Tincture of Benzoin and Friar's Balsam: History, Uses and Cautions

Walk into almost any pharmacy in the English-speaking world and ask for Friar’s Balsam, and something will come out from behind the counter. Tincture of benzoin is one of the oldest preparations still in continuous use, and one of the few resin products with a place in modern first aid. This is not medical advice; it is an account of what the preparation is and how it has been used.

What it is

Tincture of benzoin (benzoin tincture, tinctura benzoini) is benzoin resin, traditionally Sumatra grade, dissolved in ethanol at roughly one part resin to five parts alcohol. It is a clear brown liquid that smells strongly of benzoin and leaves a sticky, shiny film as the alcohol evaporates.

Compound benzoin tincture (tinctura benzoini composita, Friar’s Balsam, Turlington’s Balsam, “balsam of the friars”) adds storax, tolu balsam and aloes to the benzoin. The recipe dates from at least the seventeenth century and was a patent remedy in the eighteenth. It is darker, more aromatic and more complex than the simple tincture.

What it is used for today

Skin protectant and adhesive aid. This is the main current use. Painted on intact skin around a wound and allowed to dry, the resin film protects the skin from moisture and irritation and makes adhesive tape, bandages and surgical dressings stick better and longer. Sports medicine uses it under athletic tape; hospitals use it under wound closure strips. Some people also use it on blisters and cracked skin on hands and feet, where it stings sharply and then forms a protective layer.

Cosmetic and traditional. The tincture dropped into water gives a milky lotion, the lac virginale of old pharmacopoeias, once sold as a skin toner. Dilute benzoin tincture is still used in some traditional mouthwash and gargle recipes.

Steam inhalation. For most of the twentieth century a teaspoon of Friar’s Balsam in a bowl of hot water was the standard home remedy for a blocked nose or chesty cough. It is still sold for that purpose in some countries. Modern guidance is cool on it: the benefit comes from the steam, the balsam vapours can irritate airways, and hot-water inhalations are a documented cause of scalds, especially in children.

How it is made

Coarsely powdered benzoin is macerated in ethanol for days with occasional shaking, then filtered. Compound tincture adds the other ingredients to the same maceration. The alcohol concentration matters: too weak and the resin will not dissolve, too much water and it clouds. Home-made tinctures for perfumery use the same method with any grade of benzoin; see DIY solid perfume with benzoin for a use.

Why it causes reactions

Benzoin tincture is one of the classic causes of allergic contact dermatitis in dermatology textbooks. The culprits are benzyl benzoate, benzyl cinnamate, cinnamic acid, benzoic acid and, in the compound tincture, the cinnamates of storax and tolu. People sensitized to Peru balsam, a very common allergen, often react to benzoin as well. The reaction is a red, itchy, sometimes blistering rash where the tincture was applied, appearing a day or two after use.

Practical consequences:

• Do not use it on broken skin or large areas.
• Test on a small patch if you have never used it.
• Stop if the skin reddens or itches after the initial sting.
• People with known fragrance or Peru balsam allergy should avoid it.

Storage

Keep the bottle tightly closed and away from heat and flame; it is mostly alcohol. Over years the tincture darkens and thickens as alcohol evaporates and the resin oxidizes. It remains usable as a skin protectant but loses aroma.

What it is not

It is not an antiseptic in any modern sense, despite centuries of labelling. Benzoic acid inhibits some moulds and yeasts, but a tincture painted on a wound does not sterilize it. It is not a treatment for anything internal. And it is not benzoin absolute: perfumery extracts are made with different solvents and are far more concentrated.

• benzoin
• tincture
• friars balsam
• pharmacy