Akash Mehta

Supporting with donations, eventing and fundraising to improve health, nutrition, water, sanitation and education for children in many of the world’s poorest countries.

Working closely with PETA specifically the Rahat team in India to help end the suffering and abuse of animals.

Visits each week involved organising activities, educational games, tea and outdoor trips with the disabled.

Charity work helping the orphanage and children in Alibaug, India.

In ancient Indian sanskrit, the word “sneha” means “to oil,” as well as “to love”—and that’s no coincidence.

As the 5,000-year-old Indian science of Ayurveda has fast gained traction within the modern wellness movement, so has one of its most sacred above-neck rituals: Hair-oiling. The treatment, typically practiced before taking a shower or before bed at night, consists of harnessing the regenerative powers of natural oils by working them into the scalp and hair for moisture and nourishment. “It reduces dryness and gives your hair strength, shininess, thickness and softness,” says Ananta Ripa Ajmera, a certified Ayurvedic health practitioner and director of Ayurveda at New York City health club The Well. In traditional Ayurvedic texts, sesame oil is recommended in the cold seasons and coconut oil is utilized in the hotter seasons for their respective warming and cooling effects. For enhanced benefits, Ayurvedic herbs—such as thickening hibiscus, growth-stimulating amalaki, antimicrobial bhringraj, or protective brahmi—can be infused into the oil, says Ajmera. Along with saturating strands, a head massage (gently kneading the scalp, temples, and neck with the fingertips), is an integral—and ultimately cathartic—part of the experience. “It helps to exfoliate, moisturize, and improve circulation in the scalp so that you’re addressing hair health at the root,” explains Divya Viswanathan, co-founder of Ayurvedic beauty brand Taza. “It is also believed to activate the seventh chakra, the crown chakra, which is connected to the pineal glad and works to calm the mind.”

Going beyond beauty, hair-oiling is also a tradition of bonding that’s been passed down from generation to generation. “Every summer, our grandma used to come from India with these Ayurvedic ingredients and make these natural hair potions while telling us ancient fables—it was haircare and story time,” explains Akash Mehta, who has teamed up with his sister Nikita on Fable & Mane, a new hair-care lined inspired by the Indian hair rituals and Panchatantras—ancient animal fables—they grew up with. “A few years ago, my hair started falling out, so I started going into the kitchen and mixing the oils my grandmother used and they worked wonders,” explains Nikita of the driving catalyst behind the brand, which will have select proceeds going toward tiger conservation in India. “Life was so fast-paced, I really wanted to get back to these ancient at-home traditions and that became our whole brand mission.” With their lightweight HoliRoots oil, a prewash treatment laced with anti-inflammatory ashwagandha, healing dashmool, and circulation-boosting castor oil, the pair set out to create a replenishing “roots for roots” treatment that calls for its user to pause for a few minutes and, in turn, make the daily ritual of showering a more a “relaxing and meditative” experience. Better yet, they encourage a partner or family member to become a part of the process, administering the treatment to bring that intimacy and sense of human touch.

“I vividly remember my mum massaging oil into my scalp and temples thoroughly, and then onto hers once I was done,” recalls Indian model and illustrator Namita Sunil of her childhood in her native Kerala, India. “It’s a tradition that’s often passed on from every mother in a family.” Her mother’s go-to homemade mixture was made from hibiscus flowers, which were crushed into a paste and mixed with oil. “No matter how frizzy or curly the average Keralite women’s hair was, it would be shiny and slicked down at the scalp,” she explains.”For girls my generation, this was our sole childhood hair care routine, and there are still plenty of older women with the same shine in their hair.” For Viswanathan, it remains a “truly ceremonious” act. “Growing up, my grandma would massage my mom’s hair, while my mom massaged mine,” she explains. “Now, I continue this ritual both individually, as well as perform it with my daughter.”

