I moderated the launch panel for K-ssence in Mumbai. Here’s what I took away, and why I think this is a genuine step forward for professional skincare in India.
For most of us in India, K-beauty has meant products. The ten-step routine, the sheet masks, the essences and ampoules that filled our shelves and our feeds. I’ve watched that wave build over two decades of writing about beauty, and I’ve enjoyed a lot of it. But I’ve always felt one thing was missing from the conversation: the expertise that sits behind those products in Korea itself.
That gap is exactly what we talked about on stage in Mumbai on 8th September, when I had the pleasure of moderating the launch panel for K-ssence, Lakmē Salon’s portfolio of Korean professional skincare services, created in partnership with JeuDerm.
I was joined by Vipul Chaturvedi, CEO, Lakmē Salon; Tatyana Jeon, CEO, JeuDerm; Sharmila Shetty, NCD – Skin, Lakmē Salon; and Gisselle Ames, Global Brand Ambassador, JeuDerm. It was one of those conversations where everyone came with something real to say.
From trends to treatment
The distinction that stayed with me most came from Tatyana. Following K-beauty trends and experiencing professional Korean skincare, she pointed out, are two very different things. Korea’s real strength isn’t just clever ingredients. It’s the protocols, the technology, and the trained hands delivering them.
That’s what K-ssence is trying to bring into the salon. The portfolio spans peptide-based therapies, professional chemical peels, non-invasive collagen fillers and targeted skin solutions, all delivered by therapists trained and certified in Korean methods.
The newest addition is K-ssence Lift Intense, a non-invasive treatment built around skin longevity. It combines FD-Fibre technology with peptides, collagen and hyaluronic acid, using freeze-drying and nano-technology designed to help actives travel deeper into the skin. The focus is on fine lines, dehydration and loss of firmness, which is to say lifting and firming rather than a quick glow.
Why this feels like a step forward
Indian skincare consumers have changed. They read ingredient lists, they follow dermatologists online, and they’re moving beyond the standard hydration facial towards results they can actually see. Until now, that kind of advanced care has mostly lived in aesthetic clinics in big cities or in expensive boutique spaces.
This is where Lakmē’s scale becomes the story. With over 500 salons across 220 cities and a team of more than 5,000 professionals, Lakmē Salon is building what it describes as one of India’s largest networks of Korean-skincare-trained therapists. As Vipul put it during the launch, the opportunity isn’t just bringing Korean skincare to India, but bringing the expertise behind it.
Imagine a woman in Indore or Lucknow being able to walk into her neighbourhood salon and access a professional Korean protocol, performed by a certified therapist, in an environment she already trusts. That is a genuinely different proposition from buying another serum online.
What I’ll be watching
Scale is a strength, but it’s also the real test. The success of K-ssence will depend on how consistently the training holds up across hundreds of salons, and on how well consumers are educated that “non-invasive” still means expertise matters. Results, as always, will be the final word.
But the direction is right. The conversation in beauty is shifting from products to protocols, from trends to the professionals who deliver them. K-ssence puts that shift within reach of all of India, not just its metros.
I’ll be following this one closely. You should too.
— Aparrna Gupta, Founder, Lavenderoom