Beauty tip: personal recommendations over advertisements

Different brands are launching brand new beauty products almost on a daily basis! They never run out of ideas of what to incorporate and create the urgency for the market to get hold of their product. A whole bunch of us fall prey to these brands. But truth be told there are really great brands like prototype 37c, for instance. A lot has been said about good products and I believe more than what the advertisers are saying, we should pay better attention to feedbacks from the users themselves.

Updates on beauty blog

If you have not been visiting my beauty blog for a while now, you might want to head over there - KikayCorner.net. I'm currently on a spa hopping spree. Reviewing one spa after another and will be posting verdicts on each and every visit.

Next in line will be of reviews of the best anti wrinkle eye cream, which a number of my lady readers are requesting for. Head on over for beauty updates.

Choosing the Best Wrinkle Cream

There is not one generation that is more vain than today’s. There is always this challenge to stay young and good. While it is not bad to want to look young, we should always make sure that we never overdo it. We have seen Hollywood stars become slave to this and the result is the horrifying look they now have.  

Wrinkles come with age, from fine lines to those conspicuous leather texture ones. Before you go under the knife, try out the non-invasive procedures first. There are reputable wrinkle cream brands that you can actually try. But before you get hold of just any brand, make sure you know what your skin type is. The product’s ingredients should also be factored in. This is especially important to those people who are allergic to some chemical components. A friend’s recommendation should also weigh more than the paid commercial ads we see on print and tv.

Thanakha Article Straight from Myanmar.gov.mm

As an advocate of all things natural, especially that of beauty products, I recently came up with an online store via my beauty blog - Kikay Corner. You can visit my store here. 

here is an article that I have found straight from the government website of Myanmar. The article was written by Kerry Howley in November 2003. This Thanakha seller and user on the left is DAW Hla Kywe was 75 years old at that time of writing.

DAW Hla Kywe readily admits her age, but her smooth skin and bright complexion do nothing to reveal her 75 years. A thanakha vendor with a stand at Bogyoke Market,

Daw Hla Kywe is one of many Myanmar women who swear by the yellow wood paste they use in place of modern make-up.

“I have never used cosmetics,” she said, proudly rubbing the yellow powder that covers her fine wrinkles.

Daw Hla Kywe was born in Pakkoku, a town famous for its thanakha trees. She still owns a tree farm near the village of her childhood home, where she returns once a year to harvest more thanakha to sell in Yangon.

Her business nets K500,000 a year, but she is as much a cultural symbol as a savvy businesswoman. Few images are as classically Myanmar as the sight of yellow-faced men and women going about their daily routines.

As all Myanmar (and well-prepared tourists) know, thanakha paste is made by grinding the bark of a thanakha tree against a whetstone and adding a splash of water. In addition to its cosmetic use, thanakha is claimed to offer sun protection, tighten pores, cool the skin and prevent acne.

Thanakha use is believed to date back as far as the 11th century. Khin Win Kyi, owner of Khin Win Kyi Thanakha Shop, explained that the paste has an ancient, documented place in Myanmar history.

“Thanakha has been used since the times of the Asian kings and queens. It is mentioned in songs and poems written long, long ago,” she said.

This is the stuff of National Geographic photos and Lonely Planet Guides, and one might expect young Myanmar women to forgo thanakha street vendors and head for the nearest L’Oreal counter. Yet thanakha remains extremely popular even among the young urban crowd.

One reason may be that thanakha has evolved into a mini industry within Myanmar and is packaged and sold like any modern cosmetic. Khin Win Kyi’s shop, for instance, sells exclusively prepackaged thanakha and offers a dizzying array of forms and scents. Bad acne? Try medicated thanakha with spirulina. Dull skin? Gold-laced thanakha adds shimmer.

The many powders, liquids, creams and lotions available also come in a variety of flowery scents, such as jasmine and rose.

Nevertheless, even many modern women prefer to grind their own thanakha the old-fashioned way. Ma Ni Ni Win, a salesperson at Pierre Cardin cosmetics, makes a living selling prepackaged beauty. Yet when she sees a jar of pre-made thanakha, she balks.

“This is not real!” she says firmly. “For real thanakha, you need water and a stone.” Such simplicity – a splash of water, a rock, the bark of a tree – has made thanakha accessible and ubiquitous. Yet does it really live up to its reputation as a sun block?

According to Dr Kan Thein, a plastic surgeon at Yangon Medical Centre, there are no definitive scientific studies regarding thanakha’s ability to keep UV rays from penetrating the skin.

“But in my limited experience, the incidence of skin cancer in Myanmar is very rare, especially in the female sex,” he said.

“This is an agricultural country where a significant portion of the labour force is female and is exposed to the elements all day. For these women, even if thanakha offers no chemical effect, it at least forms a physical barrier from the sun,” said Dr Kan Thein.

Though it is not known whether there is any correlation between healthy skin and daily thanakha use, devotees remain convinced of its effects and particular about the quality of the plant.

According to vendor Daw Hla Kywe, the regions most famous for thanakha are Shinmadaung and Shwe Bo. Here the powder is finest and the fragrance strongest.

“The best thanakha is pure, made simply from the bark. Prepackaged thanakha contains wood pulp and roots, and this is not as good for the skin.” she said. So will Shinmadaung thanakha soon fill Western cosmetic counters, promising youthful skin and invisible pores?

“The nature of thanakha is in its cooling effect, so it is suitable for our weather. Thanakha is for Myanmar,” said Khin Win Kyi.

– Khin Nyein Aye Than and Sandar Linn assisted with this article.

** Myanmar.gov.mm/myanmartimes/no193/MyanmarTimes10-193/style07.htm

Organic Thanakha for Skin Issues

I have not launched my Organic Thanakha online store just to jump in the bandwagon of having an online store. After having benefited from Thanakha myself right from the first use in 2005, I have become a believer. Milia came off without injection, even those of my then newly sprouting genetic facial warts. 

You might want to look into the Organic Thanakha products sold over at Kikay Corner's Online Store. Search  the word "thankha" over the internet and you will find out for yourself its wonders. It is not surpring why people in Myanmar and Sri Lanka have the loveliest complexions.

Kikay Corner for Practical Beauty Tips

One of my sites that are currently undergoing major makeovers is KikayCorner.net. Kikay Corner is an online magazine that showcases product reviews, make up and fashion tips. Just about everything kikay, girly, pink and sassy.

Ever since this beauty and fashion blog was born in late 2007, I have always thought of sharing tips about my own journey to finding beauty products that work.  As a practical person, my inclination has always been towards the natural and as you would notice, most recommendations from my beauty blog, Kikay Corner would be more of the all natural ones.  

Kikay Corner recently launched its online store.  Its current focus as of this time is Organic Thanakha. Please visit Kikay Corner's online store for more details on the benefits of this wonder organic beauty product that comes from no less than thirty give year old tree bark.  The thirty year old marks its potency.