Is Thanaka powder safe ?

Question and Answer About a Thanaka Order

 
Hello,
Thank you for the parcel, I received the Thanaka Powder - please can you confirm if this is pure powder? The colour is different to powder I purchased from another shop. Your one is more yellow and the other one was more red/brown in colour.
 I ask you to please be honest as I will be using it on the skin of my young baby who has very sensitive skin and I don't want to cause any harm to her.
 If it has been mixed with other things that is not a problem, but I will need to know what it is so I can be sure it is safe for my baby.
 I hope to hear from you soon.
 Many thanks,

Hello,

Young Limonia acidissima at Aleyagarden

Thank you for your message. We cultivate plants that we sell to some herbalists for their products, in return we get at good prices some products that they sell.  If we google " thanaka " we get two sorts of pictures : a light yellow powder and a darker, almost brownish one. it seems that you are referring to this second sort of powder. As you notice our thanaka is light yellow : it is the true product called Thanaka and traditionally used in Burma; it comes from ground logs of the tree Limonia acidissima which is grown in South East Asia.
You may wish alternatively to buy from aleyagarden the logs and grind them into powder.

The traditional grinding process uses a circular stone slab called kyauk pyin which has a channel round the rim for the water to drain into.

kyauk pyin

However an other species, Murraya paniculata, is reported to be used nowadays to make a powder of the  name Thanaka, so the texture and colors can be different. Also Curcuma can be added beneficially.


Thanaka powder and logs of Limonia acidissima, both sold by Aleyagarden

 

There are no additives of any sort in the making of Thanaka powder that we sell for at least two reasons : they would only add cost for nothing and pesticides or anti mites would be counter productive chemicals in closed bag of this kind of product, causing it do decay faster. Please notice that we have added for sale in our shop the logs of the wood for direct grinding by the consumers so anyone can be satisfied.

A press article has warned of lead found in some Thanaka bags, hypothesizing that the lead made tools to make the powder could be the cause of the contamination. But we don't see what tools made in lead, a very soft metal, could these be as the very fine Thanaka powder is obtained with a more sophisticated tool, the stone grinder in picture above. Lead contamination would probably result from the long storing of paste in lead containers. It is always best to do small batches of water and powder mixes and avoid storing. Thank you again for you message. www.kctv5.com/story/24081950/imported-makeup-gives-2-local-children-lead

Herbs, Hoya and other plant collections are for sale on aleyagarden.com Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com

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