Herbal Hair Dye Making

§1What this business is

Dried herbs are ground to a fine powder (400 mesh) in a pulveriser, mixed with a base such as fuller's earth, and packed. Cream and oil forms are made by heating waxes and oils into a base and then adding herbal extracts, preservative, colour and perfume. Henna gives red-orange shades; indigo layered with henna gives brown to black. Buyers are general and cosmetic shops, beauty parlours and government canteen stores.

§2Is it right for you?

Skills you need

• Herbal formulation
• Quality and skin-safety testing
• Packaging and branding
• Selling to shops and parlours

Why difficulty 3/5: Small plant, but licensing, a good formula and brand-building take time.

§3Market

§4Raw material & machinery

From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Hair Dye (2018) — private guide — confirm locally

• Dye herbs — henna, indigo, amla, cassia, turmeric and othersthe profile lists these as the traditional plant dyes; the formula decides the mix
• Base powder — fuller's earth or masoor dal flourused to dilute the ground herbs
• Beeswax, paraffin and oilsfor cream and oil forms
• Preservative, colour and perfumeadded at the end for creams

From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Hair Dye (2018) — private guide — confirm locally

§5Licences & registration

1. Cosmetics manufacturing licence from the State Drugs Controller (Cosmetics Rules, 2020)
2. Udyam registration
3. GST registration
4. Legal Metrology registration for packed goods
5. State Pollution Control Board consent where applicable

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

• PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
• MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
• Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
• CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore

PMEGP covers manufacturing projects up to ₹50 L; the ₹18.98 L bank loan is within the MUDRA limit; Stand-Up India for SC/ST or women founders; CGTMSE for a loan without collateral.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Land ₹2.00 L + building ₹5.00 L + plant & machinery ₹7.00 L + furniture and electrical ₹1.00 L + preliminary/pre-operative ₹0.70 L + working capital ₹9.60 L = ₹25.30 L. Bank finance ₹18.98 L, promoter ₹6.33 L.

Working capital: Working capital ₹9.60 L (stock ₹4.80 L, receivables ₹2.40 L, overheads ₹2.40 L); the bank funds ₹5.40 L.

Prices from 2018 — machinery and running costs will be higher now.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

§9Risks — where people fail

• Licence or labelling problems under cosmetics rules
• Herb quality and price swings
• Brand competition
• Slow early sales

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

1. Days 1–30: Visit a working herbal hair dye making unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Cosmetics manufacturing licence from the State Drugs Controller (Cosmetics Rules, 2020), Udyam registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

¶Sources

1. SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Hair Dye (2018)

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.