Shahnaz Husain is both the pioneer and the undisputed queen of herbal care in India. Thirty-four years ago Shahnaz dreamt of pioneering the Indian herbal heritage and Ayurveda, taking them far beyond the boundaries of her country and achieving the kind of international acclaim that has surpassed her wildest dreams. Today, she heads an organization that is the largest of its kind in the world, with an integrated system of an international salon chain, supported by product ranges.

Shahnaz belongs to a royal family, who originally came from Samarkhand and later held prominent positions in the royal governments of Bhopal and Hyderabad, during the pre-independence days. It is also a family of eminent legal luminaries. Shahnaz had to comply with existing traditions and entered into an arranged marriage at the tender age of 15, becoming a mother by the time she was 16. She was fortunate to have a broadminded, Oxford-educated father, Chief Justice N.U. Beg, who put her through schooling in an Irish convent and instilled in her a love of poetry and English literature. He also imbued in her the right combination of traditional values and progressive ideas and Shahnaz learnt to love and respect the rich heritage of India. It was her extraordinary personal qualities that made her determined to emerge from a sheltered and secure life and venture into a totally different world of entrepreneurship, where she had to wage a lone battle to fulfil her dreams.

When Shahnaz returned to India, after training for 10 years in cosmetology and cosmetic chemistry, in some of the leading institutions in London, New York, Paris and Copenhagen, she started her own herbal salon for skin and hair care. Instead of following the existing salon treatment methods, she decided to adopt the principle of 'Natural Care and Cure' and to apply the Ayurvedic system and formulate custom-made products for skin and hair problems." Thus was born the legendary Shahnaz Herbal range of therapeutic products. She devised clinical treatments for specific problems, like acne, pimples, rashes, pigmentation, skin-sensitivity, dehydration, premature aging, scars, dandruff, hair damage, hair loss, alopecia, and so on. Today, the Shahnaz Husain Group is engaged in the formulation and marketing of over four hundred Ayurvedic formulations for skin, hair and body care, which have not only become widely known, but have received unprecedented international acclaim.

Intensely proud of her country and heritage, Shahnaz Husain has dedicated her life and her career to fight for the recognition of Indian Ayurvedic products, representing India at Festivals of India and CIDESCO and focusing attention on the relevance of Ayurveda to modern-day problems and needs. The success which followed is nothing short of phenomenal. It was not easy to break into highly competitive markets of the West, where billions of dollars are pumped into a hysterical cosmetic industry, selling youth and dreams in bottled jars.

During the last three decades, the Shahnaz Husain Group has acquired a tremendous global presence, having sold at prestigious stores, like Galeries Lafayette (Paris), Harrods and Selfridges (London), the Seibu chain in Japan, Bloomingdales (New York), La Rinascente in Milan (Italy), as well as exclusive outlets and clinics worldwide. In fact, Shahnaz was the first Asian to enter Galeries Lafayette in Paris in herbal care and the first Asian to be featured in the 18-foot shop window of the store. The Group has salons and outlets in prominent locations all over the world, which have extended on a unique franchise system. With the professional infrastructure to support the demands of products and publicity, and tremendous goodwill, the Shahnaz Husain Group has also gone global with its other ventures, like the Shahnaz Husain Forever Beautiful lifestyle shops, Beauty Training Institutes, Ayurvedic Centres and Shahnaz Husain Medispas.

Shahnaz became the first and only woman in 107 years to receive the World's Greatest Woman Entrepreneur Award from Success magazine of the USA. The Shahnaz Husain Group has also received several international awards for Quality, including the Global Quality Management Award for Quality Excellence and Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur 2002, in London. In September 2003, Shahnaz was selected for the prestigious Global Indian "Woman of the Millenium" Award, presented by Global Indian Congress, based in California, USA.