How to Make Liniment

Topical liniments or balms provide temporary relief for sore muscles, circulation problems, or joint aches. Unlike other medical treatments, they can be made inexpensively at home with essential oils or herbs. In addition, you can customize the recipes to your preferences.

Ingredients

Basic Herbal Liniment

Rubbing alcohol, vodka, or witch hazel extract
Fresh or dried herbs, bark, or buds^{[1]XResearch source}

Herbal Liniment for Muscle Aches and Skin Scrapes

2 cups rubbing alcohol
1 ounce myrrh, powdered (by weight)
1 ounce of arnica
1/2 ounce goldenseal, powdered
1/4 ounce cayenne pepper^{[2]XResearch source}

Cayenne Liniment

1 cup water
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1-2 tablespoons cayenne pepper^{[3]XResearch source}

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Basic Herbal Liniment

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1
Choose your herbs. This liniment is a basic one that you can use for any type of herbs. You can choose herbs such as peppermint, oregano, cayenne, ginger, lavender, eucalyptus, myrrh, or chamomile, all based on what properties you want. You can choose fresh or dried plants.
- For instance, if you want to increase circulation to a certain area, you could use black pepper, cayenne pepper, rosemary, or ginger. Increasing circulation can help with healing and pain.
- Many people have had good luck with cottonwood or aspen as a way to decrease pain and help with swelling. To make the best use of these trees, you need to harvest the buds of leaves in the spring while the buds still feel resinous (sticky) to the touch. However, if you want to harvest at another time of year, you can use the bark instead. Just keep in mind that some people are allergic to cottonwood. Make sure that you are not allergic to cottonwood if you plan to use it.
If you choose fresh herbs or plants, you may need to wash them off first, depending on what they are. For instance, you may want to wash off ginger root, but you wouldn't want to wash the resin off of the cotton wood buds.
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If you're using fresh plants, you need to chop them up first. They don't have to be very finely chopped. Just give them a rough chop so that their essence is more easily extracted. Try to get the pieces smaller than 1 inch at the least.
Choose a jar that creates a tight seal. Place the plants in the jar.^{[4]XResearch source}
Once you've added the plants, pour in enough rubbing alcohol, vodka, or witch hazel extract to cover the plants. You don't want part of the plant sticking out.^{[5]XResearch source}
Once you've combined the ingredients, you need to let them steep. You can wait just a month, but 6 weeks is probably better.
Though it needs to steep, you need to help the process along by shaking the mixture up. Once a day is sufficient, but you can do it more often if you wish.
8
Strain the mixture. Once the time is up, you need to strain out the herbs. Pick a clean, dark jar with a tight-fitting lid. Place a clean piece of cheesecloth or muslin over the jar. Pour the mixture through it, leaving the herbs in the fabric.
- At this point, you can add a small amount of menthol crystals. How much you add is up to you, but start with a very small amount, just a small pinch. You can always add more.
- You can also add a few drops of essential oil at this point if you wish.^{[6]XResearch source}
Add a label that includes everything you put in the liniment. Also, make sure you add "for external use only." The liniment will keep a long time due to the alcohol.^{[7]XResearch source}
Gently rub a small amount on your skin as you need to do so. Let it dry on your skin.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Making the Herbal Liniment for Muscle Aches and Skin Scrapes

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1
Mix the ingredients together. Gather the rubbing alcohol, myrrh, arnica, goldenseal, and cayenne pepper. Add all of the herbs to an air-tight jar. Then, pour in the rubbing alcohol so that it covers the herbs. Put the lid on, and shake well to mix.^{[8]XResearch source}
- The myrrh is an astringent, while the goldenseal is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, according to some liniment makers. Cayenne pepper can increase circulation and act as an astringent. Because goldenseal is expensive, you can use a bit less if you need to do so.
This liniment needs to steep for about a week. Be sure to keep mixing it up by shaking the bottle at least once a day. You can steep it for longer if you want it to be stronger.^{[9]XResearch source}
Put cheesecloth or muslin over a jar. Pour the liquid through the fabric into the jar. This step will keep the liniment from being gritty. Seal the jar tightly.^{[10]XResearch source}
Make sure to mark it for external use only. Also, add the date you made it and what's in it.^{[11]XResearch source}
Rub it onto sore muscles or places that are bruised or swelling. It can also be used on cuts or scrapes. Let it dry on the skin.^{[12]XResearch source}

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Creating the Cayenne Liniment

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Add the cup of water to a small pan. Bring it to a boil.^{[13]XResearch source}
Take the pan off the heat. Turn off the stove.^{[14]XResearch source}
Pour in the cup of apple cider vinegar. Measure out the 1-2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper. The more pepper you have, the more warming power the liniment will have.^{[15]XResearch source}
Stir the ingredients together. Once they're mixed well, let the mixture sit for about half an hour.^{[16]XResearch source}
Use a clean bottle with a tight seal. A dark, glass bottle is best. Pour the liquid in. Don't forget to add a label so you know what it is.^{[17]XResearch source}
The best time to apply this liniment is after you shower. Just rub it into sore muscles to help with the pain. You can use slightly warm olive oil on your muscles after you apply the liniment.^{[18]XResearch source}

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Tips

Test the liniment on a small patch of skin before you apply it to a large area.
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Always ask a doctor before starting any new medication, including liniments.
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You can find some of these herbs at the grocery store. Others, you'll need to find at a specialty health store or online. Some you may be able to find in wooded areas.However, use caution because it can be easy to misidentify plants in the wild.
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