Finding the Qi to keep Ayurveda alive

The bustling Indian beauty and skincare market adds one more new product to its crowded space. Recently, Coimbatore based Rajshree Pathy, launched her new Ayurveda brand, Qi Ayurveda, a new holistic hair care brand which uniquely combines the centuries-old tradition of Ayurveda with cutting-edge scientific research from Switzerland.

Pathy’s passion for Ayurveda is well known. In 2012, she co-founded Kama Ayurveda along with Vivek Sahni. After Pathy exited the brand in 2022, “I felt I needed to continue that journey. And how do we create this awareness for Ayurveda which is very relevant for todays’ youth,” says Rajshree Pathy, founder, Qi Ayurveda. So how does one keep Ayurveda alive? As everyone is looking at the Actives now, Pathy asked how she could take the ancient traditional way of producing the Ayurvedic herbal extracts and combine them with modern western technology in beauty and hair care and create a product that works.

Recognising the need for traditional Ayurvedic self-care rituals to evolve for modern living, after intensive research, Rajshree Pathy collaborated with a team of Swiss scientists and researchers over two years to develop refined products that were not only effective, but assured faster absorption and longer-lasting results on skin and hair. Pathy has launched four product ranges in the hair care category. “I think we are the first to launch hair care. Hair, for all of us, is an issue,” she says. According to Pathy, the shampoos and conditioners have certified actives. “One of the reasons why we decided to add actives in our shampoos and conditioners is because Ayurveda takes time to heal. The longer you use it, the better efficacy it has and you see results. Today the younger generation they don’t have the time to go through the ayurvedic process and use products in their hair with pastes and so on because their life doesn’t warrant it anymore,” she says. Hence, her team worked with the formulators to figure out what active will actually compliment the ayurvedic herb. What the active does – does it only accelerate and boost the ayurvedic ingredients, or will both the ingredients together do wonders. According to Pathy, all the products are formulated along with her ayurveds.

Born and raised in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Pathy hails from a family where Ayurveda was not just a traditional practice but a way of life. She developed a deep respect for qi and the science of well-being at a very young age. Her journey into the world of self-care began with regular visits to the vaid along with her mother, who was a firm believer in the healing power of Ayurveda. Hot oil massages and herbal baths of steeped eucalyptus leaves and vetiver roots, heated over firewood in an old copper vessel were a Sunday ritual in her home. Through her own experience of these massages and remedies, she developed an understanding of the principles of Ayurveda, the power of herbs and plants, and the importance of a balanced qi – in mind, body, and spirit.

Qi is a very unusual name for an ayurvedic product. “Qi is that universal energy that balances all of us. And we all need that complete balance to function in every way. For me Qi meant all those things. It was about bringing a legacy and keeping the ayurvedic legacy relevant,” says Pathy. The Qi Ayurveda product range comprises four shampoos, conditioners (priced at Rs2,500) and oils (priced at Rs1,800). As ayurvedic names can be a bit confusing, Pathy and her team decided to name the four products in the hair care range as Nourish, Restore, Wellness and Hydrate. The highly potent formulations blend distilled Ayurvedic oils with award-winning Swiss-certified actives and technology, designed to transform, restore, rejuvenate, and replenish the skin and hair at a cellular level. All Qi Ayurveda products retail at Good Earth Stores across India and the company’s own website. Plans are to get on to one of the online platforms as well. “We will soon get on to one of the platforms so we have a wider range but we also want to sell with brick and mortar places,” says Pathy. “Wherever Good Earth is we are exclusively with them. Wherever Good Earth is not, we are actively looking at other partners,” she adds.

The packaging was also very important. It is both 100 per cent recyclable and 100 per cent biodegradable. Plans are to introduce a recycling scheme where customers can send their old packaging to the company’s recycling centre.

Pathy already has the next launch for face products lined up – eladi and kumkumadi – which will be manufactured in Switzerland as well. However, for now the focus is on creating the necessary brand awareness for Qi.