The Lavenderoom Conversation Series brings together individuals whose work is shaping the way we think, build and live. In every conversation, we go beyond titles and achievements to understand the experiences, beliefs and perspectives that have defined their journey.
Aankith Aroraa, Co-Founder & CEO, 3TENX
Aankith Aroraa, co-founder and CEO of 3TENX, is building one of India’s fastest-growing professional haircare brands—created for Indian hair, salon professionals and a global future.
I first met Aankith and Megha years ago, at the India launch of a global haircare brand. I remember wondering whether they were the brand’s founders. Their involvement was extraordinary: with the press, with the stylists, with everything on the ground. Yet they weren’t chasing the limelight. They were quietly observing from a distance, making sure everything went the way it should.
Since then, I’ve crossed paths with them at countless events and watched them bring one international brand after another to India before launching one of their own. Within 18 months, 3TENX crossed ₹50 crore in annual recurring revenue, partnered with over 2,300 salons, made its way to Sephora and raised strategic funding from Wolfpack Labs. Today it’s winning awards, launching in Italy and Singapore, and showing every sign of being a made-in-India haircare brand that can hold its own on the global stage. You’re as likely to spot Aankith at a beauty conference abroad as on a salon floor back home.
From the outside, it looks like a dream run. So I was curious about what lay behind it. When I sat down with Aankith, I found a story of resilience, courage and truly unstoppable energy.
Q| For someone discovering you for the first time, who is Aankith Aroraa beyond the awards and the founder content?
Beyond the awards and the founder content, I would say I am somebody who is extremely passionate about creating new ideas, being a first mover in innovation and doing things differently.
Professionally, I love building brands, creating experiences and challenging the way things have traditionally been done. I enjoy the creative side of marketing and brand building just as much as the business side.
Nobody knows this, Aparrna, but we were the inventors of the pedicure category in India, literally the inventors. I was the one who launched the ice cream pedicure in India. I launched the coffee pedicure and the marine pedicure with a peel-off mask, which you apply as a paste and peel off after 20 minutes. Before I defined the pedicure industry in India, it was 1 kg jars of scrub, cream, massage cream, mask, cleanser and salt, and salons would take them out in spoons and scoops and put them in a bowl. Then I launched the mono-dose, single-use hygienic kit for salons. Today, all the concepts of ice cream pedicure, marine pedicure, herb pedicure and doughnut pedicure are something I started, and the industry of course copied us. We’re also coming out with something extremely unique and unprecedented in the pedicure space in a couple of months, redefining it again. That’s how my brain works. I try to convert creativity into action, and the beauty of it is seeing it come alive.
And outside work, I’m actually pretty simple. I love being at home. Give me good food, my family, people I love and a little time at home, and I’m happy. I think that’s what keeps me grounded while I keep dreaming bigger.
Q| Your journey began with Procter & Gamble and Wella. How did those years shape the way you see the salon industry?
If I look at my entire journey, I started off as a Procter and Gamble distributor working in the villages. I’m originally from Calcutta, born and brought up. I did a lot of work in North Bengal and Sikkim, in the country villages of North Bengal and along the Bangladesh border, and then grew into a South Bengal Howrah distributor. I was also a Nokia distributor before Nokia died down as a brand in India. Then P&G acquired Wella, and that’s how I got into the beauty parlour business, as we called it back in the day. Today we call them salons. My journey has gone from bus travel to train travel to air travel.
I often say P&G was my PhD in go-to-market strategy and execution, while Wella was my MBA in understanding the untapped potential of the professional salon channel.
Those 10–13 years taught me how to build brands, understand consumers and, most importantly, execute. But the biggest lesson was that in the salon industry, relationships matter. You don’t build a professional beauty business through spreadsheets alone. You build it with good relationships with the stylist community.
Q| Through Streamline Beauty, you brought brands like OLAPLEX, KEVIN.MURPHY and AVEDA to India. What made you decide to build 3TENX?
After years of building some of the world’s leading professional beauty brands in India, we have built strong relationships across salons, hairdressers, consumers and premium retail.
At some point, we thought, “We’ve spent years building the playground for everyone else. Why not become a player ourselves?” And that’s how 3TENX was born.
