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Women's Day: How these beauty entrepreneurs brought Indian rituals back
Using herbs, spices and other ingredients, these beauty founders share how they gave traditional Ayurveda a modern appeal
In a growing trend of clean beauty and skincare, we're seeing folks often share on Instagram about ubtan (from the Sanskrit term ‘udvartana’, which means to cleanse the body), champi (head massage) and other rituals and ingredients. It's a huge return to Ayurveda and other traditional regimens that are known to be beneficial. On International Women's Day, we take a look at three women beauty entrepreneurs who are championing this cause..
Translating the nostalgia of being pampered by our aunts and grandmothers to the present-day
Smita Vallurupalli, Co-founder of Old School Rituals, who will shares how her skincare venture gave techniques Ayurveda a luxe touch. She says, "The phrase ‘old school’ embodies and evokes a myriad of emotions. From nostalgia of being pampered by our aunts and grandmothers to the present-day challenge of caring for ourselves despite the pressures of urban life. At Old School, we wanted to find a balance between the past and the present, the mythical and the real, the proven and the experimental. The idea was to do this by trusting time-tested wisdom and using that as our starting point for all our research. All the products have been crafted by hand, with carefully chosen ingredients, approved by the very grandmothers who are the custodians of this knowledge in our families. Driven by their love and a deep, honest desire to share their beauty and wellness secrets with the world, the formulations are healthy, organic, all-natural, and fresh. The apsaras play a very important role in presenting Old School to the world."
How she brought sustainably-sourced Indian ingredients for a holistic beauty solution
Elizabeth Issac, Founder and Managing Director, Gunam Beauty, shares how bringng Indian beauty techniques to the forefront sprung up after her own experiences. Says Elizabeth, "As a teen, I constantly struggled with my acne-prone skin and hoped that it would go away with age. Somehow, traditionally prescribed acne medication never really worked for me and I also suffered from severe side effects to an oral antibiotic and isotretinoin." She realized that a holistic approach was required to get her skin under control as her skin's barrier was compromised as a result of using harsh and drying treatments over the years. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Elizabeth she went back home to Kerala for a few months and there she laid the foundation for her dream.
"Gunam was founded with the idea of bringing together sustainably-sourced Indian ingredients such as neem, vetiver, turmeric, ashwagandha and others such as sea buckthorn, rosehip, frankincense, and black cumin seed oil, with roots in Ayurveda and French formulation expertise. The products are all clinically tested and have several ingredients with roots in Ayurveda in the formulation," she adds.
An important part of the journey to success was ensuring the ingredients are sustainable. She shares examples, "The vetiver we use is cultivated on the shores of the Bay of Bengal in Pondicherry, which rejuvenates the sandy soil found in these coastal areas by helping improve the nitrogen and micronutrient content of the soil. Solar panels are used to pump water for farming, and the use of chemical fertilizers is minimized by using compost made with locally available seaweed."
They also hope to work with large beauty retailers to create programs for end-of-life management of beauty packaging. "Unfortunately, only a tiny fraction of this packaging gets recycled, and as the industry is growing so rapidly in a country like ours, having a widespread recycling program can have a huge impact and reduce the amount of waste going into landfills," she adds.
Oils that deliver the age-old, trusted knowledge of Ayurveda
Falguni Nayar, Founder & CEO-Nykaa believes in Ayurveda in the Indian notion of beauty and wellness. The aim was to deliver efficient solutions in uncomplicated formats that make it possible for wellness to be an everyday choice. The inspiration for Nyveda’s recipes come from ancient ayurvedic texts such as the Bhav Prakash Nigantu to deliver products that strike a harmonious balance between age-old wisdom and beauty rituals. From hair oils packed with potent ayurvedic ingredients such as vetiver root, karanja seeds, jaswandh (hibiscus) flower, curry leaves and harad seeds to a gold-hued body oil with Lakadong Turmeric, shampoos infused with coconut oil, bhringraj and curry leaves and a body scrub crafted with Ayurvedic ingredients and a blend of oils, it's a deep look at how you can have a sensorial Ayurvedic experience.
Back at the launch of Nyveda, Falguni had said, "The strategy is centred around improving lifestyles through thoughtful and well-timed offerings that are customised to the unique needs of Indian consumers. In their effort to choose a holistic approach to beauty, consumers are leaning towards products and rituals that are both efficient and convenient. With this in mind, we created the new range of oils that deliver the age-old, trusted knowledge of Ayurveda in a powerful formulation, for a modern lifestyle.”
