GRRRR! (Tiger Balm)

Member Name: daylelisahall

Product:	Tiger Balm
Date:	25/04/08 (632 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Can be used on various ailments, cheap, effective

Disadvantages: Burning sensation may be a bit much for some people

Although I had heard of Tiger Balm before, the first time I actually used this product was in October last year when I was in Thailand as I had been told that it could help with mosquito bights.

Tiger Balm
Tiger Balm was created in 1870 by a man named Aw Chu Kin who was a Chinese herbalist. Since then, it has continued to be used to treat a number of ailments. Tiger Balm comes in three different varieties which are Tiger Balm Red, Tiger Balm Orange and Tiger Balm White.

Sizes
Tiger Balm comes in four different sizes which are 4grams, 10 grams, 19.4grams and 30 grams. Although all these sizes are available, I have personally found that the most common one found in shops is the 19.4 gram tub.

Cost
Costs vary depending on where you buy from with www.amazon.co.uk charging £4.39 for a 19.4gram tub (P&P is extra).

Packaging
The packaging does vary between the different sizes but the tub I have is a 19.4 gram tub so I will describe this one. Tiger Balm comes in glass jars which are hexagonal in shape. The lid colour varies depending on which variety you buy. The lids are metal and have Tiger Balm and a picture of a Tiger embossed onto it.
The glass jars all come in cardboard boxes which are decorated with pictures of Tigers and various Chinese symbols. The box is decorated with bright red and green colours and looks very pretty.

Tiger Balm Red
This variety is a reddy brown colour. The balm itself it a little bit greasy and does leave a 'sheen' on your skin after you have applied it. This one smells very strongly of the various ingredients and you can definitely smell cinnamon and clove. Once you have applied this variety of the Tiger Balm, you and the room you are in will smell of it for a good few hours so be warned!
Tiger Balm Red is meant to be used for muscular aches and pains, as well as insect bites and to relieve headaches.
I have used this variety of mosquito bites and found it to be very effective, it certainly stopped the itching. I would like to point out that this version of Tiger Balm makes your skin tingle and almost burn (similar to the sensation of using a product like Deep Heat). Although at times burning sensation was quite strong, it wasn't unpleasant.
The only downside to this variety of Tiger Balm is that is can stain if you get it on clothing. I managed to get it all over the nice white sheets at the hotel we were staying at which I was mortified about!

Tiger Balm White
This is the strongest variety of Tiger Balm, is a creamy colour and smells more of mint than anything else. The texture of this balm is slightly different to the others; it is smoother and is slightly less greasy. Again it can be used for headaches, insect bites, cramps, sprains and stomach ache. This version can also help to reduce any swelling on the body.
I have used this version on an aching back and found it to be very effective in helping to ease the pain. Tiger Balm White makes the treated area feel tingly and cool.

Tiger Balm Orange
Tiger Balm Orange is a light orange colour and is the weakest variety. It smells of mainly cinnamon with an underlying hint of mint and smells just as strong as Tiger Balm Red. This variety is said to help with headaches, trapped wind, colds, insect bites and aching muscles. Tiger Balm Orange doesn't have the warm and tingly feeling like Tiger Balm Red, it feels cooler on the skin but you still feel the tingling sensation.
I have used this variety to help with several colds and have placed the Tiger Balm around my nose and rubbed it onto my chest. Another away of clearing your nose with this product is to scoop a little bit out and place it into a bowl of boiling water. Then cover you head with a towel and breathe it the steam. I have found this to be very effective in making me feel less bunged up.

Using Tiger Balm
To use any of these products, you simply rub a small amount of it into the affected area. As I already mentioned, Tiger Balm is quite greasy so don't expect the product to rub into your skin like a moisturiser although. When I used it on my mosquito bites, I obviously didn't want to rub the bites to hard so I only rubbed the balm into my skin quite lightly but it was still very effective in making the bites stop itching and hurting.
While we were on holiday, my boyfriend and I also had back ache after a day of scuba diving so we used the Tiger Balm Orange to give each other a back rub. It was very effective in helping our aching backs although I have to admit that our backs did feeling like they were burning for a good 40 minutes.

Summary
In summary, I would definitely recommend this product for any of the above uses and I can certainly vouch for the fact that it actually works! I love the fact that this product is made from 100% natural ingredients.
Another thing I like about this product is the fact that a little really does go a long way meaning that it lasts a very long time. Finally, Tiger Balm can be used for a number of ailments so it's always a handy product to keep in your cupboards and comes in really useful when I'm on my travels.

Summary: A product for every household