Homemade Tiger Balm Recipe

I first remember coming across Tiger Balm as a teenager on a trip to Hong Kong: little tins of potent smelling ointment were being sold in every market we visited. I am always transported back there when I smell that familiar smell.

Tiger Balm has its origins in the ancient courts of Chinese emperors. “It all began when Aw Chu Kin, a Chinese herbalist working in the Emperor’s court, left China and set up a small medicine shop called Eng Aun Tong in Rangoon in the late 1870s, where he would make and sell his special ointment that was effective in relieving all kinds of aches and pains. When Aw Chu Kin died in 1908, he left his business to his two sons Aw Boon Haw (meaning ‘gentle tiger’) and Aw Boon Par (meaning ‘gentle leopard’). They took the business to Singapore and successfully sold their ointment to surrounding countries like Malaya, Hong Kong, Batavia, Siam and various cities in China. Aw Boon Haw was the marketing genius who named the product Tiger Balm. Tiger Balm has since been immortalized as one of the world’s best-known pain-relieving formulations. The rest as they said, was history.”

The recipe I made is courtesy of Go Native New Zealand who have their take on the famous product. It might not be exactly the same but the smell still transports me back to childhood travels.

42g olive oil
12g beeswax
11g camphor essential oil
10g menthol crystals
7g cajeput essential oil
6g peppermint essential oil
6g clove bud essential oil
6g cassia essential oil

Heat the olive oil and beeswax gently in a pot.

When melted, take off the heat and add the menthol crystals. Stir until they dissolve.

Now add the rest of the essential oils, stir and pour into pots. Makes 100g

NB: Don’t overheat. Some of these essential oils have a low flashpoint and will ‘flash’ if they get too hot.