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This DIY massage bar for sore muscles is similar to the product by Lush, but without the synthetic fragrance and other additives. I’ve used dried aduki beans, shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, coconut oil and beeswax in this homemade massage bar.
Yes, Lush claim is an ‘all natural’ company, but they do add fragrance to some of their products, and some of their massage bars also contain butylphenyl methylpropional, which is linked to organ toxicity and a low degree of endocrine disruption. You can avoid any unwanted synthetics and save money by making your own massage bar!
Why massaging helps with sore muscles?
Massage is not just good for your skin – it can also help to soothe sore muscles and to help them recover faster by increasing blood flow to the area. This is why massage has long been used for athletes looking to improve recovery times and increase performance.
This massage bar is similar than the Wiccy massage muscle bar from Lush which is their best selling bar. It uses peppermint essential oil and cinnamon leaf essential oil for their soothing and cooling/warming properties to sore muscles, for instance. The adzuki beans work like magic to add some pressure point on for the massage and the moisturizing butter and oil soaks in your skin to hydrate it.
Why make a DIY massage bar?
Aside from giving you the ultimate control over the types of ingredients in your massage bar, you can also select for ingredient quality – choosing all organic and top quality oils. And even though you’ll be purchasing high-quality ingredients for your massage bars, the yield you get from the ingredients makes creating your own DIY massage bar far less expensive than buying them at the store.
This also gives you the opportunity to customize your own homemade massage bar, with molds to create different shapes. You can even tailor them to specific individuals for a great gift!
You can even experiment with different essential oil blends to customize the fragrance all naturally.
How much does it cost to make your own massage bar?
The massage bar from Lush cost about $13 dollars.
This DIY massage bar will cost you less than $2 if you buy wholesale ingredients. You will only use a small amount of the ingredients you have. You can use the rest of the ingredients to use lip balm, body butter and much more…
Tutorial How To Make DIY Massage Bars
Step 1
Melt butter, oil, and beeswax in a double boiler on low heat.
Step 2
Add the dried aduki beans inside the mold. They will serve as massage pressure points.
Step 3
Once the beeswax and butter are melted, add the essential oils and mix well.
Step 4
Pour right away into your mold and add to the fridge for 1 hour. If you are in a rush, put it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Step 5
Unmold and its ready to use!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon organic refined* Shea butter
- 1 tablespoon of organic cocoa butter
- 1 teaspoon of jojoba oil
- 2 teaspoons of coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon of natural beeswax
- 10 drops peppermint essential oil
- 5 drops cinnamon leaf essential oil
- 5 drops lavender essential oils
- 1 tablespoon of whole adzuki beans or enough to fill the bottom of the mold
Instructions
- Melt butter, oil, and beeswax in a double boiler on low heat.
- Add the adzuki beans in the bottom of your mold so it covers the entire bottom part.
- Once the beeswax and butter are melted, add the essential oils, mix well.
- Pour right away in your favorite soap mold.
- Put in the fridge for 1 hour.
- This recipe makes one 2oz big bar or two 1 oz smaller ones.
- Un-mold and it’s ready to use!
DIY Massage Bar For Sore Muscles Ingredients
Butters
Cocoa butter is a type of nut butter made from cocoa beans. It has a rich, creamy texture and melts into skin on contact. It also melts into the skin on contact. Its high fatty acid content makes helps it to moisturize the skin as it glides over sore muscles. Be sure to purchase a 100% pure cocoa butter with no additives.
Shea butter is another nut butter, but made from the African shea tree. Like cocoa butter, it melts into the skin on contact. It is rich in vitamins A and E, which smooth and nourish the skin. You may choose refined or raw shea butter depending on your personal preference, but avoid using refined shea butter that is lower than grade B to prevent contaminants. I’ve used refined shea butter in the recipe but this is a personal preference. The raw shea butter has a smell I am not fond of and also can be a little grainy.
Carrier Oils
Jojoba oil is made from the seed of the jojoba plant, which is a shrub found in Mexico and the southwest of the United States. Its high in antioxidants A and E, which nourish and moisturize the skin. It’s a lightweight oil that is liquid at room temperature, helping this massage bar to melt thoroughly into the skin.
Coconut oil is made from the dried coconut kernels. It’s naturally soothing and has antifungal and antibacterial properties. It has a smooth, slippery texture that blends nicely into the skin and melts on skin contact. For best results, purchase unrefined, raw coconut oil which has more of its fatty acid and natural compounds intact.