Amid the many changes that have come with the coronavirus pandemic, hair-oiling can be a soothing act that helps keep you present. “It really is the perfect self-love and self-care practice to nurture yourself through all the uncertainty we are facing right now,” says Ajmera. “It also takes time to get used to adding new practices to your routine, so starting to incorporate this practice when you can during quarantine will help you make a new habit out of it that you can return to even when we re-emerge into the world.” And if you want to take it a step further, Viswanathan recommends hair-oiling in tandem with a full-body abhyanga, or self-massage, which helps reduce inflammation, promote lymphatic drainage, and hydrate the skin to leave you feeling more grounded and centered all over. Taking time out of the day for such deeply personal practices may feel like a foreign undertaking, but take encouragement from the fact this isn’t exactly unchartered territory. As Akash points out, “Hair-oiling is new to many, but its benefits have been proven from centuries of ancient tradition.”

Nikita and Akash Mehta, the sibling founders behind Fable and Maneturned the age-old ritual of Indian hair oil massage into a new luxury wellness brand. The category creating brand uses Ayurvedic principles to formulate their magical potions. Fable and Mane launched at Sephora during the pandemic and sold out twice. Their HoliRoots Hair Oil transformed my dry heat damaged hair in just one use. I was dumbfounded and sought out the founders to learn more.“I saw a whitespace in the market for something clean, cultural and conscious using Ayurvedic beauty principles but in a modern way,” recalls Nikita, 28. During a stressful period in Nikki’s life, she started to experience hair loss and remembered her grandmother giving both siblings, traditional Ayurvedic Indian hair massages, while passionately telling fables on their frequent visits to India as children. “For Indians, nightly hair oiling massage is part of our everyday life,” explains Akash, 26, who used to run Digital and Influencer Marketing at Christian Dior.

Nikki began mixing up the key super ingredients her grandmother used and started to see her own hair grow and shine once again. Bringing diversity to the shelf was no easy task though. Having spent three years developing the brand, they first scoured India to find the ten potent roots that were used in ancient remedies to strengthen and repair hair. Wanting the products to have a luxurious, authentic and multi-sensory experience, the siblings enlisted a master French perfumer. This master of scent was dispatched to visit the Madurai temple in South India to distill the famed incredibly fragrant, auspicious jasmine sambac buds, locally known as Madurai malligai.

Their HoliRoots Ritual product line currently includes: HoliRoots Hair Oil, HoliRoots Shampoo, HoliRoots Conditioner and a HoliRoots Hair Mask. Each product goes beyond responsible and clean formulation. Fable and Mane is committed to giving back to the wild. The brand has a “give back” philosophy at its core, supporting the wildlife charities that restore habitats for endangered wild felines.

At 22, Akash Mehta started off as the youngest manager at beauty behemoth Estee Lauder Companies. In less than three years, he was the youngest digital manager to ever be hired at Dior. And now, he runs his own brand consultation firm, co-owns the hair care label, Fable and Mane, with his sister Nikita Mehta, and is also a global guardian for UNICEF. Before all of this, his claim to fame was an Ariana Grande mashup, that garnered over 1 million views on Facebook. And those are only a few of the many hats the London-born super-achiever wears. The millennial entrepreneur is always on the move, often mixing work with pleasure— he’s either scuba diving in the Caribbean, strategising business with his sister while exploring the Californian Redwoods, or soaking in the street-spirit of Medellín, Colombia. However, his introduction into the world of digital marketing was anything but a natural sequel to his education. The electrical engineering graduate from Imperial College in London simply trusted the voice in his head. “I remember the day I graduated, I wrote down my potential career options as engineering, music or brand building. As I read them aloud, brand building felt just right,” he says.

Even before joining Dior, Mehta was a social media influencer with over 250K followers. He took his prowess of the ’gram and moved to Paris to commence his global role at the brand, all at the age of 25. He says, “There’s this notion that experience only comes with age. I tried to break this stereotype and explain that experience is not linear.” His work at Dior led to the Forbes 30 Under 30 award, with him being the only Indian in the media and marketing space to make it to the list. Mehta’s entrepreneurial ventures have also been closely tied to his family. He says “Our brand, Fable and Mane, is inspired from the times our grandmother used to oil our hair while telling Indian fables of Panchatantra.” After all this, if there’s a thought that comes to one’s head, it’s this: how does this multitasking powerhouse juggle the many roles of his life? “Some days I feel on top of everything and other days I want to give up. It’s my parents and my sister who really keep me motivated,” shares Mehta. His journey to success may have been quick but it sure was one sans short cuts.

