I have to start off by saying, in all honesty, there wasn't a whole lot of intention with starting Tanaka skin as a brand...it kind of just happened. It was only until I realised what it could offer to the beauty community that I knew it was something worth starting.
I was a first year uni student in the midst of a pandemic, isolating for weeks on end and very very bored. I was playing around with a bunch of ingredients, formulating all kinds of things and then one day I had this realization. In all my time buying cosmetics, I noticed there was one thing that I never saw on the big commercial shelves... Thanaka Powder.
It was something I'd used all my life and I just didn't understand why it wasn't in any skincare products. An all natural, gentle and effective skincare ingredient... what wasn't there to love about it? So I got to work on developing one of the first Thanaka Powder Infused skincare products in the European market... the city cleanse face mask. It has become my mission ever since to globalise Thanaka Powder in the skincare industry. Thus the birth of Tanaka Skin...
I first came to discover Thanaka Powder as a child when I ventured out to Burma with my family. I learnt about the other side of my heritage that was so different to what I was used to growing up in rural England. As a child, Burma was a wonderous world full of huge gold monuments that blinded you when the sun shone high, gorgeous pink and orange skies above the bustle of hectic traffic and bare foot men with chains of flowers around their necks. That sweet smell of jasmine that wavered in the air when they walked past still lingers in my memories today. And all around me women, children and men covered their faces with a strange yellow paste. This is my first encounter with Thanaka Powder and it has been a part of my life ever since.
You may see Thanaka Powder as this unique and unheard-of ingredient, but to me, Thanaka Powder is nostalgia. It’s happy memories, it’s the familiar floral undertones of the scents I found on my Asian travels, the times when my mum would get me ready in the bathroom and put flowers in my hair and dress me up in pretty clothes, the times when I explore a different side to me. Whenever there was Thanaka Powder in my childhood, there was adventure... new sights, smells and people. Whenever I use Thanaka Powder, I feel more beautiful and more connected to the people and world around me.
And with this mission of globalising Thanaka Powder, I hope to make every single customer experience a connection to what is important and what is truly beautiful in this life.
My roots and unique mix of heritage has enabled me to have an insight into two very different ways of life; something which I am aware of everyday and take pride in. Myanmar is a country filled with undiscovered and untouched land with a beauty that I think is rare to experience in our digital world. It is a beauty which, I fear, will be lost if we do not work to actively maintain and engage with ancient cultures across the globe. Despite the growing rise of interest in skincare and the increased desires for holistic self care methods, I believe we are facing an industry which struggles to appreciate the origins of the natural ingredients found in our skincare. The industry educates us on the benefits of what we put on our face, but where do these ingredients come from? What stories do they tell? Who’s stories are they? I hope, through my multiple ventures associated with this brand, I can educate consumers on the origins of their well loved products and open up the conversation more on the beauty practices of people across the globe.
Thanaka Powder reminds me to express more of my real self, no matter how difficult that can be sometimes. All though you may not feel the same about Thanaka Powder, I am sure you can relate to the feeling struggling to be your self in a world where the message about what is your identity has become skewed and frankly, has never been more confusing.
So here are my goals for Tanaka Skin which I believe will remain throughout our brands lifespan:
To create innovative Thanaka Powder Infused skincare products that will receive global recognition
To provide awareness to dying beauty cultures
To provide positive change to the lives of the most vulnerable Burmese people
To make our customers feel more connected to their true natural selves and the world around them
Thank You for your support no matter how small. I shall leave you with these words. Perhaps you shall see them again at some point...
Be like a tree.
Stay grounded.
Connected to your roots.
Turn over a new leaf.
Bend before you break.
Enjoy your natural beauty.
Keep growing.
Lots of Love,
Em x
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