By Dr. Dhivya Srinivasa
This may be an unpopular opinion, especially coming from someone in the beauty industry, but I actually think healthy nails, healthy lashes, and healthy hair look better than artificial replacements.
Not in a way that dismisses anyone’s choices, because I completely understand why beauty trends moved in that direction in the first place. Lash extensions can be beautiful, acrylic nails can feel polished and put together, and hair extensions can be life-changing for women dealing with thinning or damage, so none of this is about judgment. It is more that I think many women are quietly starting to feel tired of the maintenance that comes with all of it, the appointments every couple of weeks, the time sitting still, and the slow realization that their natural lashes, nails, or hair almost always feel weaker underneath all the upkeep.
What I have been noticing more recently is a shift away from that cycle. Women are taking breaks from lash extensions because their natural lashes feel sparse or fragile afterward, they are removing acrylics and realizing how much their nails have been compromised over time, and they are stepping away from hair extensions in favor of scalp care, oils, and focusing on regrowth rather than constant addition.
It feels like a quiet cultural correction in a way, because for a long time beauty was defined by enhancement, more length, more volume, more maintenance, but now there seems to be a growing appreciation for features that simply look healthy on their own, skin that looks calm and balanced, hair that feels thick and nourished, nails that are naturally strong, and lashes that do not need to be replaced to look full.
As an Indian woman, I think about this shift around hair quite a bit because hair health has always been deeply embedded in how I grew up understanding beauty, where oiling the scalp, caring for the roots, and focusing on long-term strength was always the foundation rather than something you fix after damage has already happened. That mindset has stayed with me because it never framed hair as something to constantly “upgrade,” but rather something to support so it can thrive naturally over time.
My own hair is something I get asked about often, and I have always approached it very simply without much focus on extreme treatments or constant styling, just consistency and care over time, and I think people can usually tell the difference between hair that is truly healthy and hair that is being maintained through a lot of external support.
I feel the same way about nails, especially since I have not gotten a manicure in over ten years, which always surprises people, but my nails are still one of the most complimented parts of me, and I think that is because healthy natural nails, even if they are short or imperfect, tend to look
more elegant than nails that have been repeatedly covered or weakened under layers of gel and acrylic.
As a surgeon, I think I naturally approach beauty through the lens of restoration rather than constant modification, because it has always made more sense to me that the goal should be to support what already exists rather than damage it in order to temporarily replace it, and I think that philosophy is exactly what led to both our Lash Longevity Serum and our Cuticle Cure Serum at Avara.
The intention was never to create products that replace beauty routines like lashes or nails, but rather to give women a way to actually support their natural lashes and nails so they can become stronger over time, especially for those recovering from years of extensions, gels, or treatments that may have left things weaker than they started.
Our Lash Longevity Serum was designed to support the appearance of fuller, healthier natural lashes over time, while our Cuticle Cure Serum focuses on strengthening nails and gently exfoliating dry cuticles with glycolic acid so the nail bed looks cleaner and healthier without needing constant salon maintenance.
I do not think this is about rejecting beauty treatments entirely, because I understand and respect why people use them, but I do think there is a broader shift happening where women are starting to value looking healthy over looking heavily done, and personally I find that version of beauty far more compelling, because it feels like it belongs to you rather than something you have to constantly maintain.