The reality is that we started 3TENX in July 2024. A lot of the reason for starting it goes back to a brand we worked with for 10 years. They suddenly got another distributor for the online channel without even informing us. Then that distributor started selling the product at a 30% discount. For 10 years, we had never done discounting. We always respected the stylist, maintained hygiene and never did online discounting.
That was a wake-up call. I gave 10 years of my youth, literally my life, to building a brand. But in all honesty, I think I had built the brand of Aankith Aroraa. I realised that I am the brand, and I have the channel access. My relationships are genuine. I love the stylists and the professional community.
We wanted to bring everything we had learned about professional beauty and brand building together, to create something specifically for Indian hair, Indian consumers and the Indian climate.
Q| You started with distribution and then built your own brand. How did knowing salons “stylist by stylist” change the way you launched 3TENX?
It changed everything because we didn’t enter the salon industry as outsiders. We understood the ecosystem, from what stylists need to what consumers actually look for.
We knew one thing for sure: if a stylist doesn’t believe in your product, no amount of advertising can build the brand. That’s why 3TENX was built with the professional channel at its core, with education, stylist advocacy and salon experiences driving the brand.
For us, the salon isn’t just a place of service. It’s where trust, discovery and the brand experience come together.
Q| What gap did you see in Indian haircare that even the global brands weren’t filling?
We saw a gap between high-end performance and high-end pricing. Indian hair has its own challenges, from humidity and pollution to hard water and heat, so we felt it needed a more India-specific approach.
Our philosophy was simple: bring professional, high-performance haircare to Indian consumers at a price that delivers real value. Good hair care products do not have to come at a crazy expensive price.
Q| You built 3TENX with Megha. How do you divide roles, and what does building together look like day to day?
Megha and I complement each other really well because our strengths are quite different. She leads product, marketing, branding and the digital side, while I focus more on sales, B2B, salons, operations and the overall business.
We definitely bring work home with us, so switching off can be a challenge! But building something together with someone who shares your vision and is equally invested in the journey is incredibly special.
Q| We see the awards, the growth and the funding. Has there been a real low in the last three years, and what got you through it?
Absolutely. Entrepreneurship is never a straight line.
When we exited that business, we had a 150-people organisation. I didn’t know how to pay them their salaries, but I didn’t fire a single person. These were my people, who had worked with me for 10 years and were a part of my journey. So we paid salaries out of our own pocket for six months. That one year has been my worst year. I was tight on cash, and there was a vacuum in the business. People started losing confidence, wondering whether I’d ever be able to make a comeback.
It really exposed who was with us. There is the brand, and then there is the soul behind the brand. A few people left thinking the company wouldn’t survive, because the biggest business was this brand, the engine of the train, and 3TENX was new. That made me say, “Come with me. I cannot give up. I will not give up.” I merged my organisations and doubled down on 3TENX. And you will not believe it, but today, 3TENX’s turnover is bigger than that brand we used to represent.
It has taken a real toll on me mentally. Exiting a business that contributed 90% of my revenue is never easy. You have a 100% organisation, and 90% of the revenue is gone overnight.
What got me through it was that I was just hell-bent. I was like, I cannot be defined by a brand. I am the brand. I realised that the only one I can depend on is myself. No outside brand is going to give me what I need.
But one thing we never compromised on was our people. I’ve always believed that brands can come and go, but great people are what help you build the next one.
Q| What would you say to someone going through hair loss right now, emotionally and practically?
First, don’t underestimate the emotional impact of hair loss. Hair is closely tied to confidence and identity, so it’s completely natural for it to affect how you feel.
But don’t panic or rely on random internet solutions. Understand the cause and seek professional advice when needed, because hair loss can have many different triggers.
Q| What everyday haircare routine would you suggest for Indian hair and weather?
My biggest advice? Don’t overcomplicate your haircare. Consistency beats a 10-step routine.
Start with a shampoo that suits your scalp, follow with a good conditioner, and add a mask or treatment if your hair is coloured, damaged or dry. If you’re styling regularly, heat and UV protection are a must, especially in our climate.
And most importantly, stop changing products every few weeks. Give your hair the time and consistency it needs to actually respond.
Q| What are the haircare rules you wish more women would follow?
Follow these three simple ones: clean your scalp, protect your hair and listen to your stylist. Clean doesn’t always mean healthy, so use products that actually suit your scalp. If you colour, chemically treat or heat-style your hair, protection and aftercare are non-negotiable.
