If you thought famous people don't have bad hair days, think again
Sure, your fave Bollywood celebs have great genes to help them looking flawless, but even stars can do with some extra help too.
At one time, Dilshad Pastakia, reigned supreme and was one of the most sought-after celeb hairstylists and styled the crowns of Karan Johar, Rani Mukerji, Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta till she shifted base to Vancouver a few years ago. Her hold over SRK’s follicular roots is so strong that when she was pregnant, SRK went without a haircut for 6 months.
Although her expertise is still missed, there are many other salons and stylists who have emerged as the new favourites. SRK has now handed over his hair reins to hair stylist Raaj Gupta, who started styling Shah Rukh on Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi in 2007.
There are some top salons that Bollywood celebs swear by when it comes to their services, quality of work and style and often pop up in their Insta stories. So, if you’re looking for a starry treatment for your hair, skin or nails, take your pick from these celeb-approved salons:
BBlunt
The unisex salon chain (with seven outlets in Mumbai and the rest in Indore, Bangalore, Chennai, Jaipur, Patna, Pune, New Delhi, and Dubai) is run by celebrity hairstylist Adhuna Bhabani (co-founder and Creative Director of BBlunt) and her brother Osh. The salon has some of Bollywood’s top stars frequenting its outlets in Bandra and Juhu. Adhuna’s colleague, co-founder and creative director of BBlunt, Avan Contractor is responsible for Aamir Khan’s close-cropped hairstyle in Dangal and spiky hairstyle in Dil Chahta Hai as well as Anil Kapoor’s salt and pepper look in Fanney Khan. She has been styling Khan’s hair for over 18 years now.
Yaami Gautam, Dia Mirza, Farhan Akhtar, Alia Bhatt and Hrithik Roshan are known to frequent this salon. Shraddha Kapoor counts BBlunt outlet in Juhu and WOW Hair & Makeup Beauty Studio as her favourites.
Rates (approx)
A BBlunt Unisex hairstyle will cost you between INR 1000-6000 depending on whether a Senior Salon Director, Salon Director, Style Director, Senior Stylist or Stylist is cutting your hair. Hair colouring rates range between INR 750-3500. While a BBlunt Signature 90-minute pedicure and 90-minute manicure will cost you INR 1500 and INR 1300, gel manicures cost around INR 1,500 and the nails extensions come at a price of INR 2,500.
Kromakay Salons and Academy
When Priyanka Chopra is in Mumbai she makes it a point to visit Kromakay. In 2015 when she chopped her locks short for a spunky glam hairstyle this was the salon she visited. Often before attending an event or party, filmmaker Farah Khan is known to step into the salon for a quick hair shampoo, blow dry and facial. Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter often visits the Juhu salon when in Mumbai.
People who have visited Kanta Motwani’s Kromakay seven outlets across Mumbai have found them comfortable, fun and had great experiences with their hair stylists.
Sara Ali Khan, Twinkle Khanna and her mother Dimple Kapadia, Raveena Tandon Thadani, Nimrat Kaur, Kriti Sanon, Kiara Advani, Sonali Bendre, Sussanne Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Parineeti Chopra, Hrithik Roshan, Athiya Shetty and Alia Bhatt are also known to frequent their salons in Bandra and Juhu. Kromakay is well-known for their quality of hair colour and hair treatments that attracts their star-studded clientele. Kromakay also did Sonam Kapoor’s hair for Veere Di Wedding.
Rates (approx)
Haircuts range from INR 1,000-INR 6,700 while a cut by their senior stylist will cost you INR 2,300. A blow dry is INR and a haircut with the headstylist with wash will cost Rs 2,680. Airbrush makeup by celebrity artist INR 22,155 and wedding makeup by celebrity artist INR 13,290,
Aalim Hakim
Bollywood’s go-to hairstylist, Aalim Hakim, was the first person to launch hair lounges in India and one of the first to introduce body art with hair treatments. He is hairstylist to some of Bollywood’s biggest stars including Salman Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Sidharth Malhotra, Saif Ali Khan, Varun Dhawan, Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Bobby Deol, Bipasha Basu and Katrina Kaif.
Ayushmann Khurrana got his first haircut from Aalim before he entered movies while south star Prabhas got himself a new hairstyle after Baahubali 2: The Conclusion last year.
He owns five hair lounges including ones in Pune, Surat, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Mumbai and will be opening one soon in Delhi. He has done a show on hairstyle and beauty called Style Inc with Aalim Hakim. Stars often ask him to come home or on their sets to style their hair or even travel with them outdoors to keep the continuity. While Ranveer Singh is known to visit Aalim Hakim, his hair is also styled by hairstylist Darshane Waleykar who runs the salon D Shave.
Rates (approx)
A haircut at Alim’s for men by a Creative Director will cost INR 18,000 and the same for women will cost INR 20,000 while a Style Director will cost you INR 2500 for men and INR 2400 for women. A tattoo can cost between INR 4000-2 lakh depending on the design.
MUAH Makeup & Hair
While Kareena Kapoor Khan’s sister Karisma goes to Jean-Claude Biguine salon, Bebo’s fav salon is MUAH in Bandra. From Kajol Devgn and her sister Tanishaa Mukherji, Chitrangada Singh and Shamita Shetty to sisters Malaika and Amrita Arora, the MUAH salons at Juhu and Bandra are a hot spot for many Bollywood stars and celebs.
They are known for their quick service, quality products and in-depth conversations with clients. Even musical maestro AR Rahman has had his locks styled here. The master hair stylists and salon directors are Ryan and Nandini D Rozario. They are behind some of the most trending onscreen looks such as Kareena’s hair and colour in Veere Di Wedding, Kajol’s Dilwale and Malaika’s fringe bangs.
Rates (approx)
A haircut for women by a Salon Director will cost you INR 1600 while for men its INR 1000. Basic manicures cost INR 400 while basic pedicures are INR 450 and nail arts are INR 150-300.
Freeda Beauty Salon
Arora sisters – Malaika and Amrita are also known to visit the Freeda Beauty Salon in Khar, known for its reliable and quirky work, and reasonable rates. If you are a Sara Ali Khan fan you may even spot her there.
Jean-Claude Biguine Paris Salon & Spa
The chain is known for their great manicures, pedicures and hair treatments. Sonam Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor, both fashionistas and always impeccably groomed, are known to often frequent this high-end salon. However, getting an appointment with a style director may place you in the waiting queue so one needs to be really patient.
Rates (approx)
A haircut at JCB will cost you INR 2,500 with a Style Director while for men it costs INR 2000. A pedicure is from INR 850 onwards while a manicure is INR 750 onwards. Nail art from Rs.400 onwards, depending on the detailing and design.
Mad-o-Wat
Famous celebrity stylist, Sapna Bhavnani’s Mad-O-Wat salons have clients such as Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Bipasha Basu, Hrithik Roshan, Virat Kohli, John Abraham, Siddharth Mallya, Mandira Bedi, Dino Morea, Gauri Khan and cricketer MS Dhoni, whose hair she’s been styling for more than a decade.
She has salons in Andheri and Bandra and has worked with celebrity clients from a range of fields like entertainment, sports, politics and business.
Rates (approx)
While a shampoo or blow dry may cost you between INR 350-INR 800, a haircut can cost over INR 1000 and a manicure over INR 400 and pedicure over INR 500. They also offer synthetic, coloured hair extensions from INR 1500 onwards.
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