Essential oils
Cinnamon leaf essential oil is pressed from the leaves of the cinnamon tree. There are many varieties of cinnamon tree, and one of the best to look out for is Ceylon cinnamon. Cinnamon oil is invigorating and has a soothing scent, while its high phenol content helps it to boost blood flow as well as to help alleviate muscle pain.
Peppermint essential oil is made from the peppermint herb. It has a naturally cooling effect to the skin and a refreshing scent, both of which are pleasant additions to this DIY massage bar for sore muscles. It also has anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties, helping to calm sore muscles.
Dried Adzuki beans are a red bean native to Asia. Ground, they help to exfoliate the skin. They also have a high mineral content, including zinc, which provides a powerful anti-inflammatory effect – perfect for calming sore muscles!
Beeswax is made from bee honeycomb. It is firm at room temperature, which helps it to give this DIY massage bar its shape. It also acts as a natural emulsifier to combine the other oils in this bar. It has anti-inflammatory properties and also helps to form a protective layer over the skin as it glides over it.
Please let me know how you like this DIY massage bar for sore muscles in the comments below!
I hope you have enjoyed my recipe, please share the love and rate ***** in the comments below!
I’m Eve, a DIY organic skincare recipe creator since 2010 that loves to make a big mess in the kitchen!
I’ve embarked on a journey to empower women to ditch all the chemical-filled commercial beauty products and to share how to make your own organic beauty recipes at home towards a healthier lifestyle.
Homemade face & body creams, body butter, lips balms, face masks, shampoos, and all-natural perfume will have no more secret for you!
I am self-taught, read many books, and spend many hours in the kitchen creating brand new homemade beauty recipes. All my recipes are unique and are tested on humans!
In 2016, I studied Aromatherapy and became certified by the School of Natural Health Sciences.
Hi, love the recipes, thank you for sharing. I see others have asked about the adzuki beans, is there a list of beans that I can choose from or only coffee or mung beans as an alternative? ( I’m in the U.K. ) and would very much appreciate a wider choice of beans please . Many thanks, Chrissie
Author
Hi chrissie, any dry and hard beans-like for example kidney beans or black beans would work!
I love this recipe!
I doubled it up to make 2 at a time for specific moulds. They look great and smell great! They’re so similar to the Lush ones and I cannot wait to give them out as christmas presents!
Author
so nice to hear, happy holidays!
I have used the LUSH bar but as I was about to purchase another realized it was probably something I could make myself – glad I found this! I’m adding ingredients to my cart but have a question about the cinnamon leaf oil. I already have cinnamon bark oil – can I use that? Should I change how much I add – is one stronger than the other?
One more – what does the unrefined shea butter smell like? I found the unrefined in a glass jar (which I prefer to purchase when I can) but don’t want to get if it won’t absorb and smell as good as the refined kind.
Thanks!
Hi!
Do you use this on dry skin or damp?
Thanks so much x
Author
You need to use this on dry skin. If you use this on damp skin you may introduce water on the bar and could end up with mold.
Hi, Eve
What can I use instead of the Adzuki beans?
This looks like a very handy bar to have.
Thanks,
Christelle
Author
Hi Christelle, you could use mung beans or coffee beans!
Perfect!
Thank you!!
Hi Eve thank you for this recipe. I just have a couple of questions. In the step by step instructions step for says for pour into moulds and put in the fridge for 1 hour but in the print recipe section a it says to put into the freezer for 1 hour. Does it make a difference?
And secondly the ingredient list says organic refined shea butter but the link takes you the unrefined shea butter,
so I’m not sure which to order. Thank you
Author
Hi Cindy, it does not make a big difference if you put it in the fridge or freezer except the time it takes to harden, So if you are in a hurry put it for 30 minutes in the freezer, otherwise put it in the fridge for 1 hour.
As for the shea butter, you can use either, its a personal preference. I find it easier to use refined shea butter as raw can be grainy. Plus I do not like the smell of raw shea butter!
But using raw always has the best properties for the skin.
Thanks very much!
what happens to the beans? do they dissolve or do you they come out and you toss them out? Can you use something else instead of Adzuki beans ? I have all the ingredients except for those and I want to give these a try.
Author
the dry adzuki beans stay the way they are, they are hard and serve as massage pressure points so you need to keep them in the bar.