I absolutely love Thailand and its culture; I’m planning to go there within the next year so when I do, I definitely want to meet real Thai women because to me, they’re gorgeous!

This video from one of my favourite YouTube Beauty Guru’s Michelle Phan inspired me to do this post on Thailand:

With the Intercontinental Beauty posts I’ve been doing, I’ve noticed how widely used turmeric is! If it’s that popular in so many countries then it definitely is worth trying. What I haven’t tried though is the lemongrass steaming thing Michelle talks about in her video. Lemongrass is amazing ladies! It’s cleansing and gets right down into your pores and along with the steam, it’s bound to be amazing.

Another Thai beauty tip Michelle talks about is papaya. I grew up eating papaya’s so they’re nothing new but, what is new is using them to get beautiful. I just limited myself to eating them but now, I definitely will be trying products with papaya’s. Papaya’s are loaded with anti-oxidants which will give your skin a lovely glow it due to its rejuvenating affects. In her video, Michelle gets a slice of the papaya and exfoliates her skin with it. That’ll work but a common Thai tip is to blend it with honey and apply it to your face for 30 minutes. Forget about applying it onto your face, it sounds like something I’d eat! Along with the benefits of honey (more about honey on another post!), this mask is honestly a miracle.

Another lovely little natural product is tamarind oil. I love tamarind, the sour/sweetness of the fruit is perfect. I drink tamarind juice and I add tamarind to my cooking at times (I’ll be posting a tamarind chicken dish recipe soon!) but I never heard of tamarind oil before until I heard about how Thai women use it. You can add it to your bath, massage with it or use it as an allover body moisturiser. It gets rid of scaly skin, helps to lighten problem areas like your knees and elbows and gives your skin a nice sheen.

One thing I looove about these Thai beauty secrets is the Thai massage. It’s about 2,500 years old so if people have been using the technique for that long then you know it’s the business. I must warn you that the Thai massage isn’t for the faint hearted though! You’re pulled and stretched around quite a bit and the masseuse usually uses their knees and elbows but it really does work. I’ve never seen anything quite like a Thai massage, it’s a bit uncomfortable to start with but gradually, it just gets better and leaves you feeling brand new!

Next time, we’ll be hitting Morocco and I’m looking soooo forward to writing about Morocco. Love the country, the culture AND the beauty tips!

Source: The Moptop Maven

I adore how all over the world, women have different ideas of beauty and different ways of enhancing it. We’ve gone to India, so now let’s move on to the beauty secrets of Somalia!

Known for their long, lean and elegant looks, Somali women are beautiful both inside and out. On the outside, they’re exquisite and ladylike yet due to many years of turmoil and civil war, inside, they’re tough, strong and fearless. This country has produced some of the worlds most beautiful models such as Iman, Fatima Said, Yasmin Warsame, Waris Dirie, Ubah Hassan, Cici Ali and Rahma Mohamed so let’s delve into just how these women stay beautiful:

A familiar custom in the Somali household is the uunsi; sugar resin, frankincense and rich oils that burn on top of coal. What’s released is an alluring smoke that hugs onto everything in sight. The Somali woman will sit down and let the smoke envelope her skin and clothing which will give her a deep, sensual scent that lingers for weeks at a time. Most women will do this every week but, on special occasions such as a wedding, Somali women replace the sugar resin something more expensive, luxurious; Sandalwood or Oudh is usually the scent of choice.

Growing up in a Somali household, it’s a common sight to see your mother walking around the house, doing the chores with huruud (turmeric) and qasil mixed with water on her face, and henna sitting in her hair. Huruud is naturally cleansing and is infamous for the glow that it gives Somali women whilst mixing Henna with lemon juice and sesame oil will give you shine as well as a deep colour. Using henna isn’t just limited to the hair however. Somali women sport elaborate designs on their hands and feet on a daily basis. Women will dip their nails, fingertips and the soles of their feet into the henna and will create designs as they along. Each henna design that decorates the skin of Somali women you see is different.

Somalia is abundant in dates so it’s only right that you use what grows naturally. Pureed dates and ghee is scrubbed all over the body with a loofa and will leave the skin glistening. Pour it into your hair and it’ll leave your hair exceptionally hydrated. Leave it on the face for 30 minutes and you’ll notice softer, cleaner skin. Ghee itself works well on the hair as many Somali women pour it, then wash it off after a few hours. Seriously, this is stuff you need to try!

Whilst other women are concerned about aging, Somali women have this thing about them when they get older. They have something which the youngins usually don’t have which is grace, class and sophistication. Top that off with the fact that Somali women not drinking or smoking and blessed genes and you’ll notice that Somali women barely age! Folks in their 70’s can get away with being in their 50’s because their skin is still as smooth as in their youth. Back home in Somalia, everything you eat is exceptionally fresh. The milk you drink was milked from a camel, goat or cow the same day, you pick your own fruit or if not it’s by someone who did so a few hours ago and the meat you eat was slaughtered yesterday. No additives, preservatives or junk around here!

Something that I’ve picked up from most Somali women is the lack of make-up that they wear. They tend to leave the house bare-faced or with just a swipe of lipstick and on a special occasion, face powder, kohl and lipstick is all they need. No mascara, blusher, foundation, primer, lip gloss or a whole make-up kit. That’s it. Their skincare regimes are very, very simple too. Washing the face with a gentle soap such as glycerine soap then moisturising is all that the majority of Somali women I know do and it works well on them! Somali women are big on their saunas and steam rooms too! Drenching their hair with olive or sesame oil, they’ll soak up the heat and indulge their hair at the same time. You’re only as old or young as you feel!

So we’ve gone to India and Somalia to see what their women do to stay gorgeous, next we’ll be looking at Thailand! Please help those suffering from the famine and drought in Somalia and neighboring countries. Islamic Relief is doing tremendous work masha’Allah so please help by donating here. Remember to enter Muslimah Beauty’s Eid 2011 Competition for a chance to win prizes!