In brief: Dinesavalyadi Keram (also written Dinesavalyadi Kera Thailam, Dinesavalyadi Kera Thailam or Dinesavalyadi Thailam) is a classical Ayurvedic oil applied to the skin, named after the creeper Dinesavalli and prepared in a coconut oil base, which is what Keram means. The reference usually cited is the Sahasrayogam. Coconut-based Keram oils are described in the tradition as cooling and placed with Pitta. Art of Vedas does not currently offer Dinesavalyadi Keram; the closest oils in our range are Nalpamaradi Kera Thailam and Eladi Thailam. This guide covers what it is, how the tradition describes it, how Keram and Thailam differ, and which of our oils to consider instead.
What Dinesavalyadi Keram is and where the name comes from
The name is built from three parts. Dinesa is a Sanskrit name of the sun, the lord of the day; valli means a creeper or climbing plant; Dinesavalli is therefore the sun creeper, the plant whose name opens the recipe. The suffix adi means "beginning with", so Dinesavalyadi is the recipe that begins with Dinesavalli. Keram, from Kera, the coconut palm, tells you the base: the plants are cooked into coconut oil rather than sesame oil.
The classical description
The classical recipe names, among others, Dinesavalli, prepared as a paste and cooked by the Sneha Paka method into a coconut oil base. The Sahasrayogam, the collection of recipes used in the southern tradition, is the reference usually cited, and the supporting plants and proportions vary between the versions in circulation, so the label of a given oil is always the reference. Where the texts describe the oil, they do so as an oil for the skin, and this guide keeps to that description without adding claims of its own.
Character in Ayurvedic terms
Coconut oil is described in the tradition as cooling, Sheeta, and is placed with Pitta, which is why the classical skin oils of the southern tradition are so often prepared as Keram rather than as sesame Thailam. Dinesavalyadi Keram shares that cooling character. It is not a warming massage oil of the Vata group; it is a thin oil for the skin, applied in a small amount.
Keram, Kera Thailam and Thailam: what the words tell you
Dinesavalyadi Keram, Dinesavalyadi Kera Thailam and Dinesavalyadi Kera Thailam are the same coconut-based oil. A plain Thailam, in the strict sense, is a sesame-based oil; a Keram or Kera Thailam is the same recipe cooked into coconut oil. For skin oils the coconut form is the one the tradition prefers, because coconut oil is lighter on the skin, cooling, and easier to wash off. The two forms are compared in our complete guide to traditional Ayurvedic Thailams.
How a coconut-based skin oil is used in practice
A Keram is applied in a thin layer to clean skin, worked in gently with the fingertips until it is absorbed, left for 20 to 30 minutes and washed off with warm water and a mild cleanser. It does not need to be warmed; coconut oil sets at cool room temperature, and standing the closed bottle in warm water for a few minutes brings it back to liquid. Once a day or a few times a week is the usual rhythm for a skin oil. Keep it away from the eyes.
Who should ask first
Every classical oil is for external use only. Do a small skin test on the inner forearm before the first full application, and do not apply the oil to broken skin. In pregnancy, and for children, ask your doctor or a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner first. Whether Dinesavalyadi Keram or another skin oil suits you, and for how long, is a question for a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner.
Art of Vedas and Dinesavalyadi Keram
Art of Vedas does not currently offer Dinesavalyadi Keram. The closest oils in our range are Nalpamaradi Kera Thailam, a classical coconut-based skin oil built on Nalpamara, the bark of four fig trees, with turmeric, cooling and placed with Pitta, and Eladi Thailam, a classical oil for the face, skin and scalp with cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and resins in a sesame base, traditionally used for Mukhabhyanga, the facial oil massage. Nalpamaradi Kera Thailam is the nearer match, on the same coconut base; Eladi Thailam is the choice when the face is the main concern. See also our comparison of Ayurvedic oils.
