A beautician's year has two rushes and three seasons of skin, and a household that knows the calendar books the right thing at the right time and avoids the week when nobody is available. Here is the year, season by season.
Summer, March to June: sun, sweat and the waxing season
Heat changes what is sensible.
- De-tan. The season for it. De-tan for the face and neck at ₹450 and arms and legs at ₹900 do most in May, and they make skin more sensitive to sun for a few days afterwards, so sunscreen is not optional.
- Waxing. Most people wax more often in summer. Skin is sweaty and pores open, so the post-wax rules matter more: no sun, no tight clothes, no gym for a day. Rica at ₹400 on top of any wax is kinder on skin that is already hot.
- Facials. Lighter kits. A cleanup at ₹400 every three or four weeks does more for oily summer skin than a heavy facial monthly. Avoid a facial in the day or two before you are in the sun for a function.
- Makeup. Party makeup at ₹2,500 in May needs a primer, a lighter base and setting spray, and an artist who finishes an hour before you leave, not three.
- Hair. Summer is when keratin at ₹4,500 is most tempting and when the heat from the straightener is hardest on already dry hair. A hair spa at ₹900 a month is the gentler route through the season.
The summer wedding season, April to June in many communities, is busy but not as booked as the winter; six weeks is usually enough notice for a bridal artist.
Monsoon, June to September: damp skin and tool hygiene
The monsoon brings two problems and both are about damp.
Fungal infections. Skin that stays wet, in the folds, between the toes, under tight clothes, is where fungal infections start, and a wax or a pedicure on skin that is already irritated makes it worse. Dry thoroughly after any service, loose cotton for the day, and no pedicure at ₹700 on feet that have a fungal patch; a doctor first.
Tools. Damp is also what tools dislike. A professional's steel tools come out of a dry pouch; consumables are fresh and dry; the pedicure tub is dried between clients. If the kit is damp, the service waits.
Hair. Frizz, scalp build-up and hair fall peak in the monsoon. A hair spa at ₹900 and a head massage at ₹400 are the services for the season; colour and keratin are better left for drier months.
Bookings. Rain cancels visits on both sides. Agree that a monsoon cancellation by message before the beautician leaves costs nothing, and that the visit charge, around ₹150, applies only if they are already on the way.
The festival rush, October to November
Navratri, Karva Chauth, Diwali and the start of the wedding season land within six weeks, and every beautician in the city is booked for the same few evenings.
Book early. A week to ten days for mehndi at ₹1,500 and party makeup at ₹2,500 on Karva Chauth and Diwali. Same-day in that week costs about 20 percent more and may not be available at all.
Group the house. Three or four people for Diwali evening is one booking with an assistant, one visit charge waived, and a better per-person rate than four separate ones.
Skin prep in the weeks before, not the day. A cleanup or a facial at ₹700 a week before the festival, not the morning. Threading at ₹120 two or three days before, so any redness has gone.
Mehndi. Two days before the day you want the colour at its darkest. Natural henna, never black.
Hair. A colour at ₹1,200 or a spa the week before; nothing new on the day.
Wedding season, November to February: the bridal calendar
The good artists are booked by date, and the calendar runs backwards from the wedding.
- Two to three months out: book the artist for each function, each a line: wedding at ₹9,000, engagement or reception at ₹5,000, hair at ₹1,000 and draping at ₹500 per function. A part advance holds the dates.
- Six weeks out: a skin plan. A cleanup every three weeks, a facial no later than a week before. Nothing new on the face in the last fortnight.
- Three to four weeks out: the trial, at home, in daylight, with the outfit. Photographs from three angles.
- Ten days out: any colour, with a patch test the day before.
- Two days out: mehndi.
- The day: the artist arrives two and a half to three hours before the entry time, with an assistant for hair, draping and the family at ₹2,500 each.
For the groom, styling at ₹3,500 on the day, and a haircut at ₹250 and a beard trim at ₹150 a few days before, not the morning.
Winter, December to February: dryness and the wedding guests
Skin. Dry, flaky and dull. A hydrating facial rather than a de-tan or a clarifying one, fewer scrubs, and a heavier moisturiser after any service. A body polish at ₹2,500 does more in January than in June.
Waxing. Less often, and skin is more easily nicked when dry. Oil or lotion afterwards.
Hair. The season for colour at ₹1,200 and keratin at ₹4,500, if you want them: dry air, no sweat, and the hair holds a treatment longer.
Wedding guests. Winter is three months of being a guest at someone's wedding. Party makeup at ₹2,500, hairstyling at ₹1,000 and draping at ₹500 are the three bookings, and a saree-draping-only booking at ₹500 is the one most people forget exists.
The whole-year checklist
- March. Switch to lighter kits and start de-tan; sunscreen after every service.
- June. Dry everything; hair spa for the monsoon; no pedicure on irritated feet.
- September. Book the festival evenings for the household.
- October. Skin prep a week before the festival, not the day.
- The wedding date minus three months. Book the artist; minus three weeks, the trial.
- December. Hydrating facials; colour and keratin if wanted, patch test the day before.
The rule for the year: nothing new on the face in the fortnight before anything that matters, and every evening the whole city wants, booked a week before it.
The event services guide covers the rest of the wedding and the festival; the tailor's guide covers the blouse and the alterations that the draping depends on.