Fragrance is no longer confined to a bottle on the vanity. As people embrace layering and more personalised beauty rituals, hair perfumes are emerging as the next frontier in perfumery. Betting on this shift is Secret Alchemist with The Hair Alchemy — a collection that, according to co-founder Ankita Thadani, extends the brand’s wellness-first philosophy while encouraging people to create a scent that feels uniquely their own.
For Ankita, however, fragrance has always been rooted in wellness. Growing up around essential oils, thanks to her mother, she was introduced to aromatherapy long before it became mainstream. “I’ve always been surrounded with essential oils,” she says, recalling homemade rosemary and curry leaf hair oil that became a weekly ritual. She adds, “That was my first introduction to aromatherapy. It helped me sleep better and made me realise its impact beyond just hair care.” Those early experiences, along with homemade remedies for skincare and endometriosis-related pain, shaped her understanding of fragrance as something that could heal as much as delight. Although she trained and worked as an architect for over seven years, she says that experience continues to influence Secret Alchemist. She shares, “Architecture is about aesthetics and balance. During COVID, I designed our first consumer boxes and website. Even today, we’re extremely mindful of every creative, package and the story we tell.”
The brand itself was born during the pandemic, initially as a therapeutic aromatherapy label offering blends for sleep, stress and anxiety. She notes, “Everybody was anxious and struggling with sleep. That’s where the seed of Secret Alchemist came from. We were among the first to talk about clean perfumery and complete ingredient transparency. We received so much love that we scaled almost five times.” The idea for The Hair Alchemy, she says, came directly from listening to consumers. “Our customers wanted to layer fragrances and create a scent that felt uniquely theirs. Hair perfumery became the perfect extension,” she notes. Going ahead, she further explains that hair retains fragrance longer than skin because ‘hair is a dead follicle’, making it ideal for layering with body perfumes. She explains, “It creates a unique scent while also refreshing your hair between washes — especially in humid cities.” Designed as two distinct personalities, the collection comprises Mineral Sage and Mystic Santhal. “Mineral Sage is fresh, grounding and centred around sage from Himachal Pradesh. Mystic Santhal, with Mysore sandalwood and jasmine, is woodier and more intimate. One is for the day, the other for evenings,” she highlights.
Ankita believes hair perfumes will soon become an essential part of beauty routines. She expresses, “We already choose shampoos and conditioners because they smell good, but those fragrances don’t last. Hair perfume becomes that last ritual before stepping out.” With fragrance layering steadily gaining popularity, she feels Indian consumers are ready to experiment. She also credits co-founder Samantha Ruth Prabhu for shaping the brand’s fragrance journey. “It was Samantha who introduced the idea of clean perfumery. Because of her own condition, she couldn’t use conventional perfumes and encouraged us to build India’s clean perfume category. She’s deeply involved in every product, marketing discussion and ingredient conversation,” she expresses. Looking ahead, Ankita hopes Secret Alchemist will become ‘India’s first Diptyque’ by creating globally relevant fragrances rooted in Indian ingredients. “We want to tell Indian stories through scent, create sensorial experiences and build a fragrance house that always remains clean,” she concludes.