African Beauty Essentials Series: Spotlight on a few treasures from Somalia

.Photo: Ugaaso A. Boocow

Continuing our women's beauty research journey around the African continent, we arrive in Somalia. It is located on the easternmost peninsula known as The Horn of Africa: home to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somaliland and Somalia. 

From among the many beautifying preparations Somali women enjoy, let’s single out Uunsi, Qasil and Huruud.

Uunsi is usually frankincense, incense, or a mixture of oil, resin, bark, flowers, burned in a dabqaad or incense burner, to create a deep fragrance. The mix can vary regionally and for the purpose. 

It may be burned to scent the home after cooking, for special occasions, or as a selfcare perfuming practice for women. As a beauty ritual, women are completely enveloped with the smoke of the uunsi, steeped in its long-lasting fragrance.

Qasil is the super-antioxidant, dried and powdered leaves of the regional Gob tree. It is used as a gentle, clarifying cleanser for the skin, especially the face, and hair too. It has antibacterial and antiinflammatory and rejuvenating properties. Qasil is also used as a face mask, often in combination with Huruud (turmeric) to form a detoxifying paste, yielding impressively noticeable results.

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