Salons in India transforming from mere grooming centers to pioneers of aesthetics and advanced skin & haircare

India has close to ~6 million salons. Largely the sector is unorganized, run either in a small set-up of neighborhood style store or single ownership model. However, amidst a large unorganized market, gradually a small but significant portion of premium style salons are gaining prominence.

Out of the total size Inr 136,000 crores, premium salon market is sized at around ~ Inr 10,000- 12,000 crores, a little less than 10% of the market.

In the past 15-20 years, premiumization of salon has taken place at a notable pace with emergence of branded chains such as Lakme salon, Looks, Jawed Habib, Affinity, Geetanjali, Tony & Guy, Naturals, Envi, VLCC, Green Trends, etc. deepening their foothold. It is noteworthy that most of these brands have been inaugurated in India in the 1980s and 90s, yet it was the last two decades, when growth accelerated.

The growing trends of premiumization is rooted in multiple factors

Solid macroeconomics: The role of a solid structural base can’t be denied, especially with respect to beauty & personal care (BPC), lifestyle & fashion, grooming, wellness, etc. India is now shifting from a aspiration-led economy to a truly middle income. By 2031, Indian economy is slated to reach USD 7.1 trillion from USD 2.2 trillion in 2021.

As per the research by PRICE (People Research on India’s Consumer Economy), by 2030-31, there will be an additional 75 million middle income households (annual income of over Inr 5-30,00,000) and 25 million affluent households (annual income of over Inr 30,00,000). This will naturally push consumers and lifestyle retail. One of the beneficiaries of this upward growth trajectories are sophisticated and organized salon spaces that offer wellness, grooming and personal care.

Increased women participation: Women’s active participation in the workforce is a boon to experience and convenience led- economy and the positive impacts are cascading to segments such as premium salons. As of 2023, women employment rate in India is around 40%. Besides spending on professional attires, working women are also spending on cosmetics, grooming, aesthetics, etc.

Men’s grooming is transforming: While women are playing a pivotal role, men are also not far behind. These days 35% of footfalls in salons are men and just like their women counterparts, men are also spending generously on grooming and personal care. In the past men’s grooming largely involved haircut, styling, basic facials, head massage, hair coloring, etc. Today it involves manicure, hair care & spa, beard grooming, advanced facials, etc.

The role of AI: technologies such as AI have started making inroads in salons. Many organized salon owners are experimenting with smart mirrors that can help a customer view their face before applying a haircut, coloring or face pack. This can help in offering customization to the consumers and enable them take better decisions.

Growing marriage market: After grooming and wellness, marriages are the third biggest contributor for India’s growing crop of premium salons. In India marriage is a huge market and it can unlock new revenue streams of high value services such as bridal makes ups, wedding skincare packages, hair Botox, Keratin treatments, etc. Likewise, many salons offer customized packages with ensemble services and offsite services to further capture this segment well.

Medical grade treatment: As the boundaries between traditional salon and clinical style hair care and dermatology is blurring, premium salons now act more as aesthetic hubs or medispas. As already discussed above, salons have moved beyond facials, haircut, and grooming to aesthetics, deeper skincare & haircare, anti-ageing solutions. These days they also specialize in medical grade treatments such as medi-facials, hydra facials, chemical peeling, rising the value chain.

Rising Role as a Retail Hubs for Premium BPC brands

This evolution of salons has resulted in them playing an active role as retail hubs selling shampoos, conditioners, specialized skin & haircare products, make-up items, cosmeceuticals, etc.

The top-5 salon chains in India has clocked a revenue of around Inr 1,829 crores in 2025, as per market research on beauty and personal care industry by The India Watch. It has climbed notably from 1022 crores in 2022, exhibiting a CAGR of around 21.4%. Out of 1,829 crores, retail sales comprise around ~ 26% of the revenue. Retail sales in the top salon chains have reached Inr 476 crores in 2025, growing at a CAGR of 17.9%.

Some of the factors driving Salon Retail in India are mentioned below:

Retail sales have much higher margin than services offered in a salon, which is naturally driving demand.

Hair stylists are no more just hair cutter and dressers in traditional sense. They are now trained to act as hair and skincare consultants and their expert advice holds weightage for the consumers.

By analyzing the scalp or the texture of the skin, hair stylists can offer valuable advice/ recommendations on grooming products.

Salons actively invest on product display across entry areas, reception, shampoo areas, lounge etc. helping the visitors learn more about them.

Many grooming products are sold exclusively through salons as it requires expert advice. These products are loaded with higher percentage of ingredients such as proteins, vitamins, keratins, etc. They can’t be sold casually as OTC in pharma or modern retails.

Exclusive distribution via the salon retail also helps in better branding and positioning of certain products, as they are sold following an expert advice.

To further boost sales, Salons are adopting bundling of services with products. Likewise, they are actively spending on targeted digital marketing, social media and influencer outreach.

Salon led grooming products have higher concentration of ingredients, which lowers their usages, resulting in optimization of costs.

Major salon brands are now aggressively expanding into Tier 2 and 3 cities in India This is also driving retail sales.

Besides partnering with other Brands, salon chains such as Looks and Jawed Habib have introduced their own hair care and skin care product lines. Similar brands such as Natural are also exploring D2C route.

How The India Watch can Help

If you a salon business owner/ investor or associated with other ancillary industry such as beauty and personal care, cosmetics etc. and looking for curated market insights, actionable information and deep dive into consumer behavior, then we can assist you.

As a leading market research and insights advisory, we can facilitate you with market feasibility studies to understand the business better and make informed decisions. A feasibility study on a salon can assist you with better understanding of the market fit, evaluate the viability of the business idea and prepare a scalability plan.

The scope of a market feasibility study on a salon will include but not limited to the following

Macro insights on the market
Market sizing and future projections
Competitive insights, positioning and market gaps
Deep dive into value chain
Consumer behavior insights
Consumer segmentation, targeting and positioning
Pricing research
GTM strategy
KPI identification
Financial model
Growth & scalability plan

For further information, feel free to connect with us by dropping a mail at info@theindiawatch.com

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