How To Make Zheng Gu Shui Style Liniment At Home

I receive a lot of requests on how to make Zheng Gu Shui liniment, so I pulled out their original recipe want to show you how to make your own powerful Zheng Gu Shui style analgesic liniment at home. Zheng Gu Shui is one of the best analgesic liniments available, but becoming increasingly more expensive and with talk that it will be going up again in price shortly.

One of the shortcomings with Zheng Gu Shui is that it is packaged in a plastic bottle, I believe glass is the best way to go and now you can use glass when you are finished.

For those of you who have used Zheng Gu Shui recently, you probably have noticed how the formulation has changed over the years for us here in the USA. There are two versions one for the USA and one for China.

The version sold in China is basically the same as it was over 30 years ago but unfortunately we do not have that available to us due to a agreement the manufacturer has with the sole distributor here in the USA. So I will cover how you can make your own original style at home and save yourself some money.

The original type version we are going to make dates back to the 1982 recipe which was very powerful. Today’s USA version is very good but it has changed and it is getting very expensive.

This 1982 recipe kicks you know what and can get very hot, especially so in sensitive areas of the body so you must use prudently and the area applied must be allowed to breathe and not covered up tightly.

This recipe is deeply penetrating and has been used for fractures and damage to dense connective tissues. It has been used to break blood stasis, move Qi, stop bleeding, disperse swelling, strengthen tendons and bones, dredge and open up channels and collaterals, and it is a powerful pain reliever.

Martial Artists always liked the original formula and applied it to there hands before striking any hard objects.

We are going to make approximately 21 ounces of liniment which is like buying 6 (3.4 oz)bottles of Zheng Gu Shui. This can be scaled up to meet your needs if a larger quantity is needed.

What you need:

Herbs
14 ounces of Everclear 75.5% alcohol 151 Proof
A small glass, porcelain, or ceramic pot
Measuring cup ( Pyrex Glass If Possible)
Glass Jar with airtight lid, anywhere from 28-32 ounces is fine
Small Glass Jar with cap anywhere from one to four ounces
Mortar and Pestle
If you purchase a Zheng Gu Shui Style kit from us, the mortar and pestle is not needed
Magic Marker
Protective glasses or goggles
Small digital kitchen scale that can weigh grams
Wood stirring stick or wooden spoon

Herbs Needed:

Tien Qi Radix Notoginseng 3 grams

Gui Pi Cinnamomi Cortex 12 grams

E Zhu Rhizoma Curcumae 12 grams

Ji Gu Xiang Croton Tiglii Radix 11 grams

Bai Zhi Radix Angelicae Dahuricae 12 grams

Qian Jin Ba Radix Flemenigiae 11 grams

Hu Zang Rhizoma Polygoni Cuspidati 12 grams

Bai Niu Dan Inula Cappa 9 grams

The last two herbs needed should not be mixed together until it is necessary!
Bo He Nao Mentholeum (Menthol crystals) 29 grams
Zhang Nao Cinnamomum Camphora (Camphor crystallized 29 grams

Step 1

You should be able to find the herbs at your local Chinatown Herb Shop or online. We also have the herbs available and sell them as a kit, you can order at the end of this post if you wish.

Wear your protective glasses or goggles thru the ENTIRE PROCESS!

Pound down the herbs into small pieces using your mortar and pestle ( see photo below), if that is not available a coffee grinder or a strong blender like a Vita Mix can be used in a pinch.

When using any electrical device to grind down your herbs always use caution and make sure work area is dry. Short pulse bursts are the best way to grind down the herbs into smaller pieces, we do not want powdered herbs, just small pieces as pictured.

Weigh the herbs on your digital scale with the settings on grams as listed above, if your scale is only ounces then you will need to convert ounces into grams(Google).

Step 2

Add the following herbs in your small pot:

Tien Qi Radix Notoginseng 3 grams

Gui Pi Cinnamomi Cortex 12 grams

E Zhu Rhizoma curcumae 12 grams

Ji Gu Xiang Croton Radix 11 grams

Bai Zhi Radix Angelicae Dahuricae 12 grams

Qian Jin Ba Radix Flemenigiae 11 grams

Hu Zang Rhizoma Polygoni Cuspidati 12 grams

Bai Niu Dan Inula Cappa 9 grams

Then add 7 ounces of water, make a mark with your magic marker at the water level line. Obviously glass is needed for this, if you do not have a glass pot then estimate the best you can. Add 5 more ounces of water and place on the stove. Turn the burner on high and bring the water to a boil.