Rooted in their Indian heritage and childhood memories, Fable & Mane is a clean and conscious brand set on disrupting the hair-care market. Its debut collection, which can be found at Sephora, consists of a hair mask, shampoo, conditioner, and the much raved about HoliRoots pre-wash treatment oil. As the Mehta siblings continue to work towards bringing their beloved Indian hair rituals to the mainstream, they remain just as dedicated to another cause close to their heart — saving the tigers. Through the creation of their Fable Fund, the pair are committed to supporting wild tiger conservation and restoring the habitats of the endangered species.

We had the pleasure of chatting with both Akash and Nikita over Zoom to discuss their love of tigers, the centuries-old tradition of hair-oiling, and how they launched their brand during quarantine.

The Tease: How important is hair care to Indian culture?

Nikita: It’s so important because India is a conditioning continent. We probably oil our hair everyday. Even in our culture and religion, you always see gods and goddesses depicted with incredible hair. You could almost link it back to Ayurveda which is this 4,000 year-old life science where hair is seen as an extension of your body’s energy field. Even shampoo — the modern term —  was invented in India. We found in our research that traditionally shampoo was just herbs and oils mixed together without all the suds and lathering. For us, it just really goes back to our roots and discovering how everything that we grow in our garden can be good for our hair. It’s really just plant-based treatments and they’ve been using it for centuries, passing it down through generations which makes it so special.

Fable & Mane made its debut earlier this year with its HoliRoots collection. What was it like launching a haircare brand in the middle of a pandemic?

Akash: It was definitely a new experience. We had to be as agile as possible and understand the current climate as well as be very mindful of how we decide to market and sell our product during such a tricky time. We wanted to go for the holistic approach to launching the brand and really just let people discover the product in an organic way. Launching with Sephora definitely helped that.

I think in a very odd way, it was also a fortuitous moment for the brand and our mission which is all about bringing these self-care rituals into your home. With everyone being home, it ended up being actually quite nice to bring that sense of haircare and self-care to people when they couldn’t go to the salons but still really wanted that TLC. Despite the challenges, I think it really ended up being a very good time for the brand and our ethos to get that message across.

Fable & Mane is very much a family business. In addition to being business partners, you’re also siblings. What is it like collaborating on this joint venture?

Akash: It’s amazing. My sister is my best friend. As with any best friends, you end up always fighting a little bit here and there. The best thing is, because we’re blood, it always ends up making us stronger by the end of it. I think because we are siblings, we have this trust in each other more than anything.

Also, I think what works for us is that we are siblings who are very different. We have different skill sets as well as different strengths and weaknesses that we can sort of help each other with on this journey. Niki is definitely the creative force behind the brand and the visionary. I’m more the mathematical business, “get the product to market” person. Together, we complement each other which is quite nice. I can learn from her and hopefully she can learn from me. We do have a bit of an age gap (three years), so that helps as well.

Nikita: Honestly, we have really healthy boundaries and just respect for each other. It’s a joy working with him because he comes from a corporate background. My brother spent time at Dior and Estee Lauder. I’ve kind of always been in the family business with my father working in fragrance. We’re really able to bring our two worlds into Fable & Mane.

Your brand is really rooted in both of your Indian heritage as well as the Indian tradition of hair-oiling. For anyone who might not know, what is hair-oiling and what are the benefits for your hair?

Nikita: Hair-oiling comes from the Indian tradition of abhyanga which means sneha [ in Sanskrit] which means “to love and to oil.” The concept is that oil is very lubricating so it’s going to produce sound sleep, relax you if you’ve got a migraine, and just help stimulate your blood flow, especially when it’s massaged into the scalp.

