Ang Ki Somthawin Yellow herbal oil

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If you had to carry in your personal purse a cure for cold, nausea, dizziness, sore muscles, arthritis, and insect bites, you’d need a huge purse. If only all those medicines could fit into a small bottle, you could look only half a hypochondriac. That’s what Yellow oil is for. It is a traditional Thai medicine, that can sometimes save you a doctor’s visit, and certainly a lot of pain.

Yellow oil came to Thailand from China and exists in different versions all over south east Asia. Thai Yellow Oil has unique qualities because of the high grade of the plants it is made of. The families that make the oil keep the recipe a secret. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of home-made yellow oil brands, but the queen of Yellow Oil is a town called Trat, close to the southern border with Cambodia. This area is especially rich in fauna, even in Thai standards.

The best Yellow Oil in Trat is made by Somthawin, a local lady who started selling it door to door many years ago. These days she has 2 shops in Trat, and a small workshop in the family’s residence where the oil is manually produced. Nobody will tell you what exactly they put in their oil, but Trat residents say it contains menthol, a local kind of camphor called Ka Ra Boon, eucalyptus oil, a plant called Pim Sen (another kind of camphor) and a plant called Prai (Cassumunar in Latin), from the ginger family. Prai is responsible for the yellow color and is considered by Thais a magic medicine for all illnesses.

Usage: Yellow oil is not massage oil. It is much more concentrated and doesn’t need to be massaged in thoroughly, only spread over the skin. If you have a sore muscle or arthritis, just rub it on the skin and cover the place to keep it worm. Try to rest for a few minutes. You can use it on insect bites and make them disappear in a minute, or open the bottle and breath through it for cold or dizziness relief. You can also put a few drops on a piece of cloth and breath through.

Important: wash your hands thoroughly after rubbing the oil. You don’t want it in your eyes.