Editor's letter

1 mins

Editor's letter

Dear Reader,

Our February-March 2026 issue begins with a question that shapes almost every industry conversation today: where does beauty end and health begin? The answer, as our cover story reveals, is that the line has almost disappeared.

Across India, skin, hair, and wellness are no longer treated as separate concerns. A breakout is read as stress, hair fall as fatigue, and sensitivity as imbalance. What once sat in silos now sits in the same chair, and our cover story explores this hybrid shift.

But the narrative does not end there. Today’s client wants reasons, not reactions; they want to know why something is happening and how they can prevent it from returning. This has turned consultation into the first service. Today, trust and credibility are the real product.

In skincare, the mood has softened. While results still matter, restraint now plays a more profound role. With today’s informed customers, barrier care has taken precedence over glow, and longevity over speed. Hair, too, is undergoing its own reset. Bond repair has become part of colour services, scalp health enters every consultation, and strength is discussed before style. Services today begin beneath the surface.

Men’s grooming tells a quieter version of the same story. Ritual has replaced rush; the cut is no longer a transaction but an invitation to pause and relax. The fact is, today’s beauty standards are rising, and the industry is primed to keep up. Education runs through all of this. From global collections to Indian classrooms, skill, texture, and technique form the basis of any strong foundation. Business thinking is shifting too. Products no longer stand alone. Education, tools, and process now sit together, and growth is measured not by size, but stability.

Across these pages, one pattern repeats: care has replaced correction, and prevention has replaced panic. The future looks more deliberate. This is not a season of spectacle, but one of sense.

And that may be the biggest shift of all.

Charlene Flanagan Associate Editor