Ethnopharmacological relevance: The stem bark powder of Hesperethusa crenulata or Thanakahasbeen used on the face by Myanmar women for more than a thousand years as a skin care regiment. Aim of the study: The aimofthecurrentstudywastobothverifythesafetyandevaluatesomebiological activities of the Thanaka bark. Materials and methods: Maceration of the Thanaka bark powder resulted in hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate,methanol,85%ethanolandwaterextracts.Forthesafetyevaluation,cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of each extract were tested. Antibacterial, tyrosinaseinhibition, antioxidantandanti- inflammatory activities were evaluated for each extract. Results and conclusions: Extracts from Thanaka bark showedstronganti-inflammatory, significantantiox- idation, mildtyrosinaseinhibitionandslightantibacterialactivities.Allextractsandtheoriginalbark powder showednodetectablegenotoxicitywhileverylowcytotoxicitywithIC50 value of more than 12 mg/mlwasdetectedinthewaterextract.Thus,theuseoftheThanakabarkintheformofawatery paste as a skin care regiment is not only safe but also beneficial to skin