GIRLHOOD, AGENCY AND COMMUNITY MEET AT SOUTH ASIAN BEAUTY SALONS
For Seema Kumari, her salon enabled her to support her family and bring them to Delhi for better opportunities. Originally from a small village in Bihar, Kumari started learning the art of beautification at 16 years old. Daily for 11 years, she worked hard to perfect her craft, save money and open her salon.
In Gurgaon’s Palam Vihar, she 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 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.
Shubham, the owner of Shubham Beauty Parlor in Rani Bagh, Delhi shares: “My favorite 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.” In this way, salons transcend into therapeutic resources, providing judgement-free zones for women to aid and empower one another.
