DIY Muscle Rub

Sometimes, I get really excited when making up a new DIY or recipe. Today's remedy is no exception. It all started after week one of amping up my workouts to get ready for a Tough Mudder. I was sore, and I was miserable. I was also lacking in the coordination needed to apply essential and carrier oils to my sore muscles without a mess. That's when I knew it was time for a new DIY - for my soreness' sake!

Well, friends, I am happy to say that the results were as great, if not even better, than I expected! Mess-free AND effective is the real name of this easy DIY muscle rub. 

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This salve soothed my sore muscles perfectly, and I felt so much better after my long runs and hard workouts. Seriously, I do not know why I didn't consider making a balm sooner. Less mess, easier to apply with one hand, and crazy effective.

By now you can guess that I really enjoy making my own products. A lot of the ingredients I use are versatile and are found over and over again in different recipes, which I love, because it limits the amount of different things I need to purchase at one time. For this rub, I had everything I needed already in my cupboard. If you've made any of my other DIYs, you likely do too! In fact, this looks a lot like my Wonder Ointment - works great like it does too!

What you need:

2 TBSP Beeswax
1/4 cup Coconut Oil
1/4 Cup Sweet Almond Oil
2 TBSP Shea Butter
10 Drops Wintergreen Essential Oil
10 Drops Peppermint Essential Oil
10 Drops Pan Away Blend Essential Oil
 

what to do:

1) Melt the beeswax using double boiler (glass container in hot water in pot on stove) on LOW heat. It will take some time for it to melt completely.
2) Add sweet almond oil, coconut oil and shea butter and allow to melt.
3) Remove from heat, pour into desired jar, and stir in the essential oils.
4) Allow to harden completely

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Will you be trying this for your sore muscles? I have a feeling I might need to bring it out again soon, after a tough mudder AND a move! Let me know if you try this!

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DIY Wonder Ointment

This past Winter proved a challenge for my skin. When temperatures drop, I'm prone to dry skin, but this year was unlike any other. My entire throat area became a dry, and later sore and itchy mess, and I seriously contemplated going to a dermatologist. I've done so in the past, but since I'm new to the area (and country!), I decided to see if I could help it on my own. I don't always advise this, but I made an exception because it just looked like severely dry skin. 

Enter: this homemade wonder ointment. I had been putting vitamin E oil on my throat and it seemed to have been improving at least the dryness, but I wanted to add essential oils that would heal and help any possible scarring. Putting on 5 billion different things all after the other didn't make any sense to me, so I decided to put together this salve. 

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I used Frankincense and Lavender because of their awesome healing properties. They also smell great - in my opinion. Lavender, for one, can help with scarring and Frankincense, among a ton of other amazing things can be good for soothing dry and chapped skin as well as scarring. Seriously, I could write whole posts about these amazing oils, but I'll spare you today. Just today though. Just know that I was in desperation - chapped skin is NOT fun.

I put this in a 4oz jelly jar, but I am also considering putting some in a small travel-size tin so I can take it with me everywhere! Since I travel so much, I do usually try to save space and pack minimally.

EDIT: I put some of this in a travel-sized pill box thing, and it works amazingly!

Using this twice a day, my skin cleared up very quickly. I seriously wish I had taken before/after pictures, it worked so well! It actually worked SO well, that I decided to share how I made it with all of you today. This has worked wonders for my dry and chapped skin. 

I might also mention here, that I upped my water intake (which I should have done sooner), and I think that helped as well. Lately, I've been putting the ointment on my face before bed and using it as a night cream. Why not, right?

DIY Wonder Ointment

What You Need:

• 2 1/2 TBSP Beeswax

• 1/4 cup Coconut Oil

• 1/2 Cup Sweet Almond Oil

• 1 tsp Vitamin E Oil

• 2 TBSP Shea Butter

• 10 Drops Frankincense Essential Oil

• 10 Drops Lavender Essential Oil

What to Do:

1) Melt the beeswax using double boiler on LOW heat. It will probably take about 15 minutes for it to melt completely.

2) Add sweet almond oil, coconut oil and shea butter and allow to melt.

3) Remove from heat and add essential oils and vitamin E oil.

4) Allow to harden - I got impatient and put it in the fridge to harden quicker!

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I love, love, love this! The production of this ointment has inspired a lot of other home products - you know I'm already concocting my next DIY! I really don't know why I never started doing these things myself in the first place. Nothing I ever bought has soothed and helped my dry skin this well before, so I'm glad I tried. 

You know what I use now, but what do you use to soothe your dry skin? I want to know, so comment below!