Kamama Skin Care was founded in 2010 by Holly Kirk as part of a vision to provide a natural and organic based line of skin care products to Oklahoma. Utilizing a holistic approach to skin management, Kamama directly draws upon the principles and practices of Ayurveda in developing and making all of its products. In the very beginning, products were mixed, blended, and bottled in Holly’s kitchen. F
riends and family served as product testers as Holly practiced perfecting her skill at conceptualizing, developing, and then finally assembling various skin care blends. Based on the enormous and overwhelming positive response given by everyone who tested the products, Holly decided to offer these products locally. The Canebrake Resort & Spa was the first to pick up Kamama's Optimal Radiance line for use in their spa as well as for purchase within their boutique. The Canebrake and customers alike took notice of both the uniqueness of the products as well as how well a completely natural skin product worked. In 2012, Cady Pryse, a similarly skin care obsessed massage therapist who worked with Holly at The Canebrake, joined Kamama Skin Care. Cady saw in Kamama its greater potential as a product line to be experienced and of benefit to everyone. As an initial realization of this potential, Cady brought the Kamama Body Care Line of products into Whole Foods local program. Currently these products can now be purchased in three Oklahoma Whole Foods locations. Ayurveda comes from Southern India and is considered to be the oldest form of medicine. Ayurveda believes that every person is composed of all five elements – Air, Ether, Fire, Water & Earth. Each person has a unique combination of these elements, similar to a person’s DNA, which as identified as their Dosha. The five elements are grouped into three doshic categories; Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Knowing one’s dominant dosha as well as their unique combination of all three doshas assist a person in knowing how to properly care themselves. Ayurveda’s foremost principle concerning skin care is that the skin is our largest organ and that the skin itself eats. Anything that a person rubs onto the skin, the skin digests it. In Ayurveda, it is very important to only use natural and organic substances on the skin. Kamama has taken this philosophy to heart and only uses natural ingredients without the use of added parabens, synthetic fragrance or other harsh chemicals that have unknown side effects. Kamama is the Cherokee word for butterfly & elephant. Historically, the Cherokees had never seen an elephant – the first Cherokees to see an elephant called the massive animal “Kamama” because the ears resembled the wings of a butterfly. We chose to use Kamama for its dual meaning. A caterpillar undergoes a transformation to become a beautiful butterfly; we hope you see a transformation in your skin with our products. The association with an elephant for Kamama extends beyond its Cherokee idea to that of the Hindu God Ganesha. Depicted with the head of an elephant on a human body, Ganesha is known as the “remover of obstacles” as well as the “lord of letters and learning.” In meaning as well as in appearance, Ganesha represents the bridged origin of Kamama from its Ayurvedic and Cherokee roots.