Paint Me Green

Over the last five years, the luxury beauty segment has witnessed a resurgence of natural, Ayurvedic treatments, leveraging the growth of the country’s skincare market

- Pranjali Bhonde

As a child, Rajni Ohri spent many holidays in Rishikesh with her family, learning about pishtis (fine powder of medicine), bhasms (powdered gem or metal obtained by calcination), hair oils, butter and salves from her guru’s vedshala (a school of Ayurveda). These were made with herbs collected from the mountains, early in the morning, while dewdrops still shimmered on the greens. Since Rajni has created her cosmetics. Her first was a cream made with beeswax, rose water and almond oil when she was 12.

In May last year, she decided to launch her Ayurvedic beauty brand Ohria Ayurveda after two years of researching different herbs and treatments and setting up a manufacturing unit in Delhi. The line includes hair oils, clay masque, gels and body butter for all ages, priced from 500 to 3,000.

Ohria Ayurveda is one of the recent entrants in the nature-based skincare industry, which has seen several brands emerge over the last five years for an audience that wants all things natural and explores our old beauty traditions. The growing aversion towards synthetic chemicals, sulphates, parabens, and other artificial ingredients has also fueled the demand for natural products. “Over the past decade, the lines between green minded and good-looking have continued to blur, enthusing many green beauty brands, like ours, to make the most of the growing market,” says Ohri.