DIY Headache Balm Recipe with Mint and Pine
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Jump to RecipeThis all natural mint headache balm recipe is a great natural remedy for headaches. A few simple ingredients like fresh mint, pine needles, shea butter, and olive oil come together to make a fresh and fragrant balm for your head and neck.
This headache balm is a great DIY project to make at home to relieve headaches. Mint has been shown to help with headaches and migraines, and there are a lot of great products out there with peppermint oil for headaches. This balm is made by simply infusing olive oil with some fresh mint and pine, adding in a thickening agent, and mixing in a few drops of therapeutic essential oils!
Carry relief on the go, made with all natural ingredients. Just a note: I am not a doctor or health professional, just a happy homesteader and beekeeper who enjoys making natural products. For severe or chronic headaches, seek advice from your medical professional.
This Peppermint Headache Balm Is:
- Bright
- Fresh
- All Natural
- Simple to Make at Home & DIY
- A Great Alternative to Medicine
- Perfect For Natural Headache Relief on the Go
What’s In This Balm for Natural Headache Relief?
- Pine Needles – I gathered some outside from our pine trees, and dried them for 2 days in a warm place before using.
- Fresh Mint – I also used mint that grows along our stream for this recipe. But you can definitely use store bought sprigs as well.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Natural Beeswax: I used beeswax from our beehives, but I’d recommend an organic cosmetic-grade beeswax. Why organic and cosmetic-grade? Because if you have any beeswax leftover from making this beard balm, you can use it for some simple and easy hand and skin products. I have an incredible recipe for DIY Beeswax Lip Balm that gets rave reviews. If there’s a local beekeeper in your area, I’d recommended starting there for wax, but if you buy online, make sure you get the good stuff! And for a vegan plant-based alternative, you can use candelilla wax instead.
- Shea Butter: will moisturize and condition your skin like crazy.
- Pine Essential Oil: I love this pine essential oil here which has a wonderful woodsy scent, which is perfect for this headache balm.
- Peppermint Essential Oil – which gives this headache balm it’s bright and fresh scent. While the fresh mint is great to infuse a nice scent into the olive oil, adding a few drops of peppermint oil really does the trick. You can read here about how peppermint oil can help with headaches and migraines.
Is There A Vegan Alternative to Beeswax?
If you don’t want to use beeswax, you can use candelilla wax which is a vegetable-based wax instead made from the candelilla shrub. This is a plant-based wax for those who choose not to use animal products. You can use it as an alternative to beeswax in this recipe, although I will admit I haven’t tested it yet. You can read about the uses and benefits of candelilla wax here, too.
Where Does Beeswax Come From Anyway?
As a beekeeper, we have a lot of wax left over from when we harvest honey from the hives. Bees make the wax to create “cells”, which form that hexagonal honeycomb pattern. The cells can be used to lay eggs, raise brood, and keep honey that the bees use in the winter. The honey is stored in these hexagonal cells, and when the moisture has been cured out from the honey, the bees will cover the cells with a wax seal. This is called capping. It preserves the honey for the winter, and keeps the moisture from ruining their honey stores.
When we harvest honey, we scrape the honey and wax from the frames. Once the honey gets filtered into a separate bucket (which we then jar up and use to make amazing honey recipes!) we are left with the wax. We melt the wax to remove any impurities, and then keep it to make great products like this!
Here is a frame full of honey, perfectly capped in beeswax:
How Do I Make This All Natural Headache Balm Recipe?
- Infuse the oil. There are 2 simple methods for doing this: a slow method and a quick method. For the slow method, place the pine needles, mint leaves, and olive oil in an air tight jar. Seal and store in a cool, dark place (like a kitchen cupboard) for 4 to 6 weeks. Strain, and the oil is ready to use. For the quick method place the pine needles, mint leaves, and olive oil in a small sauce plan. Heat on low heat for 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Strain, and the oil is ready to use.
- Once the oil has infused, bring a pot of water to a boil, and place a double boiler over the pot. In the double boiler, heat the olive oil, beeswax, and shea butter until melted. Stir until it is well combined.
- Remove from the heat, and add the essential oils to the mixture. Divide evenly into small jars (I used 2 of these 4 ounce jam jars which were perfect) and allow to cool on a counter for 30 minutes before using.
- To use, scoop a pea-sized amount of balm on to your fingers, and gently massage balm into your temples and along the top of your hairline. I also add a dab to my neck right under my ears.
- Note: this balm is used only for natural aromatherapy headache relief – for chronic or persistent pain please seek help from a medical provider.
Other DIY Beeswax Recipes You’ll Love!
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DIY Headache Balm Recipe
Equipment
- A Double Boiler
- mason jars
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons pine needles
- 3 tablespoons mint leaves
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons beeswax
- 1 tablespoon shea butter
- 20 drops peppermint essential oil
- 10 drops pine essential oil
Instructions
- Infuse the oil. There are 2 simple methods for doing this: a slow method and a quick method. For the slow method, place the pine needles, mint leaves, and olive oil in an air tight jar. Seal and store in a cool, dark place (like a kitchen cupboard) for 4 to 6 weeks. Strain, and the oil is ready to use. For the quick method place the pine needles, mint leaves, and olive oil in a small sauce plan. Heat on low heat for 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Strain, and the oil is ready to use.
- Once the oil has infused, bring a pot of water to a boil, and place a double boiler over the pot. In the double boiler, heat the olive oil, beeswax, and shea butter until melted. Stir until it is well combined.
- Remove from the heat, and add the essential oils to the mixture. Divide evenly into small jars (I used 2 of these 4 ounce jam jars which were perfect) and allow to cool on a counter for 30 minutes before using.
- To use, scoop a pea-sized amount of balm on to your fingers, and gently massage balm into your temples and along the top of your hairline. I also add a dab to my neck right under my ears.
Notes
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