Skin-deep in Sadhev: on Cholayil’s latest beauty venture

Ayurveda and design come together in Ayurvedic brand, Cholayil’s latest beauty venture, Sadhev

October 04, 2019 04:09 pm | Updated 04:09 pm IST

It all started on a car ride. Back in 2016, Lasakan Cholayil and his mother, Jayadevi were on their way to their ancestral home in Vallapad, Kerala, to pay respects to their forefather, Cholayil Kunju Maami Vaidyar. Curious about his role in shaping his family’s legacy on the Ayurvedic route, Lasakan went on to learn how he was a physician by profession, but was widely known for his natural and unconventional methods of healing. As a homage to their forefather, the mother-son duo conceptualised their recently-launched beauty brand, Sadhev. “With consumers getting increasingly curious about what exactly goes into the products they use, we wanted to create products that forged age old traditions to suit our modern lives. The brand combines his ancient teachings and methods with a more modern approach of design. It’s a tribute to what Ayurveda truly is — both, a science and an art,” says Lasakan, director, Cholayil. He talks about how, at the same time, he was working on developing the company's skincare brand, Jullaaha. “We were looking at rebranding it for the global market. Happy with the products we developed initially, it evolved into a whole new brand.”

The range crafted at their facility in Tada comprises 18 products such as bathing bars, lip gels, rose water, hair oils, hair colours, sunscreen, body lotions and more. “We have a team of qualified Ayurvedic vaidyars, who put thought into every ingredient that goes in to our products. Most of the ingredients are sourced from our farm in Tamil Nadu. Ingredients that don’t grow in this region are procured directly from world over: Argan oil from Morocco, Saffron from Afghanistan, butters from Switzerland and Rose Absolute from Bulgaria,” says Lasakan, 27, adding how he’s partnered with grow-trees.com to ensure a tree is planted every time a purchase is made.

But in a market flooded with Ayurvedic beauty brands, how does he ensure the brand maintains authenticity? For Lasakan, it’s about drawing inspiration from traditional Ayurvedic formulations to make the products’ fragrance and application user-friendly. “Vetiver and chocolate, sandal and saffron, goat milk and jojoba are examples of products with unique fragrances/flavors. They have a high percentage of natural oils, thus making then smell like the actual substance rather than something synthetic,” says the –year-old who is now working on a range of cold press oils, eye creams, shower gels, a pollution-defense cream, anti aging serums, etc.

The Sadhev range is priced between Rs. 495 and Rs. 1995 and available on sadhev.com/

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