Indu Hewapathirana

Doctorate in beauty culture for Indu

...'Grateful for parents and family's support':

By Carol Aloysius

Twenty years of dedication to beauty has finally paid rich dividends to Indu Hewapathirana when she received a doctorate in Beauty Culture at a graduation ceremony held recently at the Hotel Hilton.

Receiving the award amidst a galaxy of fellow beauticians her first words were of praise, not for her own achievements, but for the overwhelming support she had received throughout her long career from her parents , husband Jayantha Kulasekera, and her clients.

“ I owe it all to them. This triumph is not mine. It is theirs,” she told well wishers who surrounded her to congratulate her on her success. “It is their blessings that I reap today”. Meeting Indu when she dropped by to say “ Hello” last week at the Sunday Observer office almost fifteen years I first interviewed her shortly when she had set up her own business soon she had completed studying under leading bridal dresser Harris Wijesinghe, I found the change in her refreshing to say the least.

Gone was the shy self effacing, naïve young woman dressed in a made up saree, with matching earrings and little make up who was then just making her way into the competitive world of beauty culture.

Instead, before me sat a poised confident mature woman in her early forties sporting a smart two piece Western suit who knew exactly where she was going and ready to face the future challenges ahead of her- whether in her familiar field or outside it.

“ I have now entered the political arena following my father’s footsteps as he was a minister in Matara”, she tells me. Like her father too a she will continue helping the underprivileged especially brides from impoverished backgrounds she adds.

When she opened her first salon in Pitakotte, she recalls her first client was a poor bride . “ Many of my friends said it was a bad start to my career and wanted me to replace her with a rich bride .

But I refused. I feel that helping this bride was the start to all the blessings I have been given thereafter”., she reminisced. Over the years, Indu says that dressing poor brides, making their bouquets , doing their make up at a very low fee and sometimes free , has been her greatest reward.

Indu Hewapathiran with Dr Subash from the Ministry of Vocational Training, shortly after receiving her doctorate.

“ There were times when a bride would come to me in desperation to ask if she could rent out a bridal saree and I would help her as best as I could , even lending her jewellery and an artificial bouquet to match. It was a labour of love which I never regretted”.

Secret

I ask her the secret to her youthful looks and unblemished complexion, for at 42 Indu can easily pass off as a woman much younger. Did she have any home remedies she could pass on to our readers?

“ I always tell my clients to use natural ingredients, plucked from their own gardens which would be free of pesticides and weedicides which are harmful to the skin.

I tell them to make herbal paste with aloe vera, bees honey and lime juice to cleanse their face and use cucumber or potato to remove dark circles around their eyes or reduce any puffiness.

I also tell them to drink quarter cup of lime juice and komarika before a meal every day .

If you drink a glass of fruit juice on an empty stomach, it helps to clear your stomach .

Keep your skin clean and above all have a mind that is free of bad thoughts. "If you have inner beauty, you don’t need beauty aids”.

Tips

What about tips on sewing which she says is something she loves doing?

“If one learns to embroider, crochet and knit or make an ordinary piece of cloth come to life, it is useful.

You can make any bridal outfit in a very short time”. Citing her own experience she says, “ I can make a bridal outfit in one hour and turn out all the outfits for the whole bridal retinue in two hours, simply because I have honed my skills in the art all these years.

I never buy ready made outfits for myself. I make them all at home”.

Her message to future beauty professionals? “Beauty Culture is like any other business.

It requires patience, study and research and confidence in one self. Never take it lightly. If you want to be a successful beautician you have to be prepared to work hard, and be completely dedicated to your vocation”.