax – Beeswax performs two functions in this rub: (1) it soothes, protects, and nourishes skin and (2) raises the melting temperature – coconut oil melts at 76 degrees F, so without the beeswax on a warm day, this rub would completely liquefy. Beeswax has a much higher melting temperature (144 degrees F), so adding a little beeswax helps to keep the rub at least somewhat solid in warm weather.
frankincense essential oil – Frankincense oil has a warm, earthy scent that is slightly fruity and sweet. Frankincense promotes deep positive and grounding feelings as well as a true sense of purpose. It also helps to calm and collect your thoughts.
lavender essential oil – Lavender has a sweet, floral, slightly herbal scent. Lavender is calming and soothing. It slows activity in the nervous system to promote relaxation, lift mood, and improve sleep quality.
ylang ylang essential oil – Ylang ylang has a rich, floral romantic scent that is calming and soothing. Ylang ylang helps release anger and frustration.
cedarwood essential oil – Cedarwood has a warm, woodsy and slightly sweet scent that stabilizing & grounding. Cedarwood helps to release the past so we can let go. Cedarwood works in the brain to stimulates both the limbic region of the brain (which is the center of emotions) and the pineal gland (which releases melatonin to help calm and regulate the circadian rhythm for restful sleep).
sweet (wild) orange essential oil – Orange oil has a bright, fresh scent that is uplifting. It promotes a sense of peace and harmony, as it eases anxious feelings. And as an adaptogen, orange essential oil helps balance mood by recognizing what the body needs at the given moment. It can adapt to be both energizing and calming, depending on what your body needs.
How to Make Homemade Essential Oil Relaxation Rub?
step 1: Add 2 tablespoons of beeswax to a heat-safe glass bowl or measuring cup (this will be used to melt the beeswax using double boiler method)
step 2: to melt beeswax, put the heat-safe glass bowl/measuring cup into a pot of simmering water. Melt beeswax over medium heat. Stir occasionally. It will take about 15 minutes to melt beeswax. Make sure beeswax is completely melted, otherwise the beeswax might partially re-solidify, making the relaxation rub grainy.
step 3: Add 1/2 cup coconut oil to the melted beeswax
step 4: stir to combine and melt the coconut oil (this won’t take long)
step 5: once completely melted, remove the beeswax and coconut oil mixture from the heat. Allow it to cool for a few minutes.
step 6: After the oil/wax mixture has cooled for a few minutes, add the following essential oils and stir well
15 drops lavender essential oil
15 drops cedarwood essential oil
10 drops sweet (wild) orange essential oil
5 drops frankincense essential oil
5 drops ylang ylang essential oil
note: this is a lot of drops of essential oil (50 to be exact), but because it is being diluted in 1/2 cup of coconut oil, it is only a 2% dilution.
step 7: pour the mixture into containers (glass, metal, plastic #1 PET & plastic #2 HDPE jars are all safe for diluted essential oil blends like this)
step 8: clean up
Beeswax to hard to clean with just soap & water. So before it hardens, use paper towels to wipe out the glass bowl/measuring cup and any utensils you used to stir the mixture. Then once you’ve wiped off as much as you can, wash as usual with soap and water.
step 9: Allow the relaxation rub to cool and solidify completely before putting the lid on (this might take a few hours to harden all the way through) You can put it in the refrigerator to speed this step up.
Here’s what it will look like once it has cooled:
step 10 (optional): If you use a tin container like I did, then you can decorate the lid with a little scrapbook paper and Modge Podge.
- cut out scrapbook paper to fit the lid
- use a foam brush to apply a little Modge Podge to the top of the lid (this acts as the glue)
- put paper on lid, and starting from the center, use your finger to press down and smooth out any bubbles
- then cover the top of the paper with a little more Modge Podge to seal the paper
- let it dry
Here’s the Relaxation Rub Recipe One More Time
2 Tbsp beeswax
1/2 cup coconut oil
15 drops lavender essential oil
15 drops cedarwood essential oil
10 drops sweet (wild) orange essential oil
5 drops frankincense essential oil
5 drops ylang ylang essential oil
How to Use Essential Oil Relaxation Rub?
I use this relaxation rub several different ways:
- slather on the bottom on feet and cover with socks before bed
- apply to pulse points on wrists and behind ears, then I bring wrists towards my nose and take several deep breaths in and out
- use as a “lotion” on arms and legs
Where to get supplies?
organic, extra-virgin coconut oil (buy here)
organic, cosmetic-grade beeswax (buy here)
4 oz tin jars (buy here)
Modge Podge (buy here)
scrapbook paper (buy here)
adorable 2 oz glass mason jars (buy here)
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rschneck1@cox.net
Hi. Your Beeswax link isn’t working. What do you like?
Hi Rita,
Thanks for letting me know that link wasn’t working. I really appreciate that. I’ve gotten it fixed.
I use beeswax pellets. I find those much easier to use than weighing and chopping bars of beeswax.
When buying beeswax, I look for pellets that are cosmetic grade (so they’re safe to put on our skin) and triple filtered (removing any impurities). And I prefer the yellow beeswax. There’s also white, but that’s used a bleaching process to remove the yellow color, so whenever possible, I go with it in its natural yellow.
Sarah
Hi Sarah, Just love your recipes ❣️❣️❣️ I will be trying a lot of them. Thanks. I have a question if you could please HELP. Can you please tell me the difference between bees wax and emulsifying wax? Also can tI use E wax instead of B wax? If not why?? Thanks again for your wonderful recipes and especially the ones including lavender! I have a lot of friends that use it for sleep 💤 !! Debbie
Hi Debbie,
Thank you for your very kind note. It’s great to hear that you’re enjoying reading the recipes. I hope you have fun making them, too!
Great questions- beeswax is very different from emulsifying wax.
Beeswax is a natural product that comes from bees and ideally, has had very little processing done to it (just filtering out impurities and debris). It has a high melting point (about 150 degrees), so used to harden DIY products. For example in this relaxation rub, the coconut oil melts at a very low temperature (around 75 degrees), by adding the beeswax, the relaxation rub will stay solid even on hot summer days. A second benefit of adding beeswax to diy recipes like this is that it locks in moistures, forms a barrier on the skin surfaces, and helps the product stay on the skin. This is why beeswax is often used on lip balms and salves.
Emulsifying wax on the other hand is not natural. It is made with chemicals like Steareth-20, PEG-150 Stearate, Polysorbate 60 and Cetearyl Alcohol. Emulsifying wax is used to blend together (emulsify) fats and non-fat liquids (like water). Water and oil don’t mix, so the emulsifying wax is used help them come together. This is needed when making DIY items like lotion. But it’s not needed in this relaxation rub because we’re not trying to blend in a non-fat ingredient like water with the oil. The coconut oil and essential oils blend together very nicely on their own without any help.
Hope that helps. I’d your question!
Sarah
i would like to ask if its FDA accredited? what i mean the Rub if its FDA approved?thank you.
No, this is just a recipe. It’s not FDA approved. It’s for informational and entertainment use.