Meet Clarabelle Saldanha, Deepika Padukone's trusted hairstylist

Fifty-seven-year old Clarabelle Saldanha runs her salon out of Lily Villa, her picturesque bungalow located in Mumbai’s Bandra West and spends her day cutting and colouring the hair of Bollywood celebrities, which include quite a few leading ladies.

Right from Deepika Padukone, Gauri Khan to Lara Dutta and Malaika Arora Khan, Saldanha is the faithful friend and trusted hairstylist, whose hands have styled the looks for numerous celebrity cover photoshoots.

Yet, very little is written about her or her team of six. The reason for that omission is that she has never once advertised in the last 38 years that she’s worked as a hairstylist.

One google search confirms that as the search engine throws up no results when it comes to any details about her but on the other hand, it is flooded with numerous photo shoots credits attributed to Saldanha.

Apart from cutting hair, Saldanha also travels with Bollywood’s leading ladies on outdoor film and ad shoots if asked.

Her clientele is impressive to say the least.


(Image credit: Brown Paper Bag)

“My tryst with celebrity hair cutting started with actress like Amrita Singh, Dimple Kapadia, who’s still a client and even Waheeda Rahman. Now, Sussane Khan, Lara Dutta, Gauri Khan and Deepika Padukone come to me,” she explains, adding that besides celebrities, a lot of families living in the vicinity trust her with their hair. Infact, there have been times when she’s worked with three generations of the same household.

Saldanha’s hair studio is delightfully lit and constitutes floral seating and a single hair wash bay. She does all the cuts herself, while the colouring is done by her employees, most of whom have been with her for over 20 years.

There’s something else. Her salon also has a picture of Saldanha with Oprah Winfrey.

We know you can tell that there’s an interesting story behind that, but to be absolutely sure, you gotta tame that mane.

Contact: You can book an appointment with Clarabelle on 9870107034.

Getting there: Her studio is at Lilly Villa, 21 Convent Road, Bandra West

Pocket pinch: Rs 5,000 plus taxes for a haircut.