This idea came to me in yoga class. I’d already cycled 25km that day and was now lying on my mat, awaiting the start of a butt-kicking yoga class, and I was still a bit sore from previous athletic-type shenanigans. All of these things came together to make ice in a tube sound like a great idea.
While this bar isn’t a substitute for actually icing an injury, it is a nice burst of chilly goodness and pain relief that doesn’t require you to strap a dripping bag of ice to yourself. It’s also a rather pretty shade of coral, and it smells minty and fresh (a bonus if you’re halfway through a day of sweating and have hours to go before a shower).
The carrier oils I’ve chosen as a base for this bar are all about healing and pain relief. Andiroba oil is a great carrier oil I bought ages ago, but haven’t used much since, and for no good reason. It’s endemic to Brazil, and has been used by natives there for centuries to heal wounds. It promotes circulation and relieves pain, and absorbs into the skin easily.
Andiroba oil—isn’t it a bit funny looking?
Up next is some arnica infused olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada). Arnica is great for healing up bruises and relieving pain, but it shouldn’t be applied to broken skin, so keep this bar reserved for sore muscles, not cuts. Carnauba wax wraps up the base, thickening up the entire concoction in its characteristic smooth, glassy way, giving us a bar that’s super smooth and spreads easily into a thin layer.
Arnica infused [sv slug="olive-oil-pomace"], before straining.
The essential oils are focused on cooling, increasing circulation, and pain relief. Menthol and peppermint essential oil (USA / Canada)s bring the cooling sensation to the party. 20 drops of menthol will give you a cooling sensation that will last 5–10 minutes, and adding more menthol with increase the strength and the duration of the cooling effect.
Wintergreen essential oil adds to the painkilling effects of the menthol, lending a bit of a numbing sensation. And last but not least, chili and cassia essential oils help boost circulation to the area and give the bar its fantastic colour.
The final bar glides on like glass, leaving a quickly-absorbed layer of oils that bring a quick chill to tired muscles.
Ice in a Tube
10g | 0.35oz andiroba oil or emu oil
10g | 0.35oz arnica infused olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada)
5g | 0.17oz carnauba wax20–40 drops menthol essential oil or 3–4 menthol crystals
20 drops peppermint essential oil (USA / Canada)
10 drops wintergreen essential oil (optional)
10 drops chili seed essential oil
5 drops cassia essential oilWeigh the andiroba oil, arnica oil, and carnauba wax into a small heat resistant glass measuring cup. Place the measuring cup into a small saucepan with about 3cm/1″ of water in it to create a double boiler, and put that saucepan on the stove top over medium heat to melt everything together.
Once melted, remove the oils mixture from the heat and stir in the essential oils. Decant into a 30mL/1oz push tube or deodorant tube.
Let solidify before using. This body butter bar should last for at least a year if kept somewhere relatively cool and dry.
Genius per usual Marie..my tendonitis is looking forward to this!
Thanks, Jan!
I love the recipes you publish for everyone, you are an amazing and wonderful woman! Thank you so much, one question, where do you get Menthol Essential Oil?
Thanks so much, Beverly! I got my menthol EO from NDA, but they’ve since discontinued it 🙁 You should be able to use an equal amount of menthol crystals, though.
Hi, I have menthol crystals but ran into the same issue with not being able to find menthol eo. What do you think would be an acceptable weight of the crystals to use in place of the oil?
1:1 works great 🙂
I love the tube you used, what is that type of tube called? Size? and where did you get it?
Love the idea of this ice in a tube, reminds me of Tiger Balm
Click the link in the recipe 🙂
Love this idea!
Thanks, Ruth!
My stepmom and I are going to love this!
Awesome! Let me know how it turns out for you 🙂
Hi Mari
Have you looked at the safety of wintergreen oil. It has a high methyl salicin content (aka aspirin). It can cause poisoning when applied dermally and may interact with some medications such as anti inflamatories.
Hi Patrycja! I read this study on it, and if you take the numbers that applied to rabbits, a 130lb person would have to apply 236mL of methyl salicin to their skin every day to reach lethal amounts. That is a huge amount! This entire recipe does not even contain 1mL of wintergreen essential oil. If you applied, say 1g, of this Ice in a Tube you would be applying less than 1 drop of wintergreen essential oil, which does not even come remotely close to a dangerous dose.
Can you tell me if there would be a suitable substitute to carnauba wax? Also can you advise the best way to melt the menthol essential oil? Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes and posts!
Hi Julie! You could use an equal amount of candelilla wax, or about 7g of beeswax for more or less the same effect. As for the menthol EO, I like to seal the bottle well and place it in a mug of just-boiled water for about 10 minutes 🙂 Thanks for reading!
Hi Marie. I was wondering if the bar you made stayed in the tube when using it. My bar has fallen out of the tube. Is there any way to fix this?
Hi Teresa! Did the bar snap off the push base, or did the entire base fall out of the tube? If the bar broke out, you can very gently re-melt it (don’t let it get too hot or you’ll destroy the EOs) and pour it back into the tube.
Thanks for the reply, Marie! The bar is still attached to the push base so the lotion bar falls out easily with the base attached. I used Beeswax and I think I should have doubled the amount for this recipe (10g instead of 5g) I will try that next time around. Thanks again! I have really enjoyed reading your blog.
It sounds like this is moreso the fault of the container than the bar itself—I’m not sure how increasing the amount of beeswax would change anything. It sounds like the weight of the bar will pull the bar and base out of the tube if upended no matter what…?
I made this and loved the smell, but when I put it on I did not feel a cooling effect…. I followed the recipe and used around 30 drops of menthol – do you think I should increase the amount of menthol next time? Or is there another ingredient that I could increase instead to give it a cooling sensation? Thanks, and love you site!!!
Just kidding…. I tried it again but applied a real layer (I think I was being very careful that first time) and WOAH it feels amazing! Thanks so much for the idea and the recipe, this will definitely work as gifts for all of my workout friends!
Fantastic! You can still up the menthol if you’d like, you’ll just have to remember not to over-apply and warn any recipients 😉
Hi Alex! You can definitely add more menthol EO if you’d like—just start small and work up to it 🙂
I don’t know how I missed this back in July, but THANK YOU!!! I cannot wait to try it¬! 🙂
Enjoy!
Hi Marie; NDA has discontinued the Menthol EO; so all I have is Menthol crystals.. how would I go about using those in this recipe and any recipe you have that calls for Menthol EO?!?
Thanks a bunch!
Alicia
You can swap them 1:1 (by weight), and just dissolve the crystals in the oil part of your recipe before continuing on as usual 🙂
Can we order this from you?
I don’t sell anything.
Marie,
This looks fabulous and I have almost every EO under the sun but I’m out of menthol crystals and don’t have chilli EO. Can I sub those two for something else?
Hi Fuchia! Sadly not—both are really pure, intense EOs. While peppermint contains menthol, you’d have to use so much more peppermint EO to achieve the same amount of menthol that it would completely throw off the recipe. Chili oil is really unique, and I don’t know of any other EO that offers the same kind of heat.
What would you substitute for the emu/andiroba oil? Can I just double the olive oil? Thanks!
Yup!
Aloha,
I just found your website. Love it! I was wondering if my 12 yrs son could use the Ice In A Tube? He is playing tennis.
Mahalo
Adding this to my must make list.