Kemara’s healing powers

By Rashika Fazali

Walk into Kemara and your senses will explode from the different smells Kemara hits you with. I recently had a chat with Kemara CEO and Founder Kishani Gunawardena to ask about her brand Kemara and how different it is in comparison to other similar brands in Sri Lanka.

She is an accountant by profession who later moved into the marketing field as the Head of Marketing at Commercial Leasing, but today she is in a total different field – aromatherapy.

Gunawardena first found aromatherapy interesting when she went to UK in 1994 to see her aunt who happened to be a nurse, and since that day she was hooked. She underwent extensive training at Shirley Price Aromatherapy College in the UK in order to learn more about aromatherapy.

Kemara, founded in 2009, happened to be inspired by morning walks Gunawardena used to take. “Nature is relaxing, so one day I thought to myself, ‘If I could only capture nature in a bottle that would be great.’” explained Gunawardena. She added, “It inspired me to manufacture something natural.”

 Kemara which means ‘healing’ in Sanskrit is a company that specialises in alternative and complimentary therapies where their products are used for more medicinal purposes than beauty. Kemara consists of a spa and a boutique that manufactures and distributes a 100 per cent natural health and beauty product line. Gunawardena also manages an academy of alternative therapies.

What exactly is alternative therapy? “If you have a common cold, you can use an alternative for antibiotics. That option is alternative therapy,” explained Gunawardena. “But if you look at complementary therapy, it works side by side – the medicine complements it basically.”

The Kemara line is a total solution product range which is used to solve day-to-day problems, common ailments like colds, backaches, headaches and can also be used to lessen the labour pains, to induce sleep naturally and to relax the mind and body. “For example, some oils like ylang-ylang, sandalwood and lavender sedate the body, while some oils like tea tree kill bacteria and fungus,” said Gunawardena.

Kemara has around 180 products in six categories – face, body, hair, wellness, pregnancy and kids. However, the Kemara products are for all. “We don’t limit it to age or gender. We have an extensive therapeutic range of products for children to elders. We don’t just put a smell into our products. We make sure our clients use them for therapeutic purposes,” said Gunawardena.

An example of this is their moisturising vitamin cream which is used for maintaining soft healthy skin, but it has what Gundawardena calls ‘bonus effects’ that help other problems. The chamomile used in this product has a profound calming effect on a mental and emotional level while the use of lavender eases stress. She mentioned that it has many effects – it’s somewhat of an all-in-one effect.

The products under the Kemara line are carefully manufactured with organic oils, vitamins etc. purchased from around the world. They also use the oils from the more commonly used spices in Sri Lanka like cinnamon, lemongrass and black pepper.

Recently, Gunawardena created a new range called ‘aromatic green homes’ used in for homes which is very eco-friendly and biodegradable. Other than the range of products they have, Gunawardena stated that if a client requests a product to suits their needs, they in fact create it for the client.

Anyone would wonder if ayurveda and aromatherapy is the same. “Although ayurveda comes under alternative therapy, ayurveda uses the whole plant, while aromatherapy uses the hormones of the plant,” asserted Gunawardena.

When I asked Gunawardena what she intends to do with the brand Kemara, she said: “I want to create awareness on what exactly specific products can be used for. Skin is the largest organ in the body. If someone gives you something hazardous to eat, you are going to think twice about eating it, but if someone gives you something to apply on the skin, everyone will use it without thinking if it’s good for their skin.”