To practice hair-oiling, start with applying a drop of oil onto dry hair just before you shower, ideally for half an hour or sometimes overnight. Massage it into your scalp, focusing on your crown chakra – the energy vortex just above your head and in between your ears. It will help release tension and any stress to allow the oil to penetrate in. Then, you can slowly start to coat your hair from root to tip with the oil. I like to sometimes braid my hair and leave it overnight. The oil is designed to be washed with water and then followed up with your shampoo.

As for benefits, a lot of people use it for hair growth as a natural remedy to get thicker hair. If you have hair loss or hair shedding, it’s going to really help stop that. I like to say that your hair is similar to a garden: if you take care of your roots, you’re going to enjoy the fruits. It takes time but you can see the results. It’s a beautiful ritual. We usually practice it with somebody else giving it to us, so it brings people together. My grandma used to massage my hair and I’m sure one day if I have a daughter or son, I’ll massage their hair.

A divine hair and scalp treatment oil with strengthening Ashwagandha to massage into dry hair and scalp before shampoo. Designed to be part of your weekly hair ritual. Indulge in a sublime scent that transports you to Incredible India.

Restore and revive damaged hair back to its former glory with mango butter, banana & coconut cream. This high-performance formula with an exquisite creamy texture is a nourishing treat for all hair types. Feels & smells like a soft whipped delicious dessert to restore hydration, condition and shine, helping to repair the damage to your tresses caused by styling, pollution and environmental stress. Formulated without Silicones, Parabens, Phthalates, Sulfates, Animal Derived Ingredients. Cruelty-free and vegan.

Your miracle hydrator for the strongest mane. Coconut and turmeric tame frizz and give fullness for soft, manageable hair. Formulated without Silicones, Parabens, Phthalates, Sulfates, Animal Derived Ingredients. Cruelty-free and vegan.

A hydrating, rejuvenating and silicone-free shampoo enriched with Centella Asiatica and coconut. Guar and Aloe Vera keep the scalp nourished and healthy which supports healthy hair growth. Formulated without Silicones, Parabens, Phthalates, Sulfates, Animal Derived Ingredients. Cruelty-free and vegan.

Discover India's beauty secrets for a strong, beautiful mane with the HoliRoots™ Discovery Set of 3 minis - a shampoo, conditioner and hair mask - each formulated to enrich the hair and spirit. Free from Silicones, Parabens, Phthalates, Sulfates, Animal Derived Ingredients, Animal Cruelty Shampoo (50ml / 1.7 fl oz) - A natural deep cleanse for smooth healthy hair as shampoo was intended to be. Conditioner (50ml / 1.7 fl oz) - Tames frizz and softens for hydrated, manageable hair. Hair Mask (50ml / 1.7 fl oz) - Hydrate and repair naturally for abundance.

Enriched with ancient Indian super berry Amla, a potent form of Vitamin C and Bakuchi, a natural remedy to soothe dry, sensitive scalps. This naturally colored oil serum softens and smoothes hair cuticles, making hair less prone to breakage, and penetrates into follicles for soft, shiny hair. Enjoy a mindful scent, designed to balance our crown chakra with fresh blackcurrant, a heart of tea rose & orange blossom on a bed of woody amber and skin musk to elevate you to a state of peace and calm. Safe for all scalp types and suitable for color treated hair. Formulated without Silicones, Parabens, Phthalates, Sulfates, Animal Derived Ingredients. Cruelty-free and Vegan.

Our Hair Yoga Mat is handmade with healing herbs held sacred in Vedic traditions. Each mat is handwoven with cotton and jute and hand-dyed with the naturally anti-inflammatory herb Turmeric using the age-old Ayurvedic dyeing process. Suitable for light forms of yoga practice. Hand brushed with natural rubber to provide added grip and anti-skid effects. Eco-friendly | 100% Natural | Zero Waste | Fair Trade Handcrafted in India 72” x 27” (183cm x 67cm)– 1.175 kg Foldable, washable. Includes yoga mat bag. This item is non-refundable.

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