After spending over 15 years in this country, in the company of some of its most glamorous women, I’ve become somewhat of an expert on the beauty and fashion habits of Indian women. While they remain the best at adorning themselves with beautiful jewels and maintaining their glowing complexions, there are some trends that I wish they would let go of. A bonus of doing so would be much money saved! Read on to see if you are convinced by the end to take a break from some of these popular beauty behaviours

Hair Smoothening Treatments
While Indians are lucky to have some of the best hair in the world (extensions made from Indian hair are the most expensive and highly coveted), many of us are plagued with frizziness and flyaways that are exacerbated by the extremely humid climate. As for ladies with curly hair, most can remember their mothers scolding them that their hair looked uncombed, then brushing, oiling, and plaiting their locks into compliance. Perhaps the trauma response to all this hair-shaming was to embrace Keratin and other similar treatments upon their invention! These chemical treatments seemed to be a godsend at a time when bone-straight, smooth hair was the ideal. Women didn’t think twice about shelling out a large sum and committing to spending up to 8 hours in the parlour, in exchange for walking out with silky smooth hair that–and this was the real deal-clincher–you didn’t need to blow dry or iron after washing!

Trust me when I say that I am the target audience for this. Starting in highschool I spent many hours flat ironing my hair; lusting after the newest, most expensive hair straightener on the market; and stretching a good blowout for as many days as possible before washing it and returning to my frizzy, unkempt baseline (okay, I still do that one!). However I didn’t take the plunge into chemical treatments until after turning 30, when one of the postpartum goodies I amassed included new hair that grew only 3 inches and stood straight up. The smoothening results were definitely fantastic, but something keeps me from going back, and it’s the same observation I have for other women. These processes suck all the bounce, thickness, and life from your hair, in exchange for glossy obedience! There is an artificial quality to the poker-straight hair, and a helmet-head aesthetic that can result from hair has been starched into submission.

I realised that a good blow dry is enough to make me feel put-together, without sacrificing my volume and waves. I understand that for many, one long day of treatment at the parlour is better than regular visits for blowdries, and possibly less expensive in the long run. But if a quick blowdry is easy and affordable for you, I say take advantage of that and work with your natural hair rather than chemically processing it. Because as cliche as it sounds, it’s the little unique details that make us authentically attractive, and everyone having the same flat hair is getting a bit boring.

Maximalist Festive Fashion
Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a fashion authority, obviously style is subjective, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, etc., etc.! But I do claim to have enough good taste to make this broad suggestion: ladies, less is more. While it is exciting that the Indian fashion scene has so much to offer, there is a tendency to pile on too many trends and glamorous elements at once. I’m talking about, for example, a Diwali party outfit that has a knotted draped silk skirt, a beaded top, a sequinned cape, feathers dangling from one of the above, and a giant necklace and blingy bag to top it off. During the festive season I love seeing photos on social media of everyone dressed up, but with each year I noticed that the women were practically disappearing under so many patterns, textures, and baubles. First of all, you all work too hard for your figures to hide them under capes! Secondly, the eye gets overwhelmed by so much razzle dazzle. Now, anyone who knows me well, knows that my mother is the ultimate, passionate ambassador for saris as the single most elegant garment to ever exist—I swear I am not exaggerating, she really does love saris that much and begs me to wear them more. Whenever I follow her advice and wear one, I get the most compliments. Thus, my advice to the fashion girlies is to pare it down. You can never go wrong with a sari, and can make it more exciting with a cool blouse and accessories. Otherwise, whatever outfit you choose, think “quiet luxury”, Indian-style, with emphasis more on the silhouette, or embroidery, or accessories: notice I am saying “or”, not “and”, meaning try to let just one or two elements of the outfit be striking, while the rest complement it subtly. Coco Chanel famously said: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory.” My version of that would be “You can choose sequins or feathers, but you can’t have both!”

Skincare Overload
This trend is not specific to Indians but to beauty aficionados the world over. It is such a perfect example of rampant, mindless consumerism that drives me crazy because of how unnecessary and wasteful it is. I remember a day when “cleanse, tone, moisturise, sunscreen” was the prescribed skincare routine and you were a star if you did that consistently. Nowadays, just search the hashtag #shelfie to see what many perceive to be a reasonable amount of products to use regularly. Foam cleaners, oil cleansers, physical exfoliators, chemical exfoliators, serums, retinol, vitamin c, night cream, neck cream, AHAs, BHAs, charcoal masks, collagen masks, under eye patches, lip masks–I’m stopping only because I have a word limit. Both women and men are spending their hard-earned money on all these “wonder” products, then spending an inordinate amount of time applying them, thinking they are doing self-care or anti-aging treatment when really, they are demolishing their skin barrier and possibly affecting their endocrine system. Some beauty influencers have admitted that their skin improved after reducing the number of products they use, but this goes directly against how they make money, so most will not be so forthcoming.

As I’ve written here before, your most straightforward path to good skin would be following a dermatologist’s prescribed routine consistently. Their products might not be touted by Hailey Bieber, they may not have the prettiest packaging, but they work. Loading up on exotic products when we travel or being tempted by Nykaa sales have become second nature. But just take a look at your bathroom cabinet; how many products are you using until completion? Sometimes we don’t finish something before it expires; money down the drain. Overall, try to distinguish between the skincare that really works for you and the stuff you are buying because of marketing hype.

And so, as we march into yet another season of weddings, Diwali parties, and tempting beauty discounts, maybe it’s time to take a pause. Let’s stop chasing every trend that promises flawlessness and instead lean into effortlessness—because that’s where the real beauty is. The kind that looks like you, not like a product of a salon menu or heavily filtered Instagram reel. Whether it’s letting your curls live their best life, swapping sparkle for simplicity, or just giving your skin a break, I promise—you’re not missing out. You’re just making space for your own style to shine through.