风油精 - WD40 for the human body
Intrigued by this little green bottle, picked up in a chemist in Yangshuo, I asked on Twitter what 风油精 was normally used for.
@JunkFoodJo: “Everything and anything.”
@Mal_Asian: “It’s pretty much a cure all.”
@MrYap: “A WD40 for human body parts.”
It turns out that this isn’t too far from the truth. Amongst the uses for 风油精 are:
- cure for headaches
- cure for dizziness
- cure for gas
- treats nausea
- treatment for stomach ache
- ointment for bruises
- cure for a blocked nose
- pain killer
- treatment for insect stings
- treatment for mosquito bites
A quick look at the wiki entry on Baidu reveals the following additional uses (electronic translation used):
- deodorant
- cure for blisters
- can be used on mouth ulcers
- cure for a sore throat
- to help you sleep
- to remove self adhesive lables
- to help remove correction fluid that has spilt on the table
It would seems as if this truly is a magic potion, but the jury is out on whether this can be taken orally or not. Some suggest you can, others suggest you can’t. Personally, I’m not going to try it.
Many thanks to: @JunkFoodJo, @Mal_Asian, @MrYap, @VeggieInLove, and @Puerhan for contributing on Twitter.
Have you used this magic green potion? Is there anything it can’t cure. The comments are all yours.
So, is it made of snake oil or the usual baijiu and seahorses? I wouldn’t trust anything that makes that many claims.
The last thing I’d trust Google Translate with is a list of ingredients. No idea what it is made from but eucalyptus oil sounds like a safe bet. It smells good.
The leaflet that came with the bottle can be seen below:
Hi Bill, how is this magic potion working? I’m thinking about buying some off Ebay. Looks interesting and not too expensive. Don’t think I’ll be drinking it though..
If you are buying of eBay the I’d definitely not be drinking it. I can’t attest to the healing properties of this magic green liquid, but I like the smell.
Hmm, my magic potion of choice is Zheng Gu Shui. It has a cute flyer with cartoons that implies it will do almost anything for the human body, externally. Makes a great rub for sore muscles, put some on a cotton ball to smell when you have a cold, etc. but, like the American muscle rubs, don’t touch mucous membranes, eyes, or *!* after using it.
I see there are lots of Zheng Gu Shui selling on ebay- I will give it a go – thanks for the recommendation
Does anyone know is this is similar to the stuff that is called “green oil” in English? I bought a bottle in Taiwan and I use it for headaches and stuffy noses (just apply some to the temples or just a smidge under the nose). I bought some 风油精 just now in Shanghai because the sales lady said it was the same, but the scent is just a little different. Are they both maybe eucalyptus oil?
I’m not sure if they are the same, but my guess is the smell varies slightly between brands. Scary thought: there are actually different brands of this stuff.
I guess it also cures cancer and makes your wife come back!
Hopefully I will never find out.
goodmorning
As I’ve been in China long time ago I bought it and it is miraculus pls tell me how can I get it
I stay in Greece
I’ve never seen it for sale outside China. Does anyone else have any suggestions for how to buy 风油精?
I have juist visited China and have a lot of Chinese friends living in the area of Beijing/Xian a.o. I always buy Fengyoujing (and Gingseng) at herb markets in China. If you want I can arrange Gingseng (dry of fresh) and Fengyoujing at low costs and send it to where ever you may live.
I’m not sure of the legality of shipping Fengyoujing to various countries. Whilst I appreciate the gesture, please refrain from using the comments as a method for arranging such transactions.
I guess you can buy off ebay or amazon… It does not have an english name but you can recognize the chinese characters 风(feng) 油(you) on the product case. Been using it ever since I was born and it was widely use by generations to generations. Its very useful when you have stomach ache or a head ache.
The above two link that I just posted were the few products that existed for decades and have a good reputation.
[Moderator Edit:] The two links below appear to be legitimate but were removed by the spam filter: