We created The Forest Lungs Vapour Stick as a more pure, more potent version of traditional vapour rubs. We shared the high percentage of Blue Mallee Eucalyptus (10.5%), menthol (7%) and Cineole it contains as advantages over the incumbent vapour rubs on the market. We spoke about the fact that it was free of petroleum; the paraffin wax replaced with plant oils and butters that offer hydration and nutrients unlike the crude oil derived alternative used in other decongestants.
And some people shared that petroleum-based vaporising ointments had never done them any harm and they have been using them for decades for everything from coughs, colds, insect bites and sore muscles, so why should they change?
And that’s great that it has served us well. Most of us had this in our childhoods too. But, what if we could replace something ordinary that has been serving us well, with something much more finessed, potent and based on the latest scientific understanding of plant wisdom that could serve us really well? Something that could amplify our results. Something that we might even like better (the smell – so fresh!).
We wanted to share some of the research and understanding we reached that led us to believe a new generation of decongestants and topical respiratory support was necessary. And then you can decide, armed with this information, if it’s the little blue plastic tub for you, or the silver stick.
From oil drilling fields to your skin: how did crude oil end up in skincare?
Many vapour rubs use paraffin as the base of the formula. Paraffin is a by-product of petroleum. How did the idea to put a by-product of petrol on our skin come about?
Paraffin was discovered in 1830 by a German chemist Karl von Reichenbach. While experimenting with ways to extract chemicals from tar and petroleum, he noticed a waxy residue separating on top as the substances cooled.
A decade or so later, another chemist James Young, also discovered that he could get a waxy fluid if he distilled coal and petroleum. He managed to separate the wax which made the material more useable and stable. It became a cheap alternative to beeswax and tallow for candles and allowed for mass production.
This wax went on to be abundantly available and cheap because it was a by-product of the growing oil drilling industry.
Paraffin is considered ‘safe’ by regulatory bodies and non-toxic when used as directed. This is why it is allowed to be used in so many skincare and respiratory products. It is effective at one simple thing: locking in moisture, it is an excellent occlusive. That is basically all it can do.
Incidentally it also:
Clogs pores
Paraffin and its cousins, mineral wax and mineral oil create a waterproof seal over the skin. In a way it is like putting a plastic film over your skin. It doesn’t allow the skin to “breathe.” It is excellent at trapping in bacteria and sweat. This is not ideal as it can lead to eczema, acne, clogged pores and heat rash or sensitivity.
Is flammable
Not on its own, you couldn’t set a tub of white paraffin on fire. But if paraffin soaks into fabric and dries, and the fabric gets exposed to flame, excessive heat or a cigarette it may catch fire.
Reduces natural sebum regulation
Using paraffin-based products over time may cause the skin to rely on this type of synthetic moisture, which may reduce the skin’s ability to product and regulate its own sebum, and effect the skin barrier.
The alternatives to paraffin wax include plant sourced oils and butters like shea butter, cocoa butter, sunflower wax and castor oil. Plus, beeswax. All these ingredients, like paraffin, lock in moisture. Unlike paraffin, they are actively hydrating for the skin, so they provide hydration, they don’t just seal it in. What they bring to our skin that petroleum bases can’t; nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants and nourishment. They let the skin breathe while also protecting and restoring it.
Medicinal grade oils or synthetic & low-grade oils: which would you prefer?
The other issues we saw with the old formulas for respiratory, cough and cold products was the use of synthetic essential oils and low-grade essential oils.
Let’s look at the ingredient list for the most known vapour rub product on the market:
- It has a white a paraffin base.
- Instead of natural camphor oil extracted directly from the camphor tree, it uses racemic camphor which is a synthetic product produced from the oxidation of turpentine or pinene derivatives.
- It uses 1.33% eucalyptus but doesn’t disclose the type, grade or source of the oil. We think this is important because not all eucalyptus oils are made equally.
90% of eucalyptus is imported from China and Brazil. Generally, it is Eucalyptus globulus, a by-product of the paper industry with a lower than required cineole level. To reach the minimum international standard requirement (70% Cineole), the oil is rectified. This process involves stripping back other constituents of the natural oil, so the percentage of cineole is artificially inflated. Thus, messing with the symbiotic nature of the oil and all its properties.
ETTO Blue Mallee Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus polybractea) oil is grown and steam distilled in West Australia. It is intentionally grown as a medicinal oil, not a by-product. The latest 2025 harvest produced an oil with a naturally occurring percentage of Cineole at 88%.
Cineole content matters, especially for a respiratory product, because this is the key active in the oil that is known for, and scientifically shown to have, decongestant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Here is a basic comparison:
The Forest Lungs Vapour Stick
10.5% Blue Mallee Eucalyptus
88% Cineole in Eucalyptus
Australian Grown Eucalyptus
7% Menthol
Native River Mint
Pure Arnica
Shea butter & beeswax base
Well-known Vapour Rub
1.33% Eucalyptus oil
Cineole in Eucalyptus: not disclosed
Eucalyptus origin: not disclosed
2.82% Menthol
Synthetic camphor
Turpentine
White paraffin base
Is nostalgia stopping you from trying something new?
It is a fair point that some people have made – why would I think anything is wrong with the vapour rub I’ve been using for decades when I feel like it hasn’t done me any harm?
And that could be true. It could also be true that something new comes along that follows the same science but amplifies its effectiveness simply by the far superior quality of its ingredients and the percentage that those therapeutic ingredients are included at. A plastic tub of paraffin with low grade essential oils at low percentages has been made for a long shelf life and low-cost production, not for your body.
There are many psychological theories as to why we hold on to old ways of doing things with a reluctance to embrace newness:
Cognitive Dissonance – let’s avoid the discomfort of knowing that we may have been using something inferior all along.
Status Quo Bias – the cognitive trap we fall into when the mental effort of learning something new is harder than defaulting to the familiar.
Belief Perseverance – when we like to hold onto old ideas and habits, despite being given contradictory evidence e.g. superior quality oils to improve decongestion.
Fading Affect Bias and Nostalgia – the things that link us back to the good old days, when things perhaps felt simpler. Or remind us of when we received the warm hug of Mum’s embrace while she massaged eucalyptus and menthol flavoured petroleum into our chest while we were feeling poorly, and it was just like the cheesy ads told us – comforting. It’s not even that the product necessarily did anything. It’s that mum was there, caring for us, and now the smell will forever remind us of that. That’s not an easy emotional anchor to bypass or give up, it actively triggers our reward centre and releases dopamine – the feel-good hormone.
So, we get it. The Forest Lungs Vapour Stick is asking you to make new memories. To bring in a new smell that you associate with comfort and remedial wellness. A smell, by the by, we do believe is far superior to anything from the chemist’s 19th century edition formula. Could it be worth you taking a whiff?
If you do, you will receive the benefits of menthol, cooling your nasal passages. The properties of a high dose of Cineole helping to decongest and thin down the mucus membranes, reducing mucus in your respiratory system. The comforting warmth rising on your chest and throat. The soothing scent over your pulse points. The added benefit of pain-relieving Arnica flower and restorative vitamin E. All delivered to your body in a breathable layer of nutrient rich plants and seeds like shea, cocoa and sunflower.
And maybe, quite simply, you are just not in the market for a new way of soothing coughs and colds. Or a silver stick called Forest Lungs that starts at $40, is not something you care about. Yes, it’s more expensive. Quality ingredients, Australian grown actives, and expert formulations cost more to make.
It’s there for you. If you dare.