From Allergic Reaction to Entrepreneur: Dr. Manya Sharma's Journey with Secreto Care

Dr. Manya Sharma's journey from a painful allergic reaction to launching Secreto Care is a testament to resilience and innovation. After suffering severe skin irritation from waxing, she questioned the norms of hair removal and sought to create a better solution. Through extensive research and countless formulations, she developed sugar wax products tailored for diverse skin types. Despite facing financial hurdles and manufacturing challenges, Sharma's determination led her to establish a brand that prioritizes skin health. Her story is not just about beauty; it's about addressing a significant issue in personal care. Explore how she transformed her personal setback into a successful venture.

By Narendra Chaudhary Sep 18, 2026, 12:43 IST

A Transformative Experience Leads to Innovation

Dr. Manya Sharma's entrepreneurial journey began with a severe allergic reaction just before her birthday, leading her to create a personal-care brand focused on skin health.

Munish Sood
MANDI: Dr. Manya Sharma, a physician from Mandi, embarked on an unexpected three-year journey after suffering a painful allergic reaction the day before her birthday. This incident prompted her to explore the world of personal care, ultimately leading to the establishment of Secreto Care, a brand that emphasizes a 'skin-first, planet-first' philosophy.

In March 2023, Sharma chose to undergo waxing in preparation for her birthday celebrations. However, instead of joy, she faced severe skin irritation and blisters, requiring medical treatment. This experience led her to question why women have accepted discomfort and skin reactions as a normal part of hair removal.

Though laser hair removal was suggested, Sharma, being a doctor, recognized its limitations, including high costs, sun exposure risks, and individual biological factors affecting hair growth.

Recalling her time in Kyrgyzstan, where she first encountered sugar waxing—a simple blend of sugar, lemon, and water—she was inspired to find a similar product in India.

Upon returning to India, Sharma dedicated months to searching for sugar wax while preparing for her medical licensing exams in Delhi. When her attempts to source samples from Kyrgyzstan failed, she made a pivotal decision: to create the product herself.

By May 2023, she began formulating her own sugar wax while working as an Emergency Medical Officer at Government Medical College and Hospital in Chandigarh, one of the busiest medical facilities in the region. Her days were filled with emergency cases, while her evenings and weekends were spent experimenting with formulations and studying for her postgraduate exams.

Her kitchen transformed into her first lab.

One of the main challenges was achieving consistency. A formulation that worked well in one climate could behave differently in another due to variations in temperature and humidity. Thus, Sharma set out to create a sugar wax that would perform reliably across India's diverse climates.

For nearly a year, she meticulously documented her experiments, initially producing about six formulations daily, which eventually increased to nearly twelve. She personally tested each sample, including on her own forearm.

After countless trials, failures, and adjustments, she finally developed a formulation she was confident in.

The next phase involved testing her product across various regions in India, from Jammu and Kashmir to Chennai. This process led to the creation of two distinct formulations: Everlyn, designed for sensitive areas like the face and bikini line, and No Rules, a medium-consistency wax suitable for larger areas such as arms and legs, with a reusable application method.

However, transitioning from formulation to business proved challenging.

Sharma initially sought institutional funding to set up manufacturing facilities. After eight months of applications and revisions, her loan request was denied on December 30, 2024.

This setback occurred while she was at the hospital.

With institutional funding off the table, her parents stepped in to support her financially, encouraging her to bootstrap the venture in January 2025. She combined her savings with a personal loan and dedicated a significant portion of her earnings as a doctor to the business. Her parents also provided financial assistance, and a close circle of friends supported her during this challenging time.

Her father had a personal stake in the product, having used Secreto for hair removal around his eyebrows and cheeks.

Manufacturing posed another challenge. Several manufacturers in India claimed that her formulation could not be produced as intended. Sharma was unwilling to compromise on the quality of ingredients or formulation just to cut costs.

Eventually, she found manufacturing support outside of India and continued to build her company while safeguarding her formulation through confidentiality agreements.

For Dr. Sharma, Secreto is more than just a beauty brand; it symbolizes a journey that began with a personal challenge and evolved through medical expertise, experimentation, financial risk, and unwavering determination.

From a birthday marred by discomfort to a product born from thousands of attempts, Dr. Manya Sharma's story is ultimately about transforming a personal struggle into a business that addresses a crucial question: can personal care prioritize the health of the skin?