Salons double festive makeover prices as Navratri demand surges, costs rise

New Delhi: Salons and services apps have doubled prices over last festive season amid sharp surge in demand for services such as dandiya luxe and garba glows to Durga deity looks and Navratri queens. Executives attributed the increase in prices to a combination of a surge in costs of key ingredients such as palm oil, and glass and plastic bottles and aerosols by 25-30% year-on-year on account of the West Asia war, pricing power and the withdrawal of input tax credit on salons last year.

“As we speak, consumers are booking packages for new looks for each of the seven or nine days of Navratri and dandiya,” said CK Kumaravel, co-founder of Naturals Salons. “Prices have doubled over last year, since with the unexpected surge in demand, the industry is exercising high pricing power,” he said.

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On Urban Company’s salon luxe, prices have touched Rs 5,000-plus, with services including make-up from global beauty brands such as Casmara and Mac.

Since this is peak festive season with surge in demand specially from small towns, salons such as Madonna, Looks, Gitanjali and BBlunt have hiked prices to cash in on the season.

“Further, the consequences of the withdrawal of input tax credit (ITC) late last year on salon chains, fitness centres, gyms and yoga clubs, despite reduction in GST slabs from 18% to 5%, are being passed on to the consumer,” said an executive at a beauty services platform. He requested not to be identified.

“As salon operators and owners, we pay tax on equipment and raw materials. In the absence of refunds of input tax credit, our overall tax liability remains high and neutralises the reduction of GST on services,” he added.

The West Asia war, which led to supply disruptions and spiked the prices of packaging materials, further hurt margins of the entire personal care sector. Crude-linked petroleum derivatives, and speciality chemicals imported from West Asia are key ingredients for cosmetics and beauty products.

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Hindustan Unilever’s Lakme Salon estimated in a report that India’s beauty salon market would reach $22.99 billion by 2033, at a CAGR of 7.85% during 2024 – 2033. This compares to a market valued at US $ 11.65 billion in 2024. The report attributes the double-digit growth the industry is witnessing to changing lifestyles, increasing disposable incomes, and consumers opting for premium experiences.

Chains are also pushing their private labels on other platforms.

At-home salon and wellness platform Yes Madam said in a statement last week that it has expanded its Korean skin and hair care range Sokora across D2C and e-commerce channels. Cofounder Aditya Arya, Yes Madam, said in a statement: “We focused on making the range convenient for everyday use … at home as well.”