With the Manhattan-based Christine Valmy International Academy of Beauty (www.christinevalmyindia.com) set to open doors in the city at 9 Syed Amir Ali Avenue (fifth floor), t2 caught up with its director Marina Valmy on email. 

After Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad, what brings Christine Valmy Academy to Calcutta?

This seemed like a natural progression. After west and south India, we were looking at the east and will probably look at the north next. With the beauty industry growing rapidly in India, both international and domestic players are setting up salon chains and spas, so the demand for well-trained and qualified beauty professionals is on the rise. There is a sufficient demand for this profession in Calcutta. Plus, there is the added advantage of tapping the Northeast market, where there is a natural affinity for this industry.

What will the academy offer to the city?

The academy offers high quality training with a scientific approach, with emphasis on both theory and hands-on training. We will also offer job assistance with the best brands across the country.

Your mother, Christine, inspired the first wave of professional skincare experts in the US in the Sixties...

My mother, Christine Valmy, through her school, trained over 85,000 aestheticians and make-up artists. She started the first school of aesthetics in the US and helped form an industry that we now call ‘skincare’. 
What role do you play in the academy? How do you see yourself fitting into your mother’s shoes?
There will never be someone like my mother, and no one will ever be able to fill her shoes. I have been involved in the company my whole life, and have been groomed by my mother to take over the business. In 1990, she retired from day-to-day operations and my husband and I took over the management. I look after the creative and technical part of the business, whereas my husband handles the financial and regulatory part.

What makes the Christine Valmy beauty products different? 

Our products are different because the ingredients are prepared very specifically. There’s a combination of traditional herbs and plants with the most advanced ingredients. 

Christine developed what is called the Valmy method — a philosophy of ‘revealing and not concealing’ the natural beauty of healthy, well-functioning skin. Tell us about it...

It is much easier to cover a problem or take care of a problem by managing it temporarily than it is to actually cure it. So if someone has pimples, it is easier from a sales point of view to give them a product that dries the surface of the skin. Temporarily, the skin looks better, but the oiliness and pimples will come back after a while. That’s why we believe in taking care of the skin holistically from inside out, allowing the skin to change for itself and giving it long-term beneficial results.

What do you think of the Indian skin? 

I think the Indian skin is lovely but has problems due to sun exposure.  This causes more dryness on the surface with more oiliness trapped inside. The sun also causes uneven pigmentation and hyper-pigmentation. Indian women like to combine more traditional remedies and ingredients with cosmetics. India has a long tradition of using herbs and plants, and Indian women bring more of that into their daily regimen. 

What’s the one skincare tip from your mother that you still follow?

Never go to bed with make-up on.