In the arid southwestern part of Madagascar, women are constantly under the sun, whether in the field or in their village. Therefore it is not unusual to meet women with unusual red, yelloe or white mixture on their faces. This unusual face mask protects their skin from the strong sun, and also serves as a beautifying agent.

Masonjoany, the most natural sunscreen, Madagascar

It is a small western common tree of Madagascar (Diego Suarez, Nosy Be, Mahajanga and Tulear). The preparation of this mask is very simple, rub a small piece of sandalwood against a flat stone, slowly adding a few drops of water at a time to form a paste. This paste is applied on the face. Other ingredients can be added to the paste for color and texture, so the choices could be endless!

Aside from the protection it gives against the sun’s rays, Masonjoany also allows women to remove stains from skin diseases. It also relaxes muscles, softens the skin, reducts wrinkles, such are the other virtues of the famous Masonjoany.

Tabàky also is another kind of wood that is used as mask beauty.

Tabàky is made from the sapwood of masonjoany and fihamy (also called aviavy). The procedure is very simple: the woman takes a piece of birch and scrapes it against a flat stone, and occasionally adds a few drops of water until she gets a fine mixture. Then he can dip a wooden or plastic stick with a rounded or pointed tip into the mixture and draw some decoration on his face.

Some women apply tabàky to all parts of the face, except for the area around the eyes. Others prefer to apply it only on the forehead, cheeks or chin. Tabàky can be used to cover up imperfections on the face or prevent excessive oiliness of the skin, and it can also be used for beautification. Sometimes other ingredients are added to it, so you can get the most diverse combinations of shapes, colors and textures.