How to Make an MSM Pain Cream

Learn how to make an effective pain cream featuring MSM powder – a popular natural supplement containing sulfur.

jar of homemade pain cream
Use this homemade pain cream recipe for aches, pains, arthritis, joint pain, and general inflammation!

MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) is a dietary supplement powder that’s often taken internally as a natural remedy to provide significant improvement for joint pain, arthritis, inflammation, seasonal allergies, and healthier skin, hair, and nails.

It’s also used externally in pain creams for sore knees and joints, stiffness, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis. Additionally, this sulfur based compound is featured in topical skin care products for acne, wrinkles, psoriasis, eczema, rosacea, and other skin conditions, improving the overall texture and skin quality.

Today, we’re going to use it to make a thick but fast absorbing pain cream!

Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) cream can be used on trouble spots, or rubbed all over for general aches, pains, and inflammation.

While organic sulfur is found in nature in vegetables, fruits, grains, and meat, the MSM supplement is a much more concentrated source that’s derived from dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Since it’s absorbed through your skin, double check with your doctor or health care professional before using if you’re pregnant or nursing.

essential oils, mango butter, msm powder, and emulsifying wax
To make this pain cream, you’ll need: essential oils, mango or shea butter, MSM powder, carrier oil, distilled water, and emulsifying wax.

In this recipe, we’re making a thick cream – an emulsified body butter of sorts, but one that contains water, so that the MSM powder can be completely dissolved and activated.

However, once you add water to oils and butters, you create a cozy place for bacteria and mold to grow. To solve that, an organic approved preservative is used to keep the product natural and safe!

Related Article: 10 Natural Preservatives for Homemade Skin Care

Equipment Needed

To make this recipe, you’ll need:

  • a digital kitchen scale that measures in grams
  • a handheld mixer
  • a half pint jar, or other heatproof container
  • a wide mouth pint jar, or a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup
  • saucepan that will hold both jars

image for handmade lotions and creams ebook collection

For more information on making lotions and creams using herbs, flowers, essential oils, emulsifiers, and natural preservatives, check out my Handmade Lotions & Creams eBook Collection.


mixing msm cream in a bowl of ice water
I’m using one beater in my mixer + a wide mouth pint canning jar to mix up this batch of cream. The ice water in the bowl below helps it to cool and thicken up faster.

MSM Pain Cream Recipe

Yield: about 7 fluid ounces (fl oz) of pain cream

Water group:

  • 116 g (4.1 oz) distilled water
  • 10 g (0.35 oz) MSM powder (I use the NOW brand, purchased from my local health store)

Oils & wax group:

  • 40 g (1.41 oz) mango or shea butter
  • 18 g (0.63 oz) carrier oil of your choice*
  • 12 g (0.42 oz) emulsifying wax (I use vegetable e-wax from Mountain Rose Herbs)

Cool down group:

  • 2 g (0.07 oz) Geogard ECT (an organic approved preservative), or preservative of your choice
  • Essential oils: 50 drops juniper berry, 12 drops sweet orange** (this is a 1.5% dilution rate; double the amounts if not strong enough)

*Suggested oils include: sweet almond, sunflower, apricot kernel, avocado, olive, jojoba, or rice bran. I like to infuse my oil first with St John’s wort, dandelion, or arnica and goldenrod.

**For a variation, try replacing the sweet orange with lavender (helps you relax), or peppermint (invigorates & cools), or rosemary (adds extra pain relief) essential oil. Juniper berry essential oil is warming and helps with pain relief, but if you don’t have any available, try using cypress (one of our favorites for pain relief!), fir needle, or cedarwood in its place for similar effect.

The essential oil amount can be safely doubled and still remain in the safe range for a topical pain product. (Please see my Essential Oil Dilution Chart + Amounts to Use in Skin Care article for more information.)

two jars in a saucepan filled partially with water
Be sure to cover the jar containing water and MSM powder with a loose lid, so the water doesn’t evaporate out while heating.

Instructions to Make:

  1. Weigh out the water and MSM powder into a half pint jar. Stir until the powder is dissolved. This will be your water phase (water group).
  2. Place a canning lid or small saucer loosely on the jar of water and powder, then set aside until after you’ve prepared the oil group. (The lid is used to keep the water amount from evaporating into the air.)
  3. In a wide mouth pint jar, combine the mango butter, oil, and emulsifying wax. This is your oil phase (oil & wax group).
  4. Place both jars in a saucepan filled with several inches of water, forming a makeshift double boiler.
  5. Place the pan over a medium low burner and heat until the wax is completely melted. This usually takes around 20 minutes. If it’s melting too slow, turn the heat closer to medium. If you have a thermometer, the mixtures will be around 167°F (75°C).
  6. Remove the pan from the heat source and then remove the jars from the pan carefully. You may need to use a pot holder since the jars will be hot.
  7. If you used a wide mouth pint jar to melt the oils, butter, and wax together, place one beater in your hand mixer. If you used a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup, use two beaters.
  8. Pour the hot water and MSM mixture (the water group) into the jar/container of melted oil, butter, and wax.
  9. Mix by hand, using a fork for 2 to 3 minutes, wait a couple of minutes, then mix with a fork for another minute or two.
  10. After the jar or container has cooled for several minutes, you can speed up the mixing process by placing it into a bowl filled with cool water. Gradually add an ice cube or two at a time, to create an ice bath for the mixing container. (We do this gradually, so there’s not a sudden temperature change to the glass jar.)
  11. Switch to using your hand mixer, and beat the mixture on medium-high to high, until it’s light and fluffy, stopping a few times to scrape the sides of the jar/container, and to add the preservative and essential oils. (If you have a thermometer, check that the mixture is under 104 degrees F before adding these.)
  12. Spoon the finished body butter into containers. Once completely cool, cap with their lids and label. Shelf life is 3 to 6 months, if stored in a cool dry spot, out of direct heat and sunlight.

