Immortal Flame Oil vs. Salve: Which One to Use
Compare Immortal Flame oil vs salve to see which is better for fast absorption, massage, gua
Willard Sheppy is a licensed acupuncturist (LAc) and Founder of Valley Health Clinic specializing in using Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat acute injuries and chronic conditions, and to improve sports performance and rehabilitation.
Hugh Turcotte, the acupuncturist and herbalist behind Red Emperor’s Immortal Flame (REIF), didn’t set out to build a global product. He set out to help his patients. Here’s how far it’s actually traveled — in his own words.
Red Emperor’s Immortal Flame started as a family gift — a formula Hugh’s uncle, a kung fu master trained in Shanghai, gave him to help launch his practice. Today it reaches people Hugh will likely never meet, including a woman in Egypt using it daily for arthritis in her hands. The through-line, in Hugh’s words: “I’m able to help people help other people.”
“I initially started making Immortal Flame, our flagship product line, back in 2012,” Hugh says. “The formula was a gift from my uncle, as I was winding down my studies and starting to think about my practice — my acupuncture and herbal medicine practice.”
His uncle had trained in China, at the Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and wanted to give Hugh something his patients couldn’t get anywhere else. “This is a warming topical, and it hearkens back to the origins of the formula — which was essentially to allow my uncle and his other kung fu brothers and sisters to recover overnight from the training that a professional martial artist goes through.”
For the full lineage — Hugh’s uncle, the training behind the formula, and how it was adapted for clinical use — see Who Created REIF.
“It’s been received very well — which my uncle predicted, and I think he’s glad to see it’s getting out to more and more people. Because through me, he’s able to help the world. And I literally mean the world.”
Hugh shared one story that captures it. “I got an email just last week from a woman who’s a clinician — she’s a customer, she buys Immortal Flame, uses it in her clinic, and sells it there. She was able to get the product into her husband’s aunt’s hands. And her husband’s aunt happens to live in Egypt.”
She reported back to me that her husband's aunt uses it daily and prays for them in gratitude for handing this formula off to her, for the arthritis in her hands. It's kind of cool to know that something I made is over in Egypt, helping people. But mostly I'm so glad she was able to help her family.
— Hugh Turcotte, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.
This is a story told at one remove — Hugh recounting an email from a clinician about her husband’s aunt. No names were given, and none are added here. It’s a customer’s account of what helped a family member, not a clinical outcome, and it isn’t a claim that a topical treats arthritis. It’s included because it’s the part of the work Hugh says matters most to him.
“That’s the most juice for me — just knowing I’m able to help people help other people,” Hugh says. It’s the same reason he asks customers for feedback rather than treating REIF as a finished product: the formula keeps traveling because the people who use it keep passing it on.
Go deeper on Red Emperor’s Immortal Flame: the full origin story, an in-depth review, or how to apply it.
Made in small batches in Woburn, Massachusetts.
Nine organic ingredients, blended by acupuncturist and herbalist Hugh Turcotte from a formula his uncle brought back from Shanghai — available as a fast-penetrating liniment or a slower-release salve.
Quotes and formula history from Hugh Turcotte, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M., Clinical Director, Waterfield Wellness (Woburn, MA), and creator of Red Emperor’s Immortal Flame. Learn more at reiftopicals.com.
These statements have not been evaluated by the US Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. For external use only.
The formula was originally developed by Sifu Dr. Tom Turcotte, D.O.M., who trained in China at the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, to help kung fu practitioners recover from intensive training. He later passed it to his nephew, Hugh Turcotte, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.
It’s produced by Hugh Turcotte at Waterfield Wellness in Woburn, Massachusetts.
Yes — customers and practitioners have shared it internationally, including with family members overseas, such as the Egypt story above.
It began as a family gift in 2012 to help launch his acupuncture and herbal medicine practice, rooted in a formula his uncle used to help fellow martial artists recover from training.
Through Valley Health Market, or directly through the maker at reiftopicals.com.
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