A homegrown model that started off making pickles, rose water, and products for poojas, now formulates fashionable cosmetics. The trajectory of Gokul Santol is fairly fascinating. It was began in 1909 by TS Rajagopal Iyengar in Kumbakonam. One of his sons, TSR Kannan moved to Madras in 1960 to launch the beauty wing with products like sandalwood-infused talcum powder and soaps. Eventually face wash and cream had been added to the rising checklist.
In 2004, when Arjun and Ashwin Santhanam, the fourth era took over the baton, that they had contemporary concepts — whereas sandalwood was at the core, the skincare products being developed had been up to date. “The primary use of sandalwood is in perfumery. Perfumes like Calvin Klein Eternity, Chanel No. 5 etc., have sandalwood oil in the base. But while exploring what we could do with sandalwood, the first thing we thought of was suncare,” explains Arjun, who did his submit commencement in Cosmetic Science from the University of Cincinnati.
After intense R&D, rounds of formulating and reformulating, Sandiva was launched in 2021 with the concept of introducing sandalwood into the fashionable lady’s skincare routine. Starting with tinted SPF 35 sunscreen (that double up as safety and make-up) and free SPF powder, the vary now incorporates serums, extremely gentle physique lotions (the woody, candy perfume might sound a little bit overpowering for some), and primers with perfume that transport you to a spa. These products have the skill to multitask and work effectively as base for make-up. Other than sandalwood mud and oil, Sandiva’s skincare vary additionally combines Vitamin E extract, patchouli leaf extract, Vitamin E, pure niacinamide, zinc oxide, candy almond oil, moringa oil, blackseed oil, amongst others.
With its newest additions, Sandiva has taken issues a notch up with One & Done, a spread of non-tinted SPF50 sunscreens. These are available in two finishes: sheer and dewy, and are silky, gentle, and hydrating, minus the white solid. “These two new launches don’t have sandalwood. Sandalwood has a skin colour so we moved away from it as we wanted to remove barriers for people with darker skin,” he explains.
Products from Sandiva
| Photo Credit:
Sandiva sources sandalwood from the forests of South India by way of auctions and in addition imports from Australia. “Sandalwood has a gestation period of minimum 30 years. If one plants it today, the first yield is going to be after 30 years. Trees that are older, like 100 years, are in demand and have good oil content,” says Arjun. This might be why it’s an costly commodity. In the final 9 years, I’ve seen the worth of sandalwood oil go from ₹10,000 a kilo to to a few lakhs, he provides.
But that doesn’t deter Sandiva from experimenting additional with sandalwood. The crew is now engaged on an oil-based cleaning vary. “We want to do shower oils with sandalwood. This will give a luxurious, moisturised feel and make it a spa-like experience,” he smiles.
Price vary begins at ₹500. Available on sandivaskincare.in
Published – September 05, 2025 04:02 pm IST
