Shahnaz Hussain - A Successful Indian Woman Entrepreneur

Shahnaz Husain belongs to a royal Muslim family which migrated from Samarkhand to India and later held high positions in the princely kingdoms of Bhopal and Hyderabad before India's independence. Shahnaz received her schooling in an Irish convent and because of the influence of her father, Chief Justice N.U. Beg, she developed a love for poetry and English Literature.

She thus had the advantage of growing up in a traditional family and receiving a modern education. She was married at the age of 15 and was a mother by the next year. When her husband was posted in Teheran, Iran, she developed an interest in beauty treatments and decided to study cosmetology.

Consequently, she turned her attention to Ayurveda (Refer Exhibit III), which she believed was the ideal alternative to chemical cosmetics, which not only harmed the human system but also led to the deterioration of the environment in the long run.

After leaving Teheran, she trained extensively in cosmetic therapy for 10 years in some of the leading institutes of London, Paris, New York and Copenhagen. On her return to India in 1977 she set up her own salon at her house in Delhi with an initial investment of Rs 35000. In contrast to salons offering chemical treatments, Shahnaz offered Ayurvedic products.