Coconut oil in your hair, turmeric on your face: Ayurveda isn’t just medicine or food – thanks to the Indian beauty market, make-up and skincare are Ayurvedic too

One of the first home-grown Ayurveda beauty brands to make a name for itself was Lotus Herbals, which has a sun protection range based on Ayurvedic principles
Kama Ayurveda, launched in 2002, offers pure, holistic treatments for skin, hair, body and wellness. Millennials are increasingly open to trying their products

Beauty

Kalpana Sunder

Published: 8:15am, 30 Sep 2020

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In Ayurveda – the 5,000-year-old traditional Indian health science – beauty aids often come from the kitchen or the garden. For a long time, Indian women created their own cosmetic remedies, ranging from besan (flour made from ground chickpeas) and yogurt face packs to coconut oil for the hair.

Even now, many of the products made by home-grown beauty companies on the Indian market use traditional ingredients like saffron, aloe vera, neem, tulsi, vetiver and turmeric.

“Shringar [make-up] was a basic in every Indian home. Beauty remedies (of both the upkeep and cosmetic kind) have been in vogue for centuries. All remedies have been home-made and natural for years,” says Harish Bijoor, a brand strategy specialist.

The Indian beauty market has experienced rapid growth in recent years. In 2017, it was valued at US$6.5 billion and it is expected to exceed US$20 billion by 2025, according to industry body Assocham. The market for Ayurvedic products is estimated to reach US$8 billion by 2022.

Make-up from Lotus Herbals, which exports its products to more than 16 countries around the world.

Kama Ayurveda offers pure, holistic treatments for skin, hair, body and wellness.

One of the chief reasons for this is India’s young demographic – 34 per cent of the population is made up of millennials, who are willing to experiment and try out trends. “Another driver is the large number of working women with disposable income, and the internet and social media [that’s] spurring an age of awareness and desire to look good and use cosmetics,” says Bijoor.

Many international brands in the Indian market find it hard to compete with local brands. Most of the foreign brands that sell in India, such as skin and haircare products retailer The Body Shop, have to adapt their products to local beauty standards, which includes using ingredients like Himalayan clay, saffron and tuberose.

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“Bollywood has always had a huge influence on Indian women and perceptions of beauty,” Karen Alfonso, beauty editor of iDiva (an entertainment and fashion site for Indian women), says. Lakmé, which sells colour cosmetics and skincare products, is considered the first home-grown success. Established by the industrial powerhouse Tata in 1952 and now owned by British-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever, Lakmé remains a favourite among older Indian women. In recent years, it has also launched a premium range of cosmetics and uses celebrities in its advertising to appeal to a younger market.

In the 1990s, the market for Ayurveda products was fairly weak and multinational brands such as Revlon, Garnier and L’Oreal were sought after in India. It was during the early 2000s that interest in Ayurveda re-emerged, driven by companies like Kama Ayurveda and Forest Essentials.

One of the first home-grown Ayurveda beauty brands to make a name for itself was Lotus Herbals, which was founded by the late Kamal Passi in 1993 and brought to market the first sun protection range and the first anti-ageing skincare range based on Ayurvedic principles. Today, it has more than 400 products, all of which are natural, cruelty free and 100 per cent vegetarian. It exports its products to more than 16 countries around the world.

Lotus Herbals has a sun protection range based on Ayurvedic principles.

“The Indian beauty industry has a vast untapped potential, given our legacy of Ayurveda and wellness practises. We are moving towards an era where holistic beauty, people over profit, conscious and clean beauty, as well as ethical marketing strategies will emerge as winners,” says Nitin Passi, joint managing director of Lotus Herbals.

Vivek Sahni, co-founder and CEO of Kama Ayurveda, clearly thought the same, and launched his brand in 2002. Today, Kama Ayurveda has 56 stand-alone stores in India and a strong e-commerce presence. It offers pure, holistic treatments for skin, hair, body and wellness. All its ingredients are locally sourced, and its products are EU-certified and cruelty free.

One of the greatest home-grown successes is online beauty and wellness retailer Nykaa. Started by investment banker Falguni Nayar in 2012, Nykaa’s range includes more than 1,500 international and Indian brands. Its sales strategy uses digital advertising, but the company is also slowly opening offline stores across India.

“While bricks-and-mortar stores are still preferred for providing a personal shopping experience, the access to smartphones and online retailers has caused a surge in online shopping,” says Eva Pavitran, a former associate editor of Femina, India's oldest and most trusted women’s magazine.

Shifa Merchant, a beauty blogger, is one of many Indian influencers helping women discover different brands in India and abroad.

Kama Ayurveda has 56 stand-alone stores in India and a strong e-commerce presence.

It’s not just companies that are contributing to the rising interest in Ayurveda – beauty influencers are helping women discover different brands in India and abroad, too. Shifa Merchant, a beauty blogger with over 300,000 followers on Instagram, says she works “only with beauty brands that are inclusive and responsible” and loves “home-grown brands with inspiring stories”.

The Indian beauty industry is not immune to changes in global trends. After the recent backlash against racism and skin-whitening products that are popular in the country, many new companies are now focusing on diversity and inclusivity. While Lakmé offers only six shades of foundation, Nykaa now offers as many as 16 shades to suit all kinds of skin tone.

Korean beauty products, too, are making their presence felt in India. The appeal of K-beauty, which often uses ingredients such as green tea and volcanic clay, to Indian consumers lies in its high-quality products that tend to be sold at affordable prices.

One of the most dynamic sectors in India in recent years has been men’s grooming, which has seen an annual growth rate of about 45 per cent and the creation of start-ups such as the Bombay Shaving Company and Happily Unmarried.

Sugar Cosmetics has products for lips, eyes, nails and skin and is loved by Indian millennials.

New Delhi-based Forest Essentials has been shipping its cosmetics to more than 120 countries, and is now considered one of India’s top names in luxury skincare. Founder Mira Kulkarni established the company in 2000 with a few handmade soaps that were initially given to friends and relatives. Today, it has an expensive range of creams and lotions made from natural ingredients, including roses from Kannauj and sandalwood from Mysuru.

A cult brand among Indian millennials is Sugar Cosmetics, which was started by Vineeta Singh at the age of 23 in 2015. Singh, who runs the company with her husband, focuses on Indian skin tones and has products for lips, eyes, nails and skin for all sorts of weather. The company is best known for its range of lipsticks with names such as “Matte as Hell” and “Seal the Show”. It started as an online brand but now has stores across India and exports to the US and Russia.

Singh says that thanks to the internet, “there is a massive audience in small towns waiting to consume new beauty brands”.

Vivek Sahni, co-founder and CEO of Kama Ayurveda, launched his brand in 2002

A range of lipsticks from Sugar Cosmetics.

Every month sees the creation of companies, some of which are looking beyond Ayurveda and deriving inspiration from around the world. Juicy Chemistry, run by Megha Asher and her husband, scouts all over the world for its organic ingredients, from rose water and olive oil from Spain, to matcha (green tea) from Japan.

“2020 has changed the world, and its impact will be seen in beauty too. I believe adaptation and innovation here is the key to sustenance and growth,” says Lotus Herbals’ Passi.

Former Femina editor Pavitran says: “This global pandemic has forced most of us to pause and rethink some of our living choices. Customers’ focus is shifting towards responsible consumption, ethical and eco-conscious living. The brands will have to keep up and do better.”

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