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References & Further Reading

Ameye, Laurent G, et al. Osteoarthritis and nutrition. From nutraceuticals to functional foods: a systematic review of the scientific evidence. Arthritis Research & Therapy. 2006;8(4):R127. doi: 10.1186/ar2016.

Barrager, Eleanor, et al. A multicentered, open-label trial on the safety and efficacy of methylsulfonylmethane in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2002 Apr;8(2):167-73. doi: 10.1089/107555302317371451.

Kalman, Douglas S., et al. Influence of methylsulfonylmethane on markers of exercise recovery and performance in healthy men: a pilot study. Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2012; 9: 46. Published online 2012 Sep 27. doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-9-46

Lim, Eun Joung, et al. Methylsulfonylmethane Suppresses Breast Cancer Growth by Down-Regulating STAT3 and STAT5b Pathways. PLoS One. 2012; 7(4): e33361. Published online 2012 Apr 2. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0033361

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18 Comments

  1. Looking at where to buy the Geogard ECT. Is there a difference between this and the one that Bramble Berry sells? Geogard 221? Appreciate the help. Wonderful idea for use of MSM! Can’t wait to try this!

    1. Hi Tonya! I buy Geogard ECT from Formulator Sample Shop.
      You should be able to use Geogard 221 instead – they are both used at a similar rate.
      The main difference is the individual ingredients they’re composed of, but they should be fairly equal in effectiveness in this recipe.
      I haven’t personally used Geogard 221 yet, since it wasn’t readily available at my usual shops before – I didn’t realize Bramble Berry sold it now though; thanks for that info! :)

        1. Hi KJ, That is a really good question! I’ve not noticed a big pH shift with MSM creams, but also have to admit that I haven’t really tried to measure and compare items with and without MSM. That would be a good thing to look into!

    1. Hi Gaile, Yes! You could use any type of herbal infused oil in the recipe – comfrey sounds like an excellent addition! :)

      1. Thank you for sharing this wonderful formulation. I’m trying to find one that incorporates MSM and magnesium oil. My question is could I add 15 grams of the MSM and then replace the 60 grams of water with my own 1:1 magnesium oil? So that would be 30g water 30g magnesium.

        1. Hi Melissa, I think it’s worth a try!
          Sometimes if a recipe is extra high in minerals, it can throw the emulsion or preservative off, so I’d make a test batch and observe how it holds up over time.
          If it stays together well, and doesn’t spoil too soon, then it sounds like you have a winning combination! :)

  2. Hello Jan, Thank you for all the awesome recipes you provide Loving your book too. I made this cream used bees wax the cream was fantastic but it separated leaving drops of water in jar. I am going to make it again. Where can I purchase emulsifying wax.?
    Regina

    1. Hi Regina! I buy emulsifying wax from Mountain Rose Herbs. I’ve used the Milliard brand on Amazon successfully as well. :)

  3. Hi, thank you for sharing this recipe. Your recipe is similar to what I am trying to make. I am still new to formulating and need some help with figuring out how to add 10 g of MSM to the following hair cream recipe:

    Water Phase 75%:

    Distilled Water – 53 g
    Aloe Vera Juice – 20 g
    Glycerine – 2 g

    Oil Phase 25%:

    Blend of Carrier Oils – 10 g
    Shea Butter – 8 g
    Emulsifying Wax NF – 5 g
    Cetearyl Alcohol – 2 g

    Cool Down Phase:

    Optiphen Plus – 1 g
    Vitamin E – 1 g
    Essential Oils – 1 g

    Total Weight 100 (g)

    Could you please help? I am scratching my head trying to figure it out. Many thanks for your help and your blog!

    1. Hi Jasmine!

      Whenever I add MSM powder to a recipe, I subtract from the water amount.

      So in this case, I’d first try:

      Water Phase:

      Distilled water – 43 g
      Aloe vera juice – 20 g
      Glycerine – 2 g
      MSM powder – 10 g

      Then make a test batch and adjust from there. If it’s too thick – try maybe dropping 1 g of shea butter and/or 0.5 g cetearyl alcohol & replace with water, then keep adjusting until you get the perfect product you’re looking for. :)

    1. Hi Veronica! MSM powder shouldn’t bother your stomach if absorbed through your skin, though we are all unique and some of us are super sensitive reactors, so I can’t say it’s impossible!
      But, we’re a super sensitive lot here and haven’t had problems with it topically.

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