Precious gift from nature
One day, Chen, who was then a junior at a college in southern Taiwan, happened to be spending his nights at the charcoal factory that his father owned with partners. The stuffy humid air of the factory aggravated his eczema. Having once heard his father say that wood vinegar was an antibacterial and disinfectant, he sprayed some of the factory’s distilled wood vinegar on his arm. “Much to my surprise, it stopped being itchy. I went on to try it on half my face, and the result was that the itchiness and swelling receded on that side, whereas the other half remained as swollen as a pig’s head,” laughs Chen.
Chen went on to delve into Japanese research on wood vinegar, discovering that it was effective as a cleanser, a disinfectant, a sterilizer and a deodorant. “Wood vinegar is extracted from the smoke produced during charcoal production,” explains Chen. “Unlike petrochemical products, this completely natural substance poses no threat to the environment. We ought to put this gift from Mother Nature to good use.”
And so, based on the results from numerous experiments, Chen and a few good friends developed a series of products with different ratios of wood vinegar as an active ingredient, including skincare products and environmental cleansers. By insisting on natural ingredients and not adding any artificial chemicals, they were able to make the most of wood vinegar’s natural antibacterial and cleansing properties.
It used to be that the smoke emitted during charcoal manufacture was regarded as a contributor to air pollution, but research has determined that the wood vinegar extracted from that smoke is a natural substance of considerable vitality. Many inventive uses for it have been discovered in Taiwan, and the hope is that more people will produce and use this environmentally sustainable product.
Distilled wood vinegar is extracted from the smoke that is a by-product of producing charcoal. A precious gift from Mother Nature, it can be used as a cleanser and antibacterial. (courtesy of Jacky Chen)