Why Battle Balm is the Legendary Vapor Rub & Aromatic Chest Rub You Need For Your Medicine Cabinet

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• What is a Vapor Rub?
• The Key Benefits of Battle Balm as Your Vapor Rub
• What Makes Battle Balm the Superior Vapor Rub
• How to Use Battle Balm as a Vapor Rub
• Conclusion
• Vapor Rub Frequently Asked Questions
• References

Introduction

Athletes need to breathe in order to perform. Like an engine, high output comes from maximizing oxygen uptake and utilization. A VO2 max test measures this oxygen utilization to determine your aerobic fitness. And as you already know, high effort exercise elevates your heart rate and forces you to breathe faster and more deeply. Imagine doing a VO2 max test with only one nostril available for air intake. Worse yet, try doing it with a stuffy nose.

Unfortunately, athletes don’t have a lot of freedom to choose their training days. Sometimes, training must happen in freezing winter temperatures or during high pollen spring season, neither of which are optimal for sinuses. Athletes know that training through nasal congestion can be rough.

Now, you may be asking yourself how Battle Balm can play a part in breathing and sinus congestion. In this article, we will break down how Battle Balm can be used as a vapor rub and why it is a much more effective and healthy alternative to Vicks VapoRub.

What is a Vapor Rub?

A vapor rub is a topical ointment used to relieve symptoms of colds, congestion, chest constriction and muscle aches.

A good chest rub or cold rub will typically contains active ingredients like menthol and camphor. These two things are commonly used to create a cooling sensation and help open up the breathing airways when applied to the chest, throat, or back. Some vapor rubs also include additional essential oils for additional soothing effects.

Battle Balm contains 20 high quality herbal ingredients to help open constricted nasal passages, relax respiratory muscles, and relieve pain from labored breathing.

The Key Benefits of Battle Balm as Your Vapor Rub

Here’s the quick TL;DR list of some of the benefits of using Battle Balm as your go to vapor rub.

• Clears sinuses

  Well, this is what you’re here for, right? With soothing plant oils like menthol⁽¹⁾, camphor⁽²⁾, tea tree⁽³⁾, and peppermint⁽⁴⁾, Battle Balm provides a cooling sensation to relieve congestion naturally.

• Kills Germs

  Battle Balm has been clinically tested to kill common microbes so that you can effectively reduce your bacterial and viral load to focus on healing quickly!

• Heals Chapped Nose

  Battle Balm contains skin healing vitamins and nutrients to repair sore, red, and chapped skin from blowing your nose too much.

• Soothes Sore Throat

  Neck muscles can get worked over due to incessant coughing, sneezing, and labored breathing. Rubbing Battle Balm on the neck can alleviate the muscular pain causing sore neck and throat.

• Relaxes Chest Tightness

  Again, chest muscles can also get tight and tired from chest congestion and airway restriction. Rubbing Battle Balm on your chest and intercostal muscles can help relieve tightness and relax the chest muscles⁽⁵⁾ for better breathing.

• Relieves Muscle Soreness

  Battle Balm was designed for muscular pain and soreness. Restricted breathing can make your entire body sore due to its systemic effect on respiratory and circulatory system function.

What Makes Battle Balm the Superior Vapor Rub

While most other brands are doing the bare minimum, we’re out here hustling for better ingredients, better quality, better health, better performance. Below is a list of things that make Battle Balm the superior vapor rub for athletes and health conscious individuals.

• Battle Balm uses real, plant-derived menthol. Our menthol comes from a natural steam distillation process using real plants. The Vicks brand and many others, use synthetic, laboratory created menthol as it is cheaper to produce. The chemicals used in creating synthetic menthol (such as: m-cresol propylene glycol, and lithium amide) can also be harmful to health.
• Battle Balm is natural and organic. If you want to avoid taxing your body with yet another synthetic and potentially dangerous man-made substance, choose Battle Balm. Battle Balm uses 100% certified USDA organic jojoba oil and 100% certified USDA organic beeswax instead of petroleum. Which leads us to the next bullet point...
• Battle Balm is petroleum free.  Instead of petroleum jelly with no health benefits whatsoever, we use a combination of jojoba oil and beeswax to make a balm base that is full of vitamins, antioxidants and nutrients for skin health and cellular repair.
• Battle Balm allows for moisture control without clogging pores. The Battle Balm formula allows skin to retain moisture balance with the air. We like to let skin do it's job. The popular petroleum products on the market do not perform this function.
• Battle Balm is non-greasy. The jojoba oil we use in Battle Balm is so close to natural skin sebum that your body cannot tell the difference. Battle Balm works better because it is biosimilar to the oils your body naturally produces.

How to Use Battle Balm as a Vapor Rub

Battle Balm is applied to the skin in a similar fashion to other vapor rub products. In case you needed a refresher, read below. You may find a unique, new way to use Battle Balm!

