'It’s a joy to interact with young consumers,' says herbal beauty pioneer Shahnaz Husain

For over five decades, Shahnaz Husain has stood as one of India’s most influential global ambassadors, long before the world discovered ‘clean beauty’, ‘sustainability’, and plant-based skincare.

Her commitment to Ayurveda, nurtured over 50 years, helped cement India’s position as the birthplace of holistic wellness, upending global perspectives on beauty. At a time when the beauty world was driven by chemical formulations and aggressive advertising, Husain built an empire without celebrity endorsements, mass marketing, and modern branding techniques, relying solely on ancient herbal wisdom, personalised care, and an unshakeable belief in nature’s therapeutic power.

Her journey began when she learned that a classmate’s mother had lost her eyesight due to a chemical eyeliner. That incident became the catalyst for her mission to create safe, plant-powered beauty solutions. In 1971, she opened a small herbal salon in the back veranda of her home in New Delhi, an idea considered far ahead of its time.

Over the next 50 years, the small setup grew into a global enterprise across more than 100 countries and was recognised by institutions including Oxford, MIT, Harvard, the British Parliament, Selfridges, and Galleries Lafayette. Husain also became the first woman in 104 years to win Success Magazine’s World’s Greatest Woman Entrepreneur Award in 1996.

Today, Shahnaz Husain’s 50-year legacy is more than a business story, it is a symbol of women’s entrepreneurship, Indian innovation, and the global shift towards sustainability, organic ingredients, and holistic health.

But Husain, being the person she is, will not rest on laurels, and is keen to conquer more frontiers. These include inclusion of AI and technology in the beauty sector and incorporating new ideas that align with her core belief in Ayurveda.

Her idea is to offer “something new” to the young generation, who, she says, are aware of natural solutions and holistic lifestyles. “They have clean beauty goals and hence are interested in my products,” she says.

In an interview with HerStory, she details her path-breaking journey, shifting customer expectations, her plans for the future, and what true beauty is.

Edited excerpts:

HerStory (HS): Completing 50 years in the beauty industry is a remarkable milestone. How does it feel to have built a brand that’s become synonymous with herbal skincare in India?

Shahnaz Husain (SH): I always feel I have another mountain to climb and another frontier to cross. It is a continuous process wherein I keep moving forward and do my best. I am my own competition and I always try doing better than myself. At this stage, there are more frontiers to conquer in terms of inclusion of technology in the beauty sector and incorporating new ideas in line with my core belief in Ayurveda, offering something new to the new generation.

HS: What were the biggest challenges of being one of the first women entrepreneurs in India’s beauty sector in the 1970s?

SH: Being a woman entrepreneur at a time when women were not expected to be more than housewives, and not provided with the opportunity to be independent was a challenge.

I am blessed to have come from a family where my father Chief Justice Nasirullah Beg encouraged me to make something of myself, to be a person of substance and shine my light. I was influenced by his ideology of education and career for women so that they are independent. This gives me immense courage at times when I face any challenge in my life.

While starting out, my products were based on Ayurveda, and it was difficult to change the mindsets of people who were not aware of the detrimental effects of chemicals on their body. However, my determination and passion to pioneer Ayurveda worked.

HS: What has kept the Shahnaz Husain brand relevant and trusted for five decades?

SH: I established my brand with a core belief system of providing what the consumer needs and addressing their skin concerns. I keep re-inventing my products, provide individualistic solutions to customers’ concerns. I address them at the root cause making it relevant to the present-day demands of consumers who are looking for something that is organic, natural, and with proven results.

HS: Which of your products remain best-sellers even today, and why do you think they continue to resonate across generations?

SH: The most iconic products that rule the hearts of people are Shalife Premium and Shaeyes Kajal.

Shalife is a highly powerful skin rejuvenating and rehydrating formula based on Ayurveda, enriched with sandalwood, date, almond oil, olive oil, jasmine, wheat germ and a lot of other botanical extracts known to nourish the skin and restore its natural beauty.

Shaeyes is naturally formulated kohl for the eyes that contains triphala, arandi tel (castor oil) and badam tel (almond oil), all known to enrich and restore natural beauty of the eyes and eyelashes. These are potent herbs that are known to enhance and promote thick eyelashes with regular use.

HS: How do you approach product innovation, especially in an era of influencer-driven trends and instant results?

SH: Product innovation—with solutions to individual concerns is always at the helm of my formulations. The influencer-driven market is more about selling beauty products that highly differ in formulation compared to my products that offer organic, herbal, and Ayurveda-driven solutions. Also, my brand has a proven track record of five decades, and is internationally acclaimed for its efficacy to restore natural hair and skin health.

HS: You have built deep trust among Indian women for decades. How do you collect and respond to customer feedback today?

SH: I connect with them through various media, and social media has made this easier compared to the times when a face-to-face meeting was required to address concerns. It’s a joy to interact with the younger generation who are so aware and go beyond beauty on the surface and are looking for natural solutions.

HS: How do you see consumer expectations shifting—from beauty as appearance to beauty as wellness and self-care?

SH: More than expectations, let’s call it awareness of cleaner beauty initiatives. Self-care now is more about achieving healthy skin, rather than slathering make-up or beautifying the surface, and choosing products that support skin and hair health, and are good for their body too.

It is a well-known fact that whatever you put on your skin is absorbed and interacts with the biology of your body and should be clean and in harmony with nature. This concept of clean beauty is well understood and is now a holistic movement that I started a long time ago.

HS: Have you adapted your products or communication based on feedback from Gen Z or millennial users?

SH: It is the other way around in fact. Empowered with knowledge, reading labels, and with awareness-driven choices, Gen Z opting for clean beauty and holistic lifestyle are choosing my products and brands as compared to those who claim to be on par with me.

Millennials are a part of my loyal customers who have been using my brand for a long time, all due to word-of-mouth and recommendations from their elders who began using my products decades ago and are still using them. The beauty of this generational transfer of Ayurveda products from older generation to millennials to Gen Z is all based on my core system and values that are instilled in pure formulations that heal from within.

HS: Indian beauty is having a global moment, from Ayurveda to natural ingredients. Do you feel India is reclaiming its heritage?

SH: India is the land of Ayurveda and herbs; we are in fact more equipped than the West to provide natural ingredients and solutions based on the ancient principles. The West is now waking up to the concept.

HS: What’s one skincare ritual or belief you have followed all your life?

SH: My core belief and understanding is that skin has a tremendous capacity for self-regeneration if properly cared for and it's never too late to start.

Keeping this in mind, one should always follow the basic routine of CTMP or cleanse, tone, moisturise, and protect. Never ignore your skin requirements and always keep in mind that only a healthy body reflects on how healthy your skin looks. Additionally, always remember to remove your makeup, cleanse your skin, scrub, and follow by a serum at night.

HS: What are your priorities for the next few years—new products, expansion, digital transformation, or education?

SH: It is always innovation that’s driven by AI amalgamation with product formulation that can provide tailor-made solutions to numerous concerns and formulate products that match these concerns by eliminating the root cause of the issues.

HS: How do you personally define beauty in 2025—beyond appearance or glamour?

SH: I have said it time and again; beauty is the total impact of physical beauty, brain power, and spiritual power. If a woman carries herself with confidence, driven with passion and a mission to achieve her dreams, she is the most beautiful woman you will ever encounter in your life. It all goes beyond surface attractiveness, there has to be some substance in a woman.

The one who appears truly beautiful is someone who has dedicated their life to a cause, to become self-sufficient and face challenges, emerging as a winner in every situation, which is what true beauty is all about.