Located inside lane number five in Koregaon Park, an entire villa has been beautifully converted into Geetanjali Salon. The high-street brand led by celebrity hair designer Sumit Israni has launched its first outlet in the city.
Talking about what they bring to the table, the creative director says, “The USP of the brand is that we personalise international trends for the clients. I know what is happening in the world, I am very much on the field, and we’ve created a team to personalise the latest runway trends for our clientele. We do different hairstyles or colours, which aren’t as wacky as they are on international couture runways, but balance it out to be more wearable and manageable for the client.”
The 30-year-old brand has a total of 109 outlets spread across India with 18 more in the making right now. “We plan to touch a total of 150 salons at the end of the year,” he informs.
Apart from a host of Bollywood celebrities that include Deepika Padukone, Huma Qureshi, Shaid Kapoor and others, Israni has also styled hair for international dignitaries such as Hilary Clinton and Michelle Obama during their visit to India.
Talking about the rapid expansion of the brand, he says, “We have about 40,000 organised salons in India, which are the ones by big brands. There are about a million more unorganised salons (small time). But overall, the salon sector is growing at more than 30 per cent a year. Our brand is growing at 25 per cent per year. All this is because we as people have become very conscious about our looks. It’s not a luxury anymore, everyone visits a salon minimum once a month. The market for men in this space is also growing very fast. Earlier they would just visit a salon for a shave or hair cut, but now they are exposed to global trends and are opting for more services.”
The Beard Spa is a rage among their male customers as it gives the bread a lush density. “They also come in for colouring nowadays to hide their grey hair. They are experimenting a lot with their beards — French beard and long beard and other shapes and styles of grooming. They are also opting for manicure and pedicure for hygienic reasons. Most male customers come in for a face cleaning once a month and a facial because of all the damage pollution and tanning does to their skin. They want healthy skin,” says he.
Moving on to hot hair trends right now, he says that short hair, or the bob, is really in vogue. “People are also looking for colour, though they don’t want to go completely blonde. Without colour you cannot really see the variation in the cut. It also helps accentuate your face. We consult with our clients and find them a colour and style that suits face, personality and lifestyle,” he says, adding, “Pink and other fluorescent colours are in too, youngsters are experimenting with it a lot. But these colours are good to experiment with for a phase to try out a new look — spunk things up a bit. Majority of Indian clients want rich, shining hair with nice soft colours such as mocha and browns with ash tinge, not reddish tinge. These cool browns go very well with the Indian complexion also.”
While colouring the hair has become very common these days, so has hair care for the same. “When you put chemicals on your hair, you have to take measures to care for it too. We use very good quality products, so you can colour your hair without worrying about damage. But no matter how good the products are, you still have to visit a salon and do required treatments to ensure that the colour lasts longer and hair stays healthy,” he says.
The ground floor of the villa is the hair station that includes a styling and cutting section as well as a wash section. The first floor is a Kérastase lounge where clients are offered exclusive routines for hair and scalp, which are different and more intense than regular hair spa treatments. There are three different sections here — massage, styling and wash. A floor higher they have the manicure-pedicure lounge with a huge television and recliners that massage your body as you get your service done. The top floor is the beauty station with four rooms out of which two have attached showers. The rooms come with their own music and light control systems to suit your mood as you indulge in various body spa treatments, facials and other skin services. And in the basement they have a make-up room for bridal services.
Apart from top notch Kérastase products, the brand also procures custom made body polishes from France and offer the use of the small-batch Japanese skin care brand Kanpekiskin, which claims to be best suited for cancer patients.
