GIRLHOOD, AGENCY AND COMMUNITY MEET AT SOUTH ASIAN BEAUTY SALONS
For Hypebae (Hypebeast), we photographed and explored the power of beauty spaces that instil habits of self-care, foster intergenerational exchange and provide economic opportunities for women.
For Seema Kumari, her salon enabled her to support her family and bring them to Delhi. Originally from a small village in Bihar, Kumari started learning the art of beautification at 16 years old. Daily for 11 years, she perfected her craft, saved money and opened her salon.
She remembers every small detail about her clients– how they like their eyebrows arched, upper lips smooth, nails shaped and hair dyed.
In Gurgaon’s Palam Vihar, Kumari rents a room where she both lives and hosts clients. “If all goes well, in 2025, I’m going to buy a house for my family,” she says.
For her and her coworkers, the salon is an economic lifeline and a hub for friendship and community.
Sharing space with the salon's diverse clientele gives girls an intimate portrait of womanhood. Here, aunties freely talk about their bodies, ageing and beauty regimes that help girls understand and even love their bodies.
Salons also transcend into therapeutic resources, providing judgement-free zones for women to aid and empower one another.
Shubham, the owner of Shubham Beauty Parlour in Rani Bagh, Delhi shares: “My favourite part of my job is when my clients and I share our lives and woes with each other."
"As I pamper them, we talk through our problems to try and resolve them. It brings me so much joy seeing my clients leave feeling lighter and more beautiful.”