After the water starts boiling lower the heat so you have a small rolling boil or a mild bubbling, occasionally stir the herbs with your wooden spoon. When the level of the water reaches your mark of 7 ounces or just above turn off heat and remove pot from stove.

This should take approx 11-13 minutes, it will vary of course dependent on the heat settings used. The key is to get the herbs boiled in water just like if you were making tea. You will notice a very nice aroma from the herbs particularly the cinnamon cortex.

If you are not using a glass pot you can use a Pyrex measuring cup and pour the hot liquid in the measuring cup to make sure you have at 7 ounces of liquid, I do this anyway but that’s me. If you are a little over it will not be a problem.

If you misjudged the amount and are lets say at 9 ounces, Place your pot back on the stove and get the liquid down closer to 7 ounces. Once you are at or close to 7 ounces go to the next step. Keep in mind that the herbs will absorb some of the water and as it cools down, some will evaporate but this is fine, as long as you are close to 7 ounces your good to go.

Step 3

When the water cools down to where it is warm to the touch or slightly above, add the entire contents of your pot( herbs and liquid) into your glass jar. Do not add the water into the jar if it is still very hot, let it cool down a little, if it is a heat resistant jar then it is fine.

Now add your Bo He Nao and Zhang Nao into the glass jar.

Step 4

Measure out 14 ounces of Everclear and add it to the glass jar.

Tighten your lid or whatever type cap you have and shake the jar vigorously for a minute then shake slowly for a minute. Wash your hands with soap and water after shaking.

For the first 7 days shake daily the same way once a day, if you have time do it twice a day.

Shaking your jar often increases the maceration process and makes for a stronger liniment

This analgesic liniment is ready to use the next day using the method we just performed. After 7 days you can filter and bottle up some liniment in your small bottles or just take out what you need, I usually bottle up a 4 oz bottle and leave the Marc (macerated herbs) in the jar until the jar is completely empty of liniment.

I usually throw out the herbs and start a new batch at that time. As with all herbal liniments keep the jar out of the sun and in a dark cool place like in a cabinet or closet.

 

 

 

 

 

Important

Always label your jar or bottles and note that it is for External Use Only, Do Not Drink!

This liniment gets HOT! Use with care!

After you apply your liniment always wash your hands, this will prevent accidental contact with your eyes or other sensitive areas of your body.
If you practice Iron Palm apply this liniment right before you start training, being careful not to rub your eyes while training.

Always Keep Out Of Reach Of Children!

If you are interested, we sell the herbs listed above in a small kit form already prepared and ready for you to make at home. All the herbs have been measured out and pounded down for easy preparation. See end of this post for ordering information

Package in glass bottles and never plastic so their is no chance of any chemicals leeching out of the plastic into your liniment.

 Lets Recap What You Have Made

You have 21 ounces of liniment, 7oz of water and 14oz of 75.5% Everclear, this equates to just above 50% alcohol as the menstruum for your maceration extraction. By boiling the selected herbs you got a head start on the extraction process.

We are maintaining a better than 1:5 ratio (1:4.4) of herbs to menstruum, which means for each 20 gram of herb we used 100ml of alcohol in essence approximately 141 grams of herbs and we used approximately 620ml (21oz) of menstruum ( water and alcohol). This is close to the original ratio used.

If you need to make the liniment less powerful you can add more alcohol or water, this will dilute the liniment down, if you do this, do not use to much liquid all at once, add a little at a time and test the liniment on your skin to see how it feels.

If you are not in a hurry you can use Vodka 40% Alc/80 proof and add all the herbs into the jar, pour in 21 ounces of Vodka, seal up the jar and shake daily twice daily, for 7-10 days and start using. This method takes longer before you can use but will work fine.

Always shake your bottle or jar before using, this insures you are getting all the constituents that might float to the top or settle to the bottom of your container.

 

If you would like to order this recipe in kit form with the herbs pounded down and ready to go, you can order below.

https://eastmeetswest.com/shop/product/zheng-gu-shui-style-liniment-kit/