How these Indian skincare brands are marrying Ayurvedic ingredients with modern formulas

When one usually thinks of Ayurveda-based skincare, thick cream, strong-smelling oils, and gloopy home-made masks come to mind. After all, one is supposed to look past the texture and scent of the ingredients and concentrate on their goodness, right? Not anymore. A crop of Indian-owned skincare brands is challenging this notion and delivering the efficacy of traditional ingredients in cosmetically elegant formulas that might make you forget that you’re applying neem, turmeric, or ashwagandha on your face. However, most consumers still find such products old-fashioned, and the emergence of these Ayurveda-backed Indian brands will be instrumental in shattering this conception. 

Ahead, discover five such brands on our radar. 

Gunam 

Recently launched, Gunam is a Kerala-based skincare brand founded by Elizabeth Issac. Translating to 'goodness' in Malayalam, Gunam features a selective range of products starring Ayurvedic ingredients and are formulated in France. Their Balance Face Cream, for instance, has Indian ingredients like neem, jasmine, turmeric, ashwagandha, saffron, and kokum butter combined with skincare industry favourites like hyaluronic acid, squalane, and centella asiatica. The resulting moisturiser is lightweight and refreshing, with just a tinge of the neem fragrance reminding you that it is an Ayurvedic product. 

82°E 

The emerging concept of placing Ayurvedic ingredients front and centre in scientific formulas is most apparent in 82°E, the skincare brand launched by actor Deepika Padukone in November 2022. The ingredients take centre stage in the product’s name itself—think Ashwagandha Bounce, a face cream; Manjishtha Mud, a clay mask; Licorice Beam, their new sunscreen gel, and more. Of course, these ingredients are paired with well-known skincare ingredients like ceramides and bioflavonoids for clean yet high-performing formulas. 

Fable and Mane

It’s not always about Indian ingredients, even age-old Indian rituals and traditions are being tapped into by brands. Case in point, Fable and Mane founders, Nikita and Akash Mehta, decided to botte the habit of hair oiling and massaging, common in Indian households, into a range of luxury haircare products that include serums, oils, shampoos, and more. The plant-based products feature a blend of Ayurvedic oils, herbs, and spices in potent yet light, non-greasy formulations.

Inde Wild 

Another brand that started with a focus on promoting the tradition of ‘champi’ or hair oiling, Inde Wild’s offerings have grown to include skincare products formulated with well-known Indian ingredients but in shelf-stable and effective formulas. One wouldn’t expect a vitamin C serum to be made with turmeric and ashwagandha, but the two ingredients are the stars of the brand’s 15 per cent Vitaminc C AM Sunrise Glow Serum. Similarly, their viral lip treatment, newly launched in India, has pomegranate, rose, and lotus, and mimics the moisturising benefits of ghee through a vegan formula.  

Forest Essentials

It might not be a new brand, but no list on Ayurvedic Indian skincare would be complete without Forest Essentials, which is one of the oldest (founded in 2001) and most loved beauty brands in the country. Made with organic ingredients, the products have all the skincare benefits of Ayurveda delivered in more modern formulas. Their pink-hued Advanced Eternal Youth Formula Date & Litchi with date extracts, litchi juice, and sweet almond oil among other ingredients is light yet nourishing. It is ideal as a night cream for those with dull and dehydrated skin.