And remember, your scalp and your lengths have different needs. Your scalp needs balance; your lengths need hydration and protection. Good haircare isn’t complicated. It’s about understanding what your hair is asking for.
Q| What’s one hair trend you wish would just disappear?
Anything that prioritises an instant visual transformation over the long-term health of the hair. I’m not against trends. In fact, I love innovation and experimentation. But if a trend requires excessive heat, repeated chemical processing or aggressive styling without adequate care afterwards, I think the consumer needs to understand the trade-off.
Beautiful hair shouldn’t have to come at the cost of healthy hair.
Q| What are the key concerns in the haircare industry today, and what would you change?
One of the biggest concerns I see today is too many products solving the same problem. The industry has become so crowded that consumers are often left with complicated routines, multiple products and very little clarity on what they actually need.
At 3TENX, we’re trying to build what we call effortless beauty. We don’t want to create 100 products just for the sake of having a large portfolio. We want to create focused, multifunctional products that genuinely earn a place in your routine.
The goal is simple: fewer products, more performance, and great hair without the complicated routine.
Q| At Lavenderoom, our philosophy is Beauty Inside Out. What does that mean to you, especially when it comes to hair?
For me, Beauty Inside Out is about more than how you look; it’s about how you feel. With hair, shiny hair can look beautiful, but healthy hair feels different. When your hair feels strong, healthy and manageable, it naturally changes how you carry yourself.
That’s what Beauty Inside Out means to me, and it’s very close to what we believe at 3TENX: Real Results for Real People.
Q| What does a regular day look like for you, and what keeps you inspired?
There really isn’t a completely regular day!
A lot of my time goes into working with the sales and salon teams, looking at numbers, distribution, partners and new launches. But I always make space for the creative side too, whether it’s thinking about new concepts, products, experiences or ways to market them differently.
What keeps me inspired is seeing an idea go from something in your head to something actually being used by a stylist in a salon. And, of course, coming home to my family keeps everything in perspective.
Q| What would you say to young founders trying to build something of their own in beauty?
I think the starting point is clarity. Once you have that, don’t start with “What can I sell?” Start with “What problem can I solve?”
Beauty is crowded, so creating another product isn’t enough. Understand your consumer, your professionals, your distribution ecosystem and, most importantly, what makes you genuinely different.
And be patient. The awards, funding and growth stories you see rarely happen overnight. We went through a tough phase, and honestly, we still feel the ripples. It will probably take another six months to a year to really recover. But it is what it is. We were consistent and persistent, and today 3TENX is where it is.
Build your team, know your numbers, listen to your customers and keep improving. And don’t be afraid to be a first mover. Sometimes the biggest opportunities are where nobody has gone before.
Q| What’s next for 3TENX, and for you?
Our ambition for 3TENX is very clear: we want to build the biggest Indian-founded global haircare brand. India is our home market, but our vision has always been global. We’re already expanding through Sephora and our international distribution network, with launches in Italy and Singapore, and more markets to come.
We’re continuing to innovate across scalp care, styling and hair growth. Our new portfolio, launching over the next few weeks and months, is going to be mind-blowing, to the level where people will say, “Oh my God, we didn’t know this could be done with hair. We didn’t know this kind of service would be accessible at a salon. We didn’t know a product could have this texture.”
But honestly, I still feel we’re just getting started. Now, it’s about taking everything we’ve learnt and building an Indian brand that can stand proudly on the global stage.
Our conversation with Aankith Aroraa is a reminder that behind every dream run is a story few people ever see. Do try 3TENX. That goes without saying; it’s a brand I genuinely believe in. But I hope you also leave with a little of Aankith’s energy. When the chips are down, believe in yourself, by hook or by crook, and show it. Approach every problem with innovation, have the courage to take leaps, and always think for your team. Everything else follows.
Stay tuned for more thoughtful conversations from the ‘Lavenderoom Conversation Series.’
Also Read:
Why The Scalp Is The Missing Link In Your Hair Routine?
How Ankita Gill is Bringing the Soul of the East to Fragrance with Param Sara
Born in Transit: 5 Lessons My Travels Taught Me as a First-Gen Beauty Founder
