Veda Vasudevan has something different to offer her customers at her beauty salon in Mylapore. The oils, face packs and wax that she uses are her creations.
She has been experimenting with various kinds of herbs from the age of 18 and believes they are much better for the skin than chemical cosmetics.
For instance, the oil she uses for head massage has coconut milk as the base and contains extracts of karisilankani, ponnakani and arai, henna, thulasi , curry leaves and gooseberry.
“I learnt the art of making oils from my cousin at Nagercoil. The place from where the herbs are sources is located at foothills of Western Ghats, which abounds with medicinal plants. Those days, it was a practice to make oil at home using all these leaves and the science of preparing it intrigued me,” she says.
The face pack that Veda prepares has two variants, meant for dry and oily to normal skin.
She explains how in her native place, Thiruperai, everyone applied this herbal paste before taking a dip in the Thamarabharani river. They believe the ingredient used in the pack makes for a glowing skin.
The traditional face pack contains poolan kizhangu, uzhandhu, vetiveru, kasthuri manjal . But she effected a few changes, keeping in mind the realities of urban living. She adds almonds, oats, cucumber, potatoes and mint, when making a paste for those with dry skin. She adds rose petals and paneer when it comes to oily skin. She also makes wax using sugar and lemon extracts.
Her salon Vedhika Beauty House has come up with an offer for this season.
The package includes head massage, herbal facial, pedicure, manicure, hair-colouring or henna conditioning at a cost of Rs.1,500.
Those who don’t need manicure and pedicure in the package may opt for leg and full-arm waxing. The salon is located on the premises of New Woodlands hotel on Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore.
For details, call 98844 98870 / 2811 3111.
