Nothing like a bit of slap: Bizarre Thai beauty treatment sees therapist HIT breasts to make them larger
By
Daisy Dumas
Last updated at 8:21 AM on 21st September 2011
A Thai natural health practitioner claims she can boost bra sizes by 'breast-slapping.'
The traditional therapy is said to enlarge the breasts with no surgery whatsoever - just a good deal of kneading, massaging and pummelling of the area.
Khemmikka Na Songkhla learnt the unlikely technique from her grandmother, who intervened after seeing the flat-breasted teenager attempting to boost her assets with creams.
Ouch! Khunying Tobnom has made a career out of the wisdom of breast- and buttock-slapping
No pain, no gain: While the treatment looks painful, the hard breast slapping is said to add inches to the chest
The 44-year-old, better known as Khunying Tobnom, made a career out of the wisdom and has also cornered the Bangkok market on buttock-slapping, to firm the rear, and face-slapping, to tone the visage.
'Ancient people didn't share it much because back then people didn't care about breast size,' she told the Bangkok Post. But now, it seems her skills are much in-demand.
The slapping works, she says, by shifting fat from one area to another, kneading excess fat towards the breasts.
Doubters of the treatment's efficacy may be assuaged by the Thai government's endorsement of Khunying Tobnom's trade.
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According to the Independent, a study by the Thai Health Ministry ministry found vigorous massage left volunteers' breasts measurably bigger. The Ministry even sponsored a programme that saw women learning to slap their own breasts to enhance their size as an alternative to surgery.
Khunying Tobnom says that clients can expect to gain a couple of inches, post-slap.
'If your breasts are 30 inches, for example, we will record that with your signature. After treatment, your breasts will be enlarged to 32 inches. We will record and you have to sign again,' she said to the Thai newspaper.
Thai up top: The 'ancient' therapy is very popular and has even been approved by the Thai Health Ministry, who encourage it as an alternative to surgery
Wha-pow: Face-slapping sees clients endure a volley of facial hits, all in the name of beauty
Miraculous as it sounds, the therapy is sadly not fool-proof.
'Sometimes we have to refuse treatment because some breasts are too small to be enlarged.'
And, while it may be surgery-free, the popular treatment is not without its discomfort factor. Clients say the treatment is painful, but that they can cope.
'Sometimes we have to refuse treatment because some breasts are too small to be enlarged'
'I like it a lot,' says one satisfied customer. 'I came here because I don't want to have plastic surgery. This treatment gives fast results and it's safe for my body.
'After the treatment, I feel a little pain, but I can stand it.' It gives a whole new meaning to the adage 'no pain, no gain.'
Now, as the world's only expert in the ways of ancient body slapping, Khunying Tobnom is sharing her skills with others.
And learning the tricks of the trade doesn't come cheap.
Training courses for body-slapping, breast-slapping and face-slapping come at the eye-watering price of $330,000, $263,000 and $164,000 respectively.
'I believe my wisdom is very valuable. It's a heritage from my grandmother and I'm the only one in the world who can practice this wisdom,' says Khunying Tobnom.
Before and after: One client shows her face before, left, and after four sessions of face-slapping, right
One trainee - who has presumably forked out the requisite hundreds of thousands of dollars - proudly shows off before-and-after pictures of her face to the Bangkok Post.
After four treatments, the woman's face appears slimmer, her cheekbones and chin more pronounced.
'I learned face-slapping because I believe it is a one million per cent natural beauty treatment,' she says.
'When I saw what happened to my face, the face-slapping training course became very interesting to me.'
Happily for the flat-chested, wobbly-bottomed or facially flabby, six 10-minute sessions at the clinic are a far more affordable option at around $380.
Still, Khunying Tobnom remains realistic about the treatment's apparently prodigious potential. 'If you really want to enlarge your breasts, have plastic surgery to get them as big as you want!'
