In brief: Eladi Thailam is a classical Ayurvedic oil for the face, skin and scalp in a sesame oil base. The Art of Vedas oil declares 17 plant ingredients besides the base, among them green and black cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, saffron, storax and myrrh resins, deodar and pine wood, and camphor, followed by eleven naturally present fragrance components. This page lists every declared ingredient, grouped by what it is, with its Sanskrit and botanical name.
The declared ingredient list of Art of Vedas Eladi Thailam
The list below is the ingredient declaration of the Art of Vedas Eladi Thailam, as printed on the product page. It names the plant, the part used and the botanical name. Eladi Thailam is also written Eladi Thailam, Eladi Taila, Eladi oil or Eladi Tel; the spelling changes, the formula does not. Eladi means Ela and the others: the group of herbs that opens with Ela, cardamom, as set out in the Ashtanga Hridayam.
Base and finishing ingredients
- Sesame seed oil (Tila Taila, Sesamum indicum): the oil base in which the plants are prepared
- Tamanu seed oil (Punnaga, Calophyllum inophyllum): a second plant oil declared alongside the base
- Camphor (Karpura, Cinnamomum camphora, bark oil): added at the end for its aroma
Cardamom and the warming spices
Cardamom gives the group its name and leads the formula. The spices that follow it are the aromatic, warming heart of the oil:
- Ela, green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), seed oil
- Sthula Ela, black cardamom (Amomum subulatum), seed oil
- Twak, cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), bark oil
- Tamalapatra, Indian bay leaf (Cinnamomum tamala), leaf
- Jatiphala, nutmeg (Myristica fragrans), kernel
- Palmarosa grass (Cymbopogon martinii), oil
Resins and aromatic woods
- Turushka, storax (Liquidambar orientalis), resin
- Bola, myrrh (Commiphora myrrha), resin
- Devadaru, deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara), wood oil
- Sarala, chir pine (Pinus roxburghii), wood
Flowers, leaves and roots
- Kumkuma, saffron (Crocus sativus), stigma
- Nagakesara (Mesua ferrea), flower
- Priyangu (Callicarpa macrophylla), leaf
- Hrivera (Coleus vettiveroides), root
- Malabar catmint (Anisomeles malabarica), whole plant
Naturally present fragrance components
Limonene, linalool, citral, geraniol, citronellol, farnesol, cinnamal, cinnamyl alcohol, eugenol, coumarin and benzyl benzoate are declared at the end of the list. They are not added fragrances. They occur naturally in cardamom, cinnamon, palmarosa, nutmeg and the other aromatic plants, and EU cosmetics rules require them to be named once they pass a set concentration, so that people who react to them can see it.
How the ingredients go into the oil
A Thailam is not a mixture of oil and powder. In the classical method, called Sneha Paka, the tougher plant parts are first simmered into a decoction, the softer ones are ground to a paste, and both are cooked slowly into the base oil until the water has gone and the paste meets the traditional finishing tests. Camphor is stirred in only after the oil has come off the heat, so its aroma is kept. The declaration above names each plant in the form in which it is present in the finished oil, as a seed oil, a bark oil or an extract. How to warm and apply the oil is described in our Eladi Thailam guide.
Because every plant is prepared into the base, the finished oil has one character rather than the separate characters of eighteen plants. In Ayurvedic terms it is described as aromatic and mildly warming and is classically placed with Kapha and Vata. That is also why the same oil is never reproduced by adding a few drops of essential oil to plain sesame oil.
Classical recipe and declared list: why the numbers differ
The Eladi group of the Ashtanga Hridayam lists more plants than the declaration above, including several rare aromatics and animal-derived items that are no longer used in a product sold in Europe. A product sold in Europe declares what is actually in the bottle, and some classical items are left out today for reasons of availability or of regulation. The declared list above is therefore the reference for the Art of Vedas oil, and a shorter list than the classical text is not a sign of a lesser oil. When you compare oils from different makers, compare their declared lists rather than their claims about how many herbs they contain.
Frequently asked questions about the ingredients
How many ingredients does Eladi Thailam contain? The Art of Vedas oil declares 17 plant ingredients in a sesame oil base, plus eleven fragrance components that occur naturally in those plants. The Eladi group of the classical texts lists more, several of which are no longer used in a product sold in Europe.
What is the base oil of Eladi Thailam? Sesame seed oil (Tila Taila), declared first. Tamanu seed oil (Calophyllum inophyllum) is declared as a second plant oil within the formula. No coconut oil is declared: that is the base of Eladi Keram, the coconut version of the same group of herbs.
What is the difference between Eladi Thailam and Eladi Kera Thailam in the ingredients? The herbs are the same Eladi group; the base differs. Eladi Thailam is prepared in sesame oil, Eladi Kera Thailam (Eladi Keram, Eladi Velichenna) in coconut oil. The Art of Vedas oil is the sesame version, as its declared list shows.
Is Eladi Thailam vegan? No animal-derived ingredient is declared. Every item on the list is a plant oil, a plant extract, a resin or a fragrance component that occurs naturally in those plants; no shellac or honey appears on the declaration.
Does Eladi Thailam contain nuts or sesame? It contains sesame: sesame seed oil is the base. Nutmeg kernel is declared; it is the seed of a fruit, not a tree nut. No tree nuts or peanut are declared. Anyone who reacts to sesame should not use it.
Why are limonene, linalool, cinnamal and coumarin on the label? They occur naturally in cardamom, cinnamon, palmarosa, nutmeg and the other aromatic plants in the oil. EU rules require them to be named above a set concentration so that sensitive people can check for them. They are not added perfume.
Which ingredient gives the oil its aroma and warming character? No single one. The character comes from the whole formula prepared into sesame oil, with the two cardamoms, cinnamon, nutmeg and camphor in the lead, and storax, myrrh, deodar and pine behind them.
Where can I check the exact list before buying? On the product page, which carries the same declaration as the label, and on the label of the bottle. If you have a known sensitivity, show the list to your doctor or pharmacist first, and do a small skin test on the inner forearm before the first full application.
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