India - a world force in hairdressing

While India has its own unique culture, hairdressing trends are very much influenced by the UK and other international markets. Dar Barot has experience of both the UK and Indian hairdressing markets having worked in the UK since the age of 16, training with Vidal Sassoon and then building up a huge and loyal clientele drawn by his ultra-glamorous approach to hairdressing. At the beginning of the year, he and a business partner based in India opened Hair by Dar Academy and two salons, one in the Kempinski Ambience five-star hotel in Delhi, the other in the upmarket Blue Lagoon hotel in Orissa Bhubaneswar. He now splits his time between the UK and India, teaching at the academy and cutting the hair of some of Bollywood’s biggest stars and socialites. High scoiety Says Dar: “My clients are high-society women and men so they follow fashionable and styling Western trends. For this reason they chose me for western styling. I keep in mind the look and also take into account how to create the right look for the sari or shalwar kameez they are wearing and other traditional clothes.” In terms of hair trends, Dar believes Indian women have unique demands to the rest of the world. “The needs and traditional trends in India are and always will be slightly different from the UK. Indian women love to keep their hair long. At the same time they like to look trendy and modern. In addition, they require certain traditional wedding and evening styles. I do these by adding my creative flair, with modern twist and an eastern touch. An average hairdresser would not know how to do the traditional wedding styles for certain Indian festivals.”   World-wide trends While Indian women have certain unique hair demands, Jawed Habib, owner of several major salon groups in the country including HairXpreso and Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty, believes their hairdressers are still majorly influenced by trends worldwide. “In India, we very much follow international hair trends and this tends to be the case across all regions,” he says. “Thanks to international product brands, such as my own supplier Wella, and hair publications – both of which have a strong base in India – we are very aware of global hair fashions. I would say that the main difference is that UK trends tend to be elegant and more understated, whereas in India things are more funky and colourful.” Jawed believes the UK could learn something from India in terms of creativity. “Indian hairdressing is very creative. It goes beyond what can be taught. The best hairdressers are those who have imagination; who can take what they have learned and elevate this to a more creative level.” TOP trends in India • Keratin treatments remain a popular choice across the country. • Hair extensions are also huge, with women demanding fuller more glamorous styles. • Colour is big business in India, with many women visiting salons as often as once a week for top-up services. • Permanent blow-waving and thermal-shine treatments remain popular services. • There’s a greater emphasis on the scalp in India, as a healthy scalp means healthy hair; hence the popularity of Indian head massages. Oil treatments are part of the Indian tradition of nourishing the scalp with natural oils from a very young age.