• Nose - Apply BB to tip of nose and/or nasal orifices to breathe in the vapors that unblock sinuses & heal chapped skin.
• Neck - Apply BB to skin in front of neck near sternocleidomastoid and trachea to unblock sinuses and relieve sore throat.
• Ears - Apply BB behind earlobes to unblock sinuses. There is a huge lymph node behind each ear lobe that, when massaged, can really help drain sinus congestion and enhance facial lymphatic drainage.
• Chest - Apply BB to sternum and intercostal spaces to relax chest muscles and ease breathing. If you apply Battle Balm high enough on the chest, you can also benefit from the vapors rising towards your nose and mouth.
• Toes - Apply BB to the toes to open sinuses. In reflexology, there are nerve endings in the feet that can stimulate other parts of the body. The toes correspond to the nose and breath. If you want to really take it up a notch, massage Battle Balm into the tips of the toes to help open nasal passages.
• Steam inhalation - Heat up a cup of water to between 190 degrees and 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Scoop a small amount of Battle Balm out of your container using a teaspoon. Stir the water and Battle Balm until mixed. Breathe in the warm Battle Balm vapors to clear sinus congestion.

Conclusion

If you've been using the same, old vaporub that your great grandfather used, it's ok. We won't hold it against you.

But, if you're interested in a healthier, premium quality, all natural, petroleum free alternative, you would be hard pressed to find anything like Battle Balm. (We hate using the word "alternative" for something that came way before laboratory synthesized health products, but here we are in 2025 still trying to convince people that natural products came first and the synthetic stuff is the "alternative".) 

Battle Balm is the evolution of vapor rub and it's versatility as a staple healthcare tool for your medicine cabinet is unmatched.

Vapor Rub Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some of the most commonly asked questions about vapor rubs. Drop us a line if you have other questions. We would be happy to answer them!

What is a vapor rub?

A vapor rub is mainly a topical balm, cream, ointment, gel, salve, oil, or other that contains aromatics that help relieve sinus pressure, sinus congestion, chest tightness, coughing, throat irritation, and pain from respiratory dysfunction.

What are other names for vapor rub?

Vapor rub can go by a few other spellings and terms. They include: vapour rub, chest rub, cold rub, cold balm, vaporú, wicks.

What does a vapor rub treat?

Vapor rubs are decongestants. They treat symptoms of cough, colds, and flu that temporarily impair breathing. Some vapor rubs also provide pain relief from the discomfort of prolonged coughing and sneezing. 

Which is the best Battle Balm strength to use as a vapor rub?

We recommend the Original Strength Battle Balm for most people to use as a vapor rub. If you need something stronger, go for our Extra Strength Battle Balm.

What is the minimum age for using Battle Balm as a vapor rub?

We do not recommend children 2 and under to use Battle Balm as a decongestant. For children between 2 and 10, we suggest consulting your child physician or pediatric doctor. 

What are the ingredients of Battle Balm?

A few of the active decongestant ingredients of Battle Balm are: Menthol, Camphor, and Peppermint.

The entire ingredients list for Battle Balm is: Cera Flava, Sim. Chinensis, M. Arvensis, C. Camphor, Melaleuca Minor & Alternifolia, G. Procumbens, Arnica, C. Officinalis, C. Tinctorius, M. Haplocalyx, Lavender O., Angelica Sinensis, Calendula, Myrrha, Fructus Chaenomeles, Olibanum, R. Sparganii Stoloniferi, Panax Pseudoginseng, Lignum Sappan, Corydalis Yanhusuo. 

For more ingredient information, click here.

Can Battle Balm be used on babies?

No. Battle Balm is not recommended for use on babies. Children 2 and older can use Battle Balm with the recommendation of a physician or primary care doctor.

References

1. Park, N., Chung, J. Y., Kim, M. H., & Yang, W. M. (2022). Protective effects of inhalation of essential oils from Mentha piperita leaf on tight junctions and inflammation in allergic rhinitis. Frontiers in allergy, 3, 1012183. https://doi.org/10.3389/falgy.2022.1012183
   
2. Geppetti, P., Benemei, S., & Patacchini, R. (2012). Camphor, an old cough remedy with a new mechanism. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 185(3), 342–343. https://doi.org/10.1164/ajrccm.185.3.342
3. Carson, C. F., Hammer, K. A., & Riley, T. V. (2006). Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree) oil: a review of antimicrobial and other medicinal properties. Clinical microbiology reviews, 19(1), 50–62. https://doi.org/10.1128/CMR.19.1.50-62.2006
4. Peppermint Oil - NCCIH Health Information
5. Bakó, E., Fehérvári, P., Garami, A., Dembrovszky, F., Gunther, E. E., Hegyi, P., Csupor, D., & Böszörményi, A. (2023). Efficacy of Topical Essential Oils in Musculoskeletal Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland), 16(2), 144. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16020144