Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | NXg | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest |

Brand Shahnaz

success story Shahnaz Husain

She doesn’t mind blowing her own trumpet. Lines like “I did this…I was the first to do that…” often surface in a conversation with her. But then, she is Shahnaz Husain, a success story, a path-breaker, an example for ma ny to emulate. To Husain goes the credit of injecting herbal knowledge into our cosmetics and even taking it out of the country, of starting the original ‘beauty parlour culture’ even in our small towns. In pre-liberalised India, many young girls from middle class families looking for a way to be financially independent found in her beauty therapy institutes, more than a ray of hope. So when Husain says, “I was a lone fighter on a lone stage,” you see her point. She was recently chosen the Woman of the Year by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for her achievements in beauty and innovation.

Cosmetics in the ’80s and early ’90s were mostly synthetic, and she was looking for a way out. “I didn’t have to do much, I just looked at ayurveda, our 3,000 years of knowledge, for a solution. I think I was at the right place at the right time as people were also tired of using synthetic stuff as there can be disastrous effects of using such cosmetics. ”

Husain says her mantra became care and cure. “It attracted people, the sufferers of synthetic cosmetics, and also those who never used too many skincare products for the fear of side effects.” Also, “I wanted to avoid my products being faked, so from 1970 till 1985, no shop sold any Shahnaz product. For long, I had a lone shop at the Cottage Industries Emporium in Delhi. I used to meet people in different countries, and tell them about India and its vast knowledge of herbal products. Then I used to give them free samples. Many found me an enigma. Gradually, my name became my brand.” Her brand image also has a lot to do with her singular style. Huge sunglasses, long coats with big pockets, flowing skirts, chunky shoes, gaudy bags — all make Shahnaz Husain someone you can’t miss in a crowd.

Husain laughs at the idea, likes it, and adds: “I have four tailors at my disposal. I design my clothes. Whatever cloth I buy in the morning, I wear in the evening.”

Thankful to her father for instilling in her the confidence to pave a new way to be independent, Husain says she faced many odds to start with. Married at 14, she soon became a mother. “But I knew I was not meant to be a housewife for long.”

With continuous research, she now makes products even from diamond, gold, silver and pearls. Besides training batches of beauty and hair care personnel, she also trains the visually impaired, and speech and hearing impaired youngsters in body massage, etc. Husain also keeps busy on her blog, www.mylifewall.com which, besides carrying her poems and writings about her life experiences, also offers beauty tips.

Ask her what next, and she says, “Let’s see,” but adds: “Spas are a buzzword these